This Rhubarb Tart is dynamite! This tart will give you professional baker status. After tons of research and testing, I’ve perfected the recipe to make it simple and easy for anyone to make at home. With tangy layers of rhubarb and a hints of lemon in each bite, it’s truly symphony of flavors that will make your mouth water.
Table of contents
I’ve been so excited to share this easy dessert recipe with you all, especially after how much you’ve proven to like the Blueberry Lemon Tart (another layered beauty). When rhubarb season rolls around it’s the sweet and sour springtime flavor we all are craving to be made into a delicious curd tucked into a sweet tart crust. That’s it!
Rhubarb is a vegetable that’s in season late March to early April and will continue to grow through the beginning of June. It’s extremely tangy and sour and has the texture of celery. To make it into a delicious dessert, it’s often cooked down into a jam with lots of sugar.
When rhubarb appears at the farmers’ market or in the produce section of the grocery store, we know spring has come. It’s beautifully pink and makes any dessert stunning. If you’re looking for more recipes to experiment with rhubarb, try our Blueberry Rhubarb Pie, Rhubarb Sangria, or Rhubarb Lemon Ice.
We all know rhubarb season is precious and short, but I have several methods to storing your rhubarb correctly so it can be used for a long time.
Rhubarb Tart Ingredients
For the Crust:
This is a classic pate sucre or sweet tart dough made easy in the food processor. You can also use a store-bought pie crust if you are in a pinch.
- Egg yolk: Helps to bind everything together and gives the crust a nice golden color.
- Heavy cream: Creates a moistness in the crust that is still flaky thanks to the high fat content.
- Vanilla extract: Adds that classic caramel-like flavor we all love in sweet baked goods.
- All-purpose flour: Gives the dough it’s structure. Make sure the dough rests before rolling out to ensure flakiness.
- Confectioners’ sugar: For sweet tart and pie doughs, confectioners’ sugar adds just the right amount of sweetness without compromising flakiness.
- Unsalted butter: Is the main ingredient responsible for making a tender crust.
For the Rhubarb & Lemon Curds:
They have the same base ingredients for two separate recipes. Both are so delicious, you’ll definitely want to lick the spoon.
- Egg yolks: The base to any curd, gives that classic rich and custardy texture.
- Honey: Adds a hint of sweetness and nice caramel notes.
- Butter: The fat to round out all of the flavors for the creamiest curd.
- Heavy Cream: Adds another level of richness to the curd.
- Lemon & Rhubarb: Both sour in nature, they’re perfect for making into a sweet and tangy dessert.
How to Make this Rhubarb Tart
- Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and heat oven to 375ºF.
- Spread the lemon curd into the par baked and cooled crust. Set the tart pan on the baking sheet and bake until filling is shiny and opaque, the center should jiggy slightly when shaken, 8 to 10 minutes.
- Transfer the tart with the baking sheet to a wire rack and let cool 10 minutes.
- Combine the rhubarb curd and ground freeze dried berries, if using.
- Lightly spoon rhubarb curd over top of lemon curd and gently spread into an even layer.
- Bake until set and center slightly jiggles, 15 to 18 minutes.
- Let the tart cool completely, at least 1 hour, before serving.
Expert Tips
- Don’t overcook the curd. When making the curd, be careful not to scramble the egg yolks. If they do become a little cooked with pieces of egg, then simply run the mixture through a fine mesh sieve.
- Storing rhubarb the right way. Since the season is short, if you want to keep it for a couple of months, wrap it in foil and store in the refrigerator. I have other methods of storaging rhubarb as well too!
- Strawberries add a great flavor too! If you want to add strawberries, we recommend using freeze dried strawberries ground into a powder and folded into the curd.
- Par-bake the crust to prevent it from being soggy. By already baking the crust halfway through before filling with the curds, you are ensuring that the crust stays light and flaky.
