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Although this is a recipe for Gluten Free Rhubarb and Custard Galette you can easily swap the rhubarb for another fruit such as tinned peaches, keep reading for more filling inspiration. Never the prettiest of bakes but what it lacks in looks it makes up for in taste. If you are super lucky to have your own rhubarb plant or know someone who supplies you with loads of the stuff, this is a great recipe to have in your arsenal for fresh and frozen rhubarb.
Skip to the good bit
- Is rhubarb a fruit of vegetable?
- When is rhubarb ready to harvest in the UK?
- How do you make a Rhubarb and Custard Galette?
- Can I use tinned rhubarb for this Galette?
- Can I use ready made custard?
- What other fruits can I use in a Galette?
- Equipment you will need
- Ingredients you will need
- Great toppings for this Rhubarb and Custard Galette
- Other Fruity Recipes you might like to try
- Gluten Free Rhubarb and Custard Galette Recipe
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Is rhubarb a fruit of vegetable?
Rhubarb is a vegetable by definition. It does flower, but the flowers are tiny and need to be removed for the plant to continue to grow abundantly.
Apparently, Rhubarb was legally termed a fruit in New York in 1947 as it is most commonly used as a fruit in puddings. This was a bonus for producers, as fruit is taxed less in the US. Not sure if the same rules apply here in the UK but I’m happy to call it a veggie with benefits!
There are two main ways to grow rhubarb, the first image below is more recognisable as open air naturally grown crop. The second photo is forced rhubarb which is characteristically richly pink in colour with smaller leaves.
The latter type of rhubarb is harvested by candlelight which I think is terribly romantic and shows the care put into this rare treat originating in Yorkshire, UK.
After initial exposure to the frost, the Rhubarb is lifted from the ground and placed into forcing sheds. Once in the darkened sheds, heat is applied causing the rhubarb to grow quickly in search of light.
Yorkshire Forced Rhubarb – Slow Food in the UK
When is rhubarb ready to harvest in the UK?
I am one of those people who thought that there was a certain point in the summer when you had to stop harvesting due to the rhubarb becoming toxic. Apparently, this is not the case for the stems that we eat, rather more the leaves (which are inedible anyway).
The official line for harvesting by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) is thus;
You can start harvesting early cultivars from March or April, and maincrop cultivars from late April or May. You can then continue picking new stems throughout the summer, as required. The last harvest is usually in late summer, around July or August, although growth may have stopped before this if the weather is very hot.
Grow your own rhubarb – rhs
What is a Galette?
The answer to this question is a bit more convoluted, however, as usual I’ll reel it in to make things simple. Galette comes from the Norman word Gale or ‘flat cake’ in a round-about way. So we now understand why this is a flat bake.
It gets a little more complicated when you see variations of galette, some sweet, some savoury, some frankly looking like a crepe or pancake.
The answer is in the region the recipe originates from in France. The galette I have recreated here is based on the free from pie-like dessert that seems to be generic across all regions but fillings tend to vary. This style of galette lends itself to having both sweet and savoury fillings.
Another type of galette comes from Bretton and is the pancake or crepe style I mentioned above. Specifically, this galette is made with buckwheat, a naturally gluten free flour rich in fibre (to be Coeliac safe it needs to be certified GF and made/packaged in a gluten free environment).
How do you make a Rhubarb and Custard Galette?
I begin by making the custard, this gives it a chance to cool to room temperature. Now make the Galette dough and pop into the fridge to chill for a bit.
Next add the sugar to the chopped rhubarb and steam in the microwave with a plate over the bowl. No need to add water, there’s plenty in the stems already. Set aside to cool a little.
Now you can roll out your Galette dough (directly onto a sheet of baking paper) to the size of a large plate and begin to add the custard and rhubarb layers.
Once you have added the custard and rhubarb, fold the sides of the Galette in using the baking paper to help you. No need to be neat and tidy, go wildly free-form.
Liberally brush with warmed apricot jam and bake in a preheated oven.
Can I use tinned rhubarb for this Galette?
Yes you absolutely can use canned rhubarb to bake with. There are a couple of cons if using the tinned version. The first is that the texture is very different, almost slimy so this may put you off using it. The second (and more significant con for me) is that the tinned version can be a rather unappealing green/grey colour. As you can see from my photos, the fresh rhubarb, particularly forced rhubarb, is a beautiful blush colour.
If using tinned rhubarb there is no need to stew or chop, just open the tin and use straight away according to the recipe. For that reason this is an excellent option if you want rhubarb puddings and desserts on the spur of the moment.
Can I use ready made custard?
Absolutely, you can use ready made custard. Be sure to use a dairy free custard if this is necessary. I recommend Alpro or Jude’s plant based custards (latter version does have gluten free OATS in it).
What other fruits can I use in a Galette?
What other fruits can you use to make this gluten free galette? The possibilities are endless. What’s your favourite fruit and how much do you love custard?
