Possibly the Best Dessert (at least in a long while)

     I had a group of folks over for dinner yesterday.  The entire meal was admittedly amazing, and almost every scrap was eaten (always a good sign).  You can never predict these things.  Sometimes I make too much food, sometimes the food is not as memorable.  Sometimes the company doesn't gel as well.  Who knows.   Suffice it to say this one was a hit.
     The menu bears repeating, and all components are worth making again (coming around again on the guitar, as I like to say).  Chicken and beef lemongrass marinated satay skewers with peanut sauce.  Coconut rice.  Asian slaw.  The first two can be found on FineCooking, and I didn't mess with the recipes.  The Asian slaw was adulterated a bit, in terms of the vegetable ingredients, but I didn't do anything with the dressing.  I think it would benefit from some chopped roasted peanuts, but was otherwise delicious.  This was also found on FineCooking.
     It was the dessert that was, in my mind, inspired.  I had a vision.  It's spring, and from the garden come only a few things just yet, but one is rhubarb.  The other is eggs.  Those girls are laying a lot of eggs.  The daughter has been requesting custard for a while.  I kept trying to envision how I would do this:  a custard with a sauce?  How would the sauce work, as I didn't want to fiddle with unmolding the custards, and in fact, was thinking brûlée.  Then it struck me: a layered arrangement.
     I would like to say this was an original idea.  Turns out it's not.  I found a few versions of this online, but I have never heard of it.  One referenced Jamie Oliver.  So maybe it's an English thing.  But not in this part of the world.  So I am going to do my part to spread the word.  I knew the dairy and rhubarb combination was good already, as I have made a meringue pie with a rhubarb layers.  Why does no one speak of this method?  Society surely needs this.
     The rhubarb is roasted, which concentrates and caramelizes the sugars,  and is also a completely unattended way of cooking it.  This can be done ahead of time, and brought to room temperature when you are ready to use it.
    The custard is basically the same one in Richard Sax's book Classic Home Desserts.  That is, it's the same with the exception of the fact that he doesn't have a brûlée recipe, just a Pots de Creme.  But when all these elements:  rhubarb, custard, brûlée are combined, the results are well worth it.  Additionally, this sort of brilliant dessert is mostly made ahead of time, and in steps, making it a great option for a multi course meal.

 The rhubarb before the custard is added

 I used Turbinado sugar in this recipe, as the versions I saw insisted this was the key.  It is NOT.  It doesn't brûlée well, and gets somewhat granular.  Plain white sugar does a more even job.  

Rhubarb Creme Brûlée

serves 6

Adapted partially from Classic Home Desserts by Richard Sax

10 oz rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 1/4-1/2" pieces

6 T sugar

juice of 1/2 tangerine, or about 3T fresh orange juice

          

1 c. cream

1c. milk

1 vanilla bean, split down the middle, or 1 1/2t vanilla extract

2 eggs

2 egg yolks

1/3c sugar, plus extra 

Lightly oil a 13 x 9 baking pan, and roast the rhubarb at 375F x 1 hour.  It should be very soft and lightly caramelized.  Remove from the oven and stir together, adding the 6T sugar and the tangerine juice.  Set aside to cool, or chill until ready to use, then bring to room temperature. 

Heat the cream and milk, add the vanilla bean, allow to infuse x 30 minutes, then remove.  Beat the eggs and yolks and sugar together, and add the heated milk to this carefully so as not to curdle it.  Scrape out the inside of the vanilla bean and add.  If you are using extract instead, add it at this time.  

Strain as you pour this into a large measuring cup or other vessel that makes it easy to decant it.  

Place the rhubarb into custard cups, about 2-3T per cup, depending on the size cup you are using.  

Using an inverted teaspoon to prevent the rhubarb from displacing or mixing with the custard, pour the egg/milk mixture over the spoon and into the custard cup until within 1/4" of the top.  

Place all of these cups into a large baking pan (13 x9) and pour hot water in the pan until it comes halfway up the sides of the cups.  Bake at 300F x 25-30 minutes, or until the custard is nearly set, with only a slight jiggle in the center.  Remove from oven and cool.  

When ready to serve:  sprinkle a fairly generous amount of white sugar over each custard and using a blow torch, caramelize the sugar until it is melted and turning amber.  Allow to set briefly, and serve. Await accolades.  

Notes:  If a blow torch isn't available, this can be done in the oven under broil.  I haven't tried this, but I have heard it is possible.  

I only used the tangerine because it was available.  

I made a double custard recipe, and served this the second day with a rhubarb compote, as I had custards without the rhubarb underneath.  This is also brilliant, if you want an alternative way to present this.