Rhubarb Tart Recipe - Joyofbaking.com *Tested Recipe* (2024)

Sweet Pastry Crust:In a separate bowl, sift or whisk together the flour and salt.Set aside.Place the butter in your mixer and beat until softened.Addthe sugar and beatuntil light and fluffy. Gradually add the beaten egg, beating just untilincorporated. Don't over mix or the butter will separate and lighten in color.Add flour mixture all at once and mix just until it forms a ball. Don'toverwork or pastry will be hard when baked.

Flatten dough into disk,cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate about one hour or until firm.

Have ready an 8 - 9 inch (20 - 23 cm) tartpan with removable bottom.On a lightly floured surface, roll out thepastry into an 11 - 12 inch (28 - 30 cm) circle that is about 1/8 inch (3 mm)thick.To prevent the pastry from sticking tothe counter and to ensure uniform thickness, keep lifting up and turning thepastry a quarter turn as you roll (always roll from the center of the pastryoutwards to get uniform thickness).To make sure it isthe right size, take your tart pan, flip it over, and place it on the rolled outpastry.The pastry should be about an inch larger than pan.

When the pastry isthe desired size, lightly roll pastry around yourrolling pin, dusting off any excess flour as you roll.Unroll onto top of tart pan.Never pull pastry or you will get shrinkage (shrinkage is caused by toomuch pulling of the pastry when placing it in the pan). Gently lay in pan and with a smallfloured piece of pastry, lightly press pastry into bottom and up sides of pan.Don'tworry if there are cracks, simply patch with leftover pastry Rollyour rolling pin over top of pan to get rid of excess pastry.With a thumb up movement,again press dough into pan.Roll rolling pin over top again to getrid of any extra pastry. Prick bottom of dough (this will prevent thedough from puffing up as it bakes). Cover and freeze for about 20minutes to chill the butter and to rest the gluten.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to375 degrees F(190 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Line unbaked pastryshell with parchmentpaper or aluminum foil.Fill tart pan with pie weights, rice or beans, making surethe weights are to the top of the pan and evenly distributed over the entiresurface. Bake crust for 20minutes or until crust is dry and lightly golden brown.Remove weights andcontinue to bake for about 5 - 10 minutes or until the crust is cooked throughand nicely browned.Remove from oven and completely coolthe crust on a wire rack before filling.

Rhubarb Filling:Place the sugar and water in a large saucepan, over medium heat, and stir untilthe sugar completely dissolves. Add the lemon peel and cinnamon stick and bringto a boil. Add the chunks of rhubarb and reduce the heat to a low. Cover andsimmer (about 5 - 15 minutes) until the rhubarb is tender and soft yet stillkeeps its shape (is not mushy). Remove the pan from the heat and let stand untilthe rhubarb has cooled to lukewarm. Then place the rhubarb in a strainersuspended over a large bowl. Once the rhubarb has drained, place the strainedliquid in a small saucepan and boil until it is reduced by half. Let cool.

Cream Filling: Inthe bowl ofyour electric mixer (or with a hand mixer or wire whisk) beat the mascarponecheese, heavy whippingcream, sugar and vanilla extract just until soft peaks form.