Rhubarb Custard Bars

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From Cooking Light’s new book, “Cooking Through the Seasons.” Editors write: “Rhubarb, which looks like crimson celery, has a short season so stock up while you can. It freezes beautifully; just store the stalks in a heavy-duty zip-top plastic bag. You can use fresh or frozen rhubarb for this recipe. We actually preferred unthawed frozen rhubarb.”

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Whether you’re serving an elegant evening meal for the Easter holiday or a more casual brunch, the arrival of spring begs for desserts with a seasonal flair.

“I love that Easter and spring arrive together because it means that I can start baking with fresh fruit,” says Gina Garcia, of Cake.

Garcia’s new bakery, an expansion to Chaps in the Latah Creek Shopping Center on South Cheney Spokane Road, is scheduled to open soon.

She shared a trifle recipe that comes together quickly with layers of lemon pound cake and lemon custard with fresh berries.

“My family is Italian and we typically celebrate Easter with a fruit trifle made with zabaglione, a frothy custard flavored with marsala,” Garcia says. “I have adapted this dessert for folks who may not like the sharp flavor of Marsala.

“In the recipe, I have made a lemon custard which is just tart enough to contrast nicely with the sweet berries.”

For those who are up for more of a challenge, Europa pastry chef Christie Sutton shared a recipe for a classic French dessert called pithiviers (pronounced pee-tee-vyay).

“I was just trying to come up with something a little different,” she says. “The light and flaky pastry just makes me think of Easter.”

The layers of puff pastry surround a rich almond filling and raspberry preserves. Sutton tops the dessert with fresh fruit and powdered sugar and serves it slightly warm or at room temperature.

Davenport Hotel executive chef Bryan Franz shared a recipe for individual mascarpone cheesecakes topped with huckleberry compote. (Substitute blueberries if your freezer stash of the wild berries is gone.)

He tops the cheesecakes with the compote and mint leaves for garnish, along with a pistachio tuile – a crunchy French cookie.

Decorated sugar cookies are a popular item for Easter at Carolyn’s Cake, Candy and Cookie Supplies, says new owner Michele Clemons.

Clemons purchased the store, 1705 N. Hamilton St., from original owner Carolyn Largent last April. She shared the recipe instructors give to students in classes.

She recommends decorating the cookies with candy melts rather than royal icing. The candy comes in an array of colors that can be melted and poured into squeeze bottles for easy decorating.

The store offers decorating classes for cookie bouquets, as well as cake decorating instruction. A new series of classes will be announced soon.

I couldn’t resist throwing in a few more recipes for good measure. White chocolate dipped strawberries with citrus sugar are finished quickly and have a nice seasonal flavor.

Coconut cupcakes drew raves all around when a friend made them recently. (They’re the grown-up version of the coconut-topped bunny cake my grandmother sometimes made for the holiday.)

And I’m using up the end of last year’s rhubarb in the Rhubarb Custard Bars from Cooking Light’s newest cookbook, to make room in the freezer for this year’s crop.

Lorie Hutson

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Ingredients

  • Crust:
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 9 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces
  • Cooking spray
  • Filling:
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups 1 percent low-fat milk
  • 3 large eggs
  • 5 cups (1/2-inch) sliced fresh or frozen rhubarb (thawed)
  • Topping:
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup (4 ounces) block-style fat-free cream cheese
  • 1/2 cup (4 ounces) block-style 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup frozen fat-free whipped topping, thawed
  • Mint sprigs (optional)

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 F.

To prepare crust, lightly spoon 1 1/2 cups flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine the flour, 1/2 cup sugar and salt in a bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal.

Press mixture into a 13-by-9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 F for 15 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

To prepare filling, lightly spoon 1/3 cup flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and 1 1/2 cups sugar in a large bowl; add milk and eggs, stirring with a whisk until well blended.

Stir in rhubarb. Pour rhubarb mixture over crust. Bake at 350 F for 40 minutes or until set. Cool to room temperature.

To prepare topping, place 1/2 cup sugar, cream cheeses and vanilla in a bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Gently fold in whipped topping; spread evenly over baked custard. Cover and chill at least 1 hour. Garnish with mint sprigs, if desired.

Nutrition Information:
Per serving
131 calories
4.2 grams fat (29 percent fat calories)
2.5 grams protein
21 grams carbohydrates
29 milligrams cholesterol
.5 grams dietary fiber
78 milligrams sodium

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