Rhubarb crumble and white chia custard recipe

Recreate the memories of your childhood with this rhubarb crumble and white chia custard recipe – a healthy twist on the classic!

I’m not sure there’s anything more satisfying when it comes to food than eating a dish created with something you’ve cultivated yourself. Rhubarb is such a brilliant plant to grow because it requires very little looking after and comes back year after year. Plus you have the perfect excuse to make rhubarb crumble… which has got to be the best bit!

I was never a huge fan of powdered custard. I hated how it got that thin, filmy layer of skin on the top. Ugh. It’s taken me a while to perfect a dairy-free version without using flour or cream to thicken the mix, but I think you’re going to love this. Adding a sprinkling of cinnamon infused trail mix on top gives the dish a simple crumble – gluten- and dairy-free. Serves 2.

Ingredients

2 pears

Chunk of ginger

Juice and zest of ½ lemon

Squeeze of honey or agave syrup

4 rhubarb stems

For the custard:

2 egg yolks

200ml almond milk

½tsp vanilla paste

1tbsp honey or agave syrup

Squeeze of lemon

Tiny pinch of salt

2tbsp white chia seeds

For the crumble:

1tbsp almond flour

1tbsp trail mix (healthy sugar-free)

Pinch of cinnamon

Drop of honey or agave syrup

Cut the rhubarb stems to fit an ovenproof dish and place them inside.

Grate the zest of half a lemon and set to one side. Run the pears, ginger and chunk of lemon through your juicer and pour the juice over the rhubarb.

Squeeze a little honey over the dish (you won’t need much as the sweet custard beautifully counters the tangy taste of rhubarb) and sprinkle on the lemon zest.

Place in the oven for 20 minutes at 190°C, allowing the rhubarb to cook and soften.

For the custard, warm 200ml of milk gently in a saucepan over a low heat.

Whisk the egg yolks and honey together and, once the milk is warm (but not boiling), slowly pour it in, continuing to whisk. The mixture will go light and frothy.

Pour everything back into the saucepan, add the vanilla, a tiny pinch of salt and a squeeze of lemon juice, and gently warm while stirring continuously with a wooden spoon.

The frothiness of the custard mixture will disappear and you should be left with a lovely pale yellow vanilla almond milk.

Let it cool, then add the chia seeds and place in the fridge, allowing them to expand and thicken the custard.

For the crumble, mix the almond flour, cinnamon and trail mix together with a drop of honey or agave syrup.

To serve, lay the rhubarb in a bowl, spoon on the chia custard and sprinkle a little crumble on top.

For more recipes from Hanna Sillitoe, visit BeyondFit.co.uk.