Rhubarb love

Hurrah - forced rhubarb is back on our shelves! It's delicately pink, full of flavour and delicious for cooking and eating. I picked up a bunch at a farm shop in Buckinghamshire today and will prepare it in my usual way - braised slowly in the oven its own juices (and a sprinkling of sugar).

I used to always boil rhubarb with water and sugar and often ended up with a slimy mess that looked like phlegm. It tasted ok, but nothing like when its baked in the oven. I discovered this little secret from Dan Lepard who shared the method in his column in The Guardian. It's not rocket science but when measured and cooked correctly - you will never go back. So, hat's off to Mr Lepard here for the measurements.

800 g chopped rhubarb
100 g of caster sugar

Set oven to 170 degrees C or 150 degrees C (fan forced oven). Chop the rhubarb stalks into lengths about 3-4 cms long. Place the chopped rhubarb in a shallow baking dish so that it is about one layer deep and sprinkle evenly with sugar. Cover the dish with foil. Bake in a warmed over for about 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool with the foil on (to retain the colour and moisture).

I have shared this method with family and friends and it is what helped me on my winning way preparing the Rhubarb Pie on Baking Mad with Eric Lanlard. When I was in New Zealand I shared it with my friend Gwyneth and her Mum who have been baking the stalks in the same way. They took some of their homecooked stalks into Sugar Juice Cafe recently and the final result ended up on sale - The Rhubarb and Apple Shortcake and Rhubarb Dream Slice look to die for! Take a look at the pictures below.

Try this method and you will never boil rhubarb ever again.

The day I filmed Baking Mad on Channel 4

You may have heard via Twitter or Facebook that I was a contestant on Baking Mad with Eric Lanlard on Channel 4. The link to watch the show is at the bottom of this post. I hope you enjoy it. Here's the story behind the scenes.

Talking to camera before the bake

The bakers

The day I filmed Baking Mad was the culmination of much excitement, anticipation and lots of practice baking. To be honest I was a bit sick of rhubarb pie by the time I came to create my winning masterpiece. I applied to be on the show, hearing that they were looking for more men to bake. After a written application, I had a phone interview and then had to bake a cake and have a one-to-one interview with the production team. I got the call that very afternoon. So when I was given my category - sweet pies. I promptly conducted a straw poll of what pie to bake (amongst family and friends).  In my heart I was thinking it should be rhubarb or apple. I settled on rhubarb and am glad I did. It's quintessentially English and baked properly, balances sweet and tart in a pie - which I thought would appeal to Eric.

Filling the pie with rhubarb

Eric's watchful eye

So after a week's worth of practicing, I came down with flu. And before you say it - this wasn't man-flu - I had the shivers, fever, blocked nose, cough and was off my food. The morning of the show I felt rubbish, so dosed up on cold and flu remedies, I gathered my ingredients and tins and made my way to Cake Boy in Battersea. The film crew were great fun, the other contestants were really nice - nervous too. After a quick coffee - we got under way. There was lots of talking to camera and a few set up shots. The we got baking. We had just two hours, which is quite tough as you don't normally cook to a strict time limit when baking at home. Not everything went according to plan, the ovens didn't heat properly and the pastry didn't like the warmth from the additional lighting of the camera crew. I made a couple of fluff ups - my first roll out of pastry fell apart - thankfully, that was captured on camera. In a flash it was almost over. 10 minutes was called and my pie wasn't browning. I turned the oven up to 240 degrees - MAX. It browned-up and it came out with seconds to spare.

Creating the lattice crust

Rhubarb pie with almond pastry and lattice crust

There was no more to do than wait for Eric to judge. Presenting the pie to Eric was odd as he gave no feedback to you in person - he did speak to camera in private, which you see and he was complementary of my pie. Then he came out and delivered his verdict. I thought I had done well, but then I heard it. The winner is - Mark. Woo hoo. Pie triumph.

Waiting for the verdict

The winner takes it all

I stayed on to do the Masterclass with Eric himself, a Southern Chocolate Pie. I have had so many requests to bake this from friends. It's was a fabulous day and a great experience. I love it and hope you do too.

Tasting the mix

Southern Chocolate Pie

Watch Mark on Baking Mad with Eric Lanlard - 29th March 2012

In Australia and New Zealand?  Watch by clicking here !

 Or in the UK Click here to watch Baking Mad via You Tube