Delicate short pastry is filled with a citrus-spiked rhubarb filling and topped with chewy macaroon to create a rich and delicious winter dessert.

Ingredients

Pastry

• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 125 grams unsalted butter
• 3-4 tablespoons water

Filling

• 500 grams rhubarb
• 2 teaspoon grated orange rind
• 3/4 cup caster sugar
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 whole eggs

Amaretti topping

• 140 grams ground almonds, lightly toasted
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 2 egg whites
• 2-3 drops almond essence

Method

Pastry

1. Sift the flour and salt together into a bowl. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Using a knife, cut in sufficient water to bring the dough together.
2. Turn out onto a floured board and knead lightly. Roll the pastry to fit the base and sides of a 4cm deep 23cm diameter fluted flan tin.
3. Bake blind at 210 degrees Celsius for 12 minutes. Remove the baking blind material and return the empty pie shell to the oven for a further 10 minutes.

Filling

1. Trim and string the rhubarb. Cut it finely into slices no more than 2.5mm thick. Combine the rhubarb, orange rind, sugar, orange juice, egg yolks and eggs in a bowl and mix well.
2. Pour the rhubarb filling into the blind-baked pastry shell and return to an oven preheated to 180 degrees Celsius for 40 minutes or until the filling is set.

Amaretti topping

1. In a clean bowl, combine the lightly toasted ground almonds, sugar, egg whites and almond essence and beat for 3 minutes.
2. Fit a piping bag with a 1cm-diameter plain tube and fill it with amaretti tipping. Pipe the mixture in rounds on top of the rhubarb filling.
3. Return the pie to the oven for a further 30 minutes until lightly browned. Serve hot or cold with lashings of whipped cream or ice cream.