Rhubarb, Tahini and Sesame Crumble with Stem Ginger Custard

This is my take on a classic rhubarb crumble. Now we all know that rhubarb crumble is a thing of true beauty and not to be messed with, but the addition of tahini, ground almonds and sesame seeds in my recipe adds such a lovely nuttiness which compliments the tartness of the rhubarb that you will never go back to a traditional crumble recipe again. Chopped stem ginger in a classic vanilla custard is also a complete game changer which compliments all the other flavours beautifully.

Serves 6
1. Chop the rhubarb into 3cm chunks and place in a roasting tin with a good sprinkling of light brown sugar and a couple of tbsps of liquid from the jar of stem ginger.
2. Make the crumble topping by rubbing 100g of cold unsalted butter cubes into 100g plain flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
3. Next add two tbsps of sesame seeds, 150g ground almonds, 100g demerara sugar for crunch, 100g light brown soft sugar, three tbsps of tahini, a teaspoon each of ground ginger and salt, and a good handful of rolled oats for texture before mixing all together.
4. One handy tip is to add 1-2 tbsp of cold water to your crumble mix so that you can form it into bigger pieces which go lovely and crunchy in the oven but stay gooey in the middle.
5. Place in the oven at 180C for 30-40 mins. 10 mins before the crumble is ready sprinkle over some flaked almonds and leave to sit for 5 mins before serving.
6. For the custard, scald 250ml whole milk with 650ml of double cream and one scraped vanilla pod in a saucepan. Combine 4 egg yolks with 150g golden caster sugar and 2 tsps cornflour in a separate bowl. Pour the hot milk mixture slowly onto the eggs and return to the rinsed out pan, stirring until thickened. Add some chopped stem ginger as cools - and that’s it!