Rebarbaras Pite

Ingredients

• 1¼ lbrhubarbtrimmed, peeled if needed, cut into pieces
• 10½ ozflourfor the dough
• 5¼ ozbuttercold for shortcrust, soft for batter; a little extra for greasing the tin
• 6 ozsugarpartly for the dough, partly to sprinkle over the rhubarb; caster, icing or brown sugar
• 2eggfor the dough, optionally one for brushing
• 2 tspbaking powderfor the dough
• 1 pinchsaltfor the dough
• 1 tbspvanilla sugaror a little vanilla extract
• 1lemonzest grated, for the dough
• 3 tbspsour creammakes the dough supple
• 3⅓ tbspmilkas needed if the dough is too firm
• 1 ozcornstarchbinds the rhubarb juices or the custard topping
• 1 tspcinnamonmixed into the rhubarb
• icing sugarfor dusting
• 8¾ ozCurd cheesespread as a layer between dough and rhubarb (optional)
• 8¾ ozstrawberriesreplace part of the rhubarb (optional)

Method

1. Prepare the rhubarbTrim the rhubarb, peel away the stringy skin on any thick stalks, and cut it into pieces. Toss with part of the sugar, the cinnamon and the cornstarch, then let it sit briefly while you make the dough.
2. Rub butter into the flourFor the dough, mix the flour with the baking powder and salt, then rub in the cold butter in small pieces with your fingertips until the mixture looks crumbly.
3. Knead the doughAdd the rest of the sugar, the vanilla sugar, the grated lemon zest, one egg and the sour cream, and knead everything quickly into a smooth dough. If it feels too firm, work in a splash of milk as needed.
4. Chill dough, preheat ovenWrap the dough in cling film and chill it for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 355 °F.
5. Line the tinGrease the tin with butter, roll out the dough and lay it in so that it comes up the sides to form a rim. Prick the base all over with a fork.
6. Add filling and toppingSpread the rhubarb filling evenly over the dough. If you like, top it with a pastry lid or cut-out pastry shapes and brush them with the second egg, beaten.
7. Bake the cakeBake the cake in the preheated oven at 355 °F for about 30 to 45 minutes, until golden brown.
8. Cool, dust and serveLet the cake cool in the tin, then dust with icing sugar and cut into pieces.

Tips and variations

Rebarbaras pite takes beautifully to variations: going half strawberries, half rhubarb makes it fruitier and gentler. For a creamy curd cheese layer, spread the curd cheese over the dough, scatter with breadcrumbs and lay the rhubarb on top, scalding it with hot water first. Instead of shortcrust you can use a batter: cream the butter and eggs with the sugar until fluffy, then work in the flour, baking powder and milk or sour cream. Ground almonds or walnuts mixed into the rhubarb, a custard topping of eggs, cream, icing sugar, vanilla sugar and cornstarch, or Greek yogurt in place of sour cream in the dough are all lovely twists too. A favourite: caramelise part of the rhubarb with butter and brown sugar for 5 to 6 minutes and serve it as a compote alongside the cake, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.