Rhubarb & ginger Bakewell tarts

Use a vegetable peeler to cut some thin strips from a piece of rhubarb, you want about 50g. Put these in a bowl of cold water and then chop the rest of the rhubarb into chunks. Put the chopped rhubarb in a pan with 50g golden caster sugar, 3 tbsp water and 1 tbsp of syrup from the jar of stem ginger. Heat for around 10 mins, stirring occasionally until the rhubarb has turned mushy and the mixture has started to thicken slightly. Leave to cool.

Heat oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6. Grease the holes of a 12–hole bun tin and cut out 12 circles of pastry with a 7.5–8cm fluted cookie cutter, then use them to line the bun tin.

Whisk the remaining sugar with the egg, flour, almonds, melted butter, ground ginger and baking powder until smooth and pale. You don’t need an electric whisk to do this, a balloon whisk or even a fork will be fine.

Divide the cooled compote between the cases then top with the almond sponge batter. Ensure the compote is fully covered by the sponge mixture.

Bake for 12–15 mins until risen and golden. Leave to cool on a wire rack. They may settle flat, which will give you a nice flat surface to decorate.

While the tarts cool, mix the icing sugar with water to get a thick spoonable consistency and add pink or coral food colouring.

Once the tarts are cold, top with icing and decorate with a piece of curly rhubarb and some finely chopped stem ginger. You could also add another swirl of icing in a different colour or add some sprinkles too. Serve once the icing is set – if you can wait that long!

Cook’s tip: You can make the rhubarb compote ahead of time, the rhubarb curls will sit happily in water overnight.