I have a fond spot for Alison Holst. Some of the first recipes I remember making as a kid were from her books: citrus slice, ‘one pan dinner’, crunchy lemon muffins. Last time I was at mum’s I spent an afternoon going through a pile of old Alison Holst recipe books. Some of it – the food styling in particular, is hilariously old-fashioned, but some recipes have stood the test of time. This rhubarb & crème fraiche tart is one of those recipes.

Rhubarb & crème fraiche tart

Recipe by Alison Holst

For the pastry:

plain flour 1 cup

cold butter 60g, diced into cubes

cold water about 1/4 cup (add a couple of ice cubes to cool it down and remove them before adding to pastry)

In a food processor whizz together the flour and butter until it resembles fine bread crumbs. Gradually pour in the cold water until the dough starts to clump together. Shape into a ball and place in fridge to rest for 30 mins. Roll out and fit into a loose-bottomed tart tin. Blind bake at 180˚C for 15 minutes. Leave to cool while you prepare the filling.

For the tart filling:

rhubarb 2-3 cups, sliced in 1cm pieces

free range eggs 2

sugar 1/4 cup

crème fraiche 1/4 cup

Beat eggs, sugar and crème fraiche together until smooth. Place chopped rhubarb into precooked pastry shell. Pour over crème fraiche mixture. Bake for 20 minutes until filling has set.