The rule of thumb is that the fruit needs to be soft or will become soft on baking. That’s it really. Here are some flavour combinations to get your teeth sunk into;
- apple and cinnamon
- blackberry and apple
- peach and apricot
- rhubarb and apple with ginger
- pear and chocolate
- banana and chocolate
And that’s just off the top of my head, seriously there are no limits. Tell you what, if you try one of the suggestions above or make up you own flavour combination then please do come back and let me know what you used, I’d love to hear about it.
I’m become a bit of a Galette groupie so here are some more ideas for you to try out next time.
Equipment you will need
- Kitchen Scales
- mixing bowl
- pastry blender
- set of measuring spoons
- baking paper
- slide off baking tray
- cooling rack
- silicone spatula
- silicone pastry brush
- rolling pin
Ingredients you will need
For the galette dough
- gluten free plain flour
- butter or butter alternative (I use Flora plant butter)
- caster sugar
- water iced water or as cold as you can make it
For the custard filling
- Birds custard powder [see notes for alternatives]
- caster sugar
- dairy free milk or normal milk
For the rhubarb filling
- rhubarb chopped
- caster sugar
For the glaze
- apricot jam or another pale jam
Great toppings for this Rhubarb and Custard Galette
Fancy something a bit special to accompany this Mirabelle Galette? Well then why not try making your very own clotted cream, this clotted cream is dairy free and vegan but you’d never know. For other serving suggestions keep scrolling to see my range of custards and ice creams.
Other Fruity Recipes you might like to try
Simple Gluten Free Spiced Peach Tarte Tatin
Deliciously Easy Gluten Free Peach Cobbler
Simple Dairy Free Gooseberry Fool Crumble
Gluten Free Rhubarb Fool Dessert
Gluten Free Gooseberry Crumble
No Bake Dairy Free Raspberry Cheesecake
Gluten Free Apple and Blackberry Crumble
Gluten Free Rhubarb and Custard Galette Recipe
If you make it and like the recipe I would be eternally grateful if you popped back and commented leaving a star rating as this will tell search engines that this recipe is worth checking out and others will get to find it in searches.
Gluten Free Rhubarb and Custard Galette
Equipment
Ingredients
For the galette dough
- 250 g gluten free plain flour
- 100 g butter or butter alternative (I use Flora plant butter)
- 50 g caster sugar
- 5 tbsp water iced water or as cold as you can make it
For the custard filling
- 20 g Birds custard powder [see notes for alternatives]
- 40 g caster sugar
- 150 ml dairy free milk or normal milk
For the rhubarb filling
- 200 g rhubarb chopped
- 50 g caster sugar
For the glaze
- 2 tbsp apricot jam or another pale jam
Instructions
To make the galette dough
- In a large mixing bowl measure the flour, sugar and butter. Using your fingertips or a pastry blender (I use the latter as hands can be too hot), break the butter down into the flour and sugar to make breadcrumbs.
- Add the iced water one tablespoon at a time to the crumble mixture. After each addition use a rounded knife (like a butter knife) to cut through the crumble in a figure of eight. This motion brings the crumble together gradually as you keep adding the water.
- TOP TIP: you are not looking to blend this galette dough as you would pastry. Ideally you want it to be flecked with little lumps of butter.
- Once the dough has come together and is speckled with butter, gently roll into a ball and pop into the fridge to chill while you prepare your fruit.
To prepare the custard filling
- Add the custard powder and sugar to a small jug, mix with a little of the 'milk' and mix to a paste.
- Top up with the remaining 'milk' and mix thoroughly to combine.
- Pop into the microwave for 1 minute, remove and stir well as it continues to thicken. Set aside to cool.NOTE: this will be a very thick custard.
To prepare the rhubarb
- Add the chopped rhubarb and sugar to a bowl and pop into the microwave with a plate over it to quickly steam the stems.[see notes for the tinned rhubarb version and hob stewed version]
To make the galette
- Preheat the oven to 200°C | 180°C fan | 400°F | Gas 5
- Remove the chilled dough from the fridge and place on a lightly dusted large sheet of baking paper. Roll out into a dinner plate sized circle. No need to worry about the circle being perfect.
- TOP TIP: keep the rolling pin well floured. The little speckles of butter may stick to the pin otherwise.
- Once the dough is rolled out and slid onto a baking tray, add the custard first then the prepared rhubarb to the centre of the dough with a decent margin, ideally you need to leave 1.5-2 inches of dough around the edges.
- Now you can fold the edge of the dough in towards the middle of the galette. the ends won't meet and you will be left with a hole in the top of the galette exposing the rhubarb-filled centre.
- For a finishing touch I brush the tops of the galette liberally with apricot jam to ensure it turns a beautiful golden colour when baking.
- Pop into the oven for 35mins until golden brown.
- Once cooked remove from the oven and serve immediately with cream, even more custard, ice cream or cool and eat at room temperature with cream.
Notes
Nutrition
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Congratulations on your book! Where I live in the U.S., we are done with rhubarb, unfortunately. I’m going to try strawberries.
Oh wow, I had no idea US rhubarb had such an early season, so interesting. Strawberries are actually the next fruit I had planned to use, I imagine they’ll be super sweet and delicious in this Galette. Also, thank you so much for the love regarding my book, so pleased it’s finally out now! xxx