Rhubarb Delight: Laurent Mariotte’s Unique and Tasty Twist on Traditional Pie!

Last Saturday, you finally spotted rhubarb at your local farmer’s market. Instantly, memories of its tangy taste flooded back, reminiscent of your grandmother incorporating it into her famous pie, one of her specialties. Returning from shopping with a beautiful bunch of rhubarb stalks in hand, you sought a quick way to prepare them. As much as you have a sweet tooth, you aren’t particularly fond of baking… The mere thought of gathering ingredients, making the dough, letting it rest, peeling the rhubarb, and then allowing it to drain overnight was enough to make you sigh.

This is exactly what makes Laurent Mariotte’s rhubarb French toast recipe so appealing. There’s no dough to prepare or oven time to monitor. The rhubarb is simply turned into a compote before being served alongside golden, pan-fried French toast and whipped mascarpone cream. The dish is as delightful as a pie, featuring the same play between sweetness and acidity, but without the typically lengthy and laborious steps of traditional baking. There’s no reason to wait until rhubarb season ends in late July to give it a try!

Laurent Mariotte’s rhubarb French toast consists of stale bread, butter, sugar, whole milk, rhubarb, and mascarpone. Here are the quantities needed for four servings:

• 400 g of stale bread (in thick slices)
• 50 g of butter
• 3 eggs
• 50 cl of whole milk
• 80 g of muscovado sugar
• 80 g of blond cane sugar
• 3 stalks of rhubarb
• 125 g of mascarpone

1. Start by cooking the peeled and chopped rhubarb with 40 g of butter and a bit of water. Let it simmer on low heat until the rhubarb becomes tender.

2. Whisk the eggs with 20 g of muscovado sugar then mix in the milk. Soak the bread in this mixture, allowing it to absorb the liquid for 3 minutes.

3. Melt the remaining butter with 60 g of muscovado sugar in a skillet. Brown the bread on both sides.

4. Whip the mascarpone with 40 g of blond cane sugar.

All that’s left is to serve the French toast with the rhubarb compote and mascarpone cream… and enjoy it while it’s still warm! You’ll find that the contrast between the cream, caramelized bread, and compote is simply irresistible.