Rhubarb and Coconut tart (with meringue topping)

There's some sort of celebration every March in my life -
    Sometimes it's someone's birthday so it's party anyways but usually it's just a remembering thought.

     This year is the 8th year of living abroad. I do count - suppose it didn't make a proper home..
so this year was marked with a rhubarb and coconut tart :)

 serves 8

for the rhubarb filling

• 700g trimmed rhubarb, cut into 3 cm pieces
• 160g golden caster sugar, plus 1 tbsp extra to taste
• grated zest and juice of 1/2 orange
• 4 tbsp cornflour
• 4 large egg yolks 
• 50g unsalted butter, melted

for the coconut pastry

•  50g desiccated coconut
• 200g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 110g unsalted cold butter, cubed
• about 2 tbsp iced water

for the coconut meringue

•  3 egg whites
• 175g caster sugar
• 40g desiccated coconut

PART 1

1. For the coconut pastry - mix coconut with flour (you can put them into food processor for a fine mixture)
2. Stir in the sugar
3. Add cubed butter and using your fingertips, rub into flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs
4. Add just enough iced water to bind
5. Knead until smooth, wrap in cling film, then chill for 20 minutes.

PART 2

1. Preheat oven to 200C/fan180C/gas 6
2. Roll out the pastry, use to line a 20cm x 3.5cm fluted loose-bottomed tart tin
3. Chill for 30 minutes
4. Line pastry case with baking paper and baking beans or rice and blind-bake for 12 minutes
5. Remove the paper and beans/rice, bake for 5 minutes or until crisp and golden

 PART 3

1. Turn the oven down to 190C/fan170C/gas 5
2.  Mix the rhubarb with 70g of the sugar, and the orange zest and juoce
3. Roast for 20 minutes
4. Puree the rhubarb and it's juices in a food processor (i've done it straight in a roasting dish with a masher), then pass through a sieve, pushing the rhubarb through with a wooden spoon.
5. In a small bowl, mix the remaining sugar with the cornflour and enough rhubarb puree to make a paste.
6. Return to the pan containing the rest of the rhubarb.
7. Bring to boil
8. Mix the egg yolks with the butter, then stir into the rhubarb mixture
9. Scrape into the bowl, cover, cool and chill.

PART 4

1. Pour the curd into the pastry case and bake for 30 minutes.
2. Cool completely, then chill

PART 5

1. For the meringue, whisk the egg whites untill stiff, add 1 tbsp of the sugar, whisk again
2. Add the remaining sugar in this way
3. Fold through the coconut and spoon the meringue over rhubarb curd. Form pretty peaks.
4. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes until the meringue is golden and crisp on the outside.

The End!

     The longest and the most difficult recipe I've ever tried and it was worth all the hard work. I didnt do the meringue part properly tho. Let me know if anyone will try :)

from -
delicious magazine, april 2012 (103p).