“Under the Umbrella” by Catherine Buquet and Marion Arbona
This has got to be one of my favorite new releases this year! I adore everything about this book. The story is based on the principle of “spreading happiness” and although it is a message often illustrated in books, it is one that I will never get tired of seeing.
It follows the story of a grumpy older gentleman as he walks through a dark, gloomy, rainy day in a big city with his black umbrella. Along the way he runs across a little boy who has an eye for the beautiful and is staring wistfully in the window display of a bakery. The grumpy gentleman takes the unexpected opportunity to take a moment to slow down and purchases a raspberry rhubarb tart for the little boy. Upon receiving it, the lad breaks it in half to share it with his new friend and together they enjoy a burst of sunshine and happiness that cheers up their space under his black umbrella. It is very well written (with beautiful rhyming and rhythm to swoon over) and makes for a positively lovely read aloud.
Along with the story I am obsessed with the illustrations. Marion is very selective about the colors used and in the beginning all is dark with sharp angles and a moody atmosphere. Then when you come to the bakery the light and brightness colored in simply spills out into the morose scene. Finally, when the two friends share the tart, bright, vivid happy colors burst onto the page in a celebration of joy and optimism. The use of color in this book adds a new dimension to the story and displays a visual treat of the effect and power of joy. I am in love!
Click here to purchase “Under the Umbrella”
“Under the Umbrella” inspired Raspberry Rhubarb Tarts
As I mentioned above, I am in LOVE with this story! Therefore it was a given that I HAD to create a raspberry rhubarb tart recipe inspired by the ones in the story. They seem to be at the center and are a metaphor of sorts for joy and friendship itself. When the two share one, I love how the illustration depicts them floating away in sunshine-y bliss complete with beach attire. Aren’t raspberry rhubarb tarts just the pastry to help depict that? Nothing quite says springtime and sunshine to me like a beautiful rhubarb treat.
These delectable tarts have a shortbread crust with a touch of lemon zest, are filled with rhubarb curd, and are topped with sugar dusted raspberries. I am a HUGE fan of curd and rhubarb curd may just be my favorite. It comes out the perfect balance of sweet and tart and will have you floating off into nostalgic memories of summer days just like the characters in the book. (Of course there is no money-back guarantee for this. Mostly because the recipe doesn’t cost any money. 😉 )
They are fairly easy to make and only include a few steps, they just take a little bit of patience while your curd thickens and your crust is prepared. However, the time put into them is totally worth it! My whole family loves these tarts and I may have to make them again soon. Their memory has been lingering in my mind all month and I am already dying for some more. I hope you and your loved ones enjoy them as much as we do!
Raspberry Rhubarb Tarts
- Yield: 4 tarts (4.75-inch)
- Category: book recipe, Dessert
Ingredients
Rhubarb Curd
- 1 pound chopped rhubarb, fresh
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 6 egg yolks
- 3/4 cup sugar
- dash of sea salt
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1/4 cup butter, chopped in chunks
Shortbread Pastry
- 1 1/4 cups flour
- 2/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon cold water
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- fresh raspberries for topping
Instructions
Rhubarb Curd
- Wash your rhubarb and trim off any ends that are too tough. In a medium saucepan, cook the rhubarb, sugar, and 1/4 cup water over medium heat until the rhubarb pieces are cooked tender and fall apart. This takes a while, so have patience.
- Blend the mixture smooth with a handheld blender or wait until it is room temperature and blend in a stand-up blender or press through a strainer.
- Put a few inches of water in a double boiler and simmer over medium heat. In the bowl of the double boiler, mix together the egg yolks, sugar, salt, butter and lemon zest. Whisk it together until all the sugar has dissolved and then slowly add the warm rhubarb in small amounts to temper the egg yolks.
- When all the rhubarb is mixed in, place it over the simmering pot. Stir until warm and thickened. This will take some time so be patient. When finished set aside. (This can be made in advance and stored in the fridge in an air tight container for about a week.) Also, depending on your rhubarb, your curd can be quite a brown color instead of pink. I like to add a bit of pink food coloring to give it the pleasant color I desire, which is totally optional.
Shortbread Crust
- Whisk the flour, powdered sugar, lemon zest and salt in a large bowl until well blended. Then add the butter in chunks and cut it in until the mixture is consistently coarse.
- In a small bowl mix together the egg yolk, water, and vanilla until combined. Then slowly add it to your flour mixture until the dough comes together in a ball.
- Wrap your dough in plastic wrap and allow it to rest in the fridge for an hour or more.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit. Roll the dough out to about 3/16 of an inch and place it in your greased, 4.75-inch tart pans, trimming away any excess. Using a fork, poke some holes in the bottom of your pans. Next, place parchment paper on your pans and fill with baking weights or dry beans to weigh down your dough for baking. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until they are starting to turn a light golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and take out the weights and the parchment paper. Return to the oven for 5 minutes to lightly brown the bottom. If your dough rose to much in the oven you can flatten it down with a rounded spoon while it is warm. Then, spoon in your rhubarb curd until it reaches just under the top of your pastry crusts. Once they are filled with curd place them back in the oven at 375 degrees fahrenheit to be baked for another 10 minutes or until they are wobbly in the center, but not the edges, when jiggled gently.
- Remove them from the oven and place them on a cooling rack. Now you can top them with some fresh raspberries if desired all along the top. I like to place the raspberries while the tarts are warm so they sink in a bit and then become secure as you chill the curd. After they have cooled to room temperature, remove them from the pans and place them in the fridge to chill and set for at least one hour.
- Before serving dust with powdered sugar if desired.
If you give this Beyond the Book activity a try I’d love to hear how it goes! Share it on Instagram using hashtag #beyondthebook (I’m on Instagram as @book.nerd.mommy) or even just comment here with your thoughts. It would make my day! Or to simply save for later pin the image below.
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