Storage Tips
- I recommend transferring the cooled tart to a serving plate, covering with a large lid (I use a lid from one of my large stock pots), and storing in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- You can also use plastic wrap, if you choose to go this route, I would recommend lightly spraying the plastic wrap with nonstick spray so it doesn’t stick to rhubarb curd.
- I don’t recommend freezing the tart, it will compromise the texture.
- To make this tart ahead, the lemon and rhubarb curds can be made up to a week in advance. The tart dough can be made up to 2 days ahead (longer if you freeze it).
Serving Suggestions
There are many ways to serve this tart to jazz it up a little more. Some of my favorite ideas are:
- Top with a dollop of whipped cream
- Top with a dollop of whipped mascarpone
- Dust with some hibiscus powder or confectioners’ sugar
- Top with sliced fresh strawberries
- Pipe meringue over top of tart and broil until golden brown
More Rhubarb Recipes to Try
- Our Blueberry Rhubarb Pie is summer stuffed into flaky crust. SO good!
- This Rhubarb Margarita is a hit for summer. Vibrant, sweet, tart and boozy.
- Whip up a boozy slushy for dessert—our Sparkling Lemon-Rhubarb ice is deliciously refreshing!
FAQs
We recommend simmering it on the stovetop with sugar until it becomes the consistency of a jam. You can also roast the rhubarb too, to bring out it’s sweetness.
Rhubarb is a naturally tart vegetable related to sorrel and dock. The malic and oxalic acid are responsible for making it tangy. It’s used as a fruit in most recipes it’s made with.
No! Just the leaves are toxic. You can eat the stalks raw or cooked, but be warned raw rhubarb is very sour.
Wrap them in foil and place in the fridge, they will keep for 1 to 2 months.
Yes, this will preserve it for several months. We like to cut it into 1 to 2-inch pieces and place them on a baking sheet. Freeze the baking sheet for 3 to 4 hours, then transfer the frozen pieces into a ziptop bag for freeze for up to one year.
Rhubarb Tart with Lemon
Description
Ingredients
- 1 par baked 9-inch tart crust or try this naturally sweetened crust
- 1 batch lemon curd (1 ⅓ cups)
- 1 batch rhubarb curd (1 ¾ cups)
- 1 tablespoon ground freeze dried strawberries or raspberry powder, optional*
- Fresh flowers for garnish
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375°.
- Spread lemon curd into par baked and cooled tart crust. Set tart pan on baking sheet and bake until filling is shiny and opaque and center jiggles slightly when shaken, 8–10 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking.
- Transfer tart with baking sheet to wire rack and let cool 10 minutes.
- Combine rhubarb curd and ground freeze dried berries, if using.
- Lightly spoon rhubarb curd over top of lemon curd and, using an offset spatula, gently spread curd into an even layer, smoothing top. Bake tart until set and center slightly jiggles, 15–18 minutes.
- Let tart cool completely, at least 1 hour, before serving.
- Store tart in refrigerator for up to 3 days.
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Equipment
Notes
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- I recommend transferring the cooled tart to a serving plate, covering with a large lid (I use a lid from one of my large stock pots), and storing in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
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- You can also use plastic wrap, if you choose to go this route, I would recommend lightly spraying the plastic wrap with nonstick spray so it doesn’t stick to rhubarb curd.
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- I don’t recommend freezing the tart, it will compromise the texture.
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- To make this tart ahead, the lemon and rhubarb curds can be made up to a week in advance. The tart dough can be made up to 2 days ahead (longer if you freeze it).
Nutrition
This post is beyond beautiful! And your instructions are so thorough – can’t stop looking at the tart esp the straight on shots of the slices – stunning!!
Thank you Joanne! 🙂 I appreciate that!
So delicious! Perfectly sweet and tart!
I’m so glad to hear that Megan! 🙂
Great recipe! Is there a trick to getting the vibrant pink from the rhubarb layer? I added dried strawberries to it as well, but the color was much more disaturated than your photos. I’m wondering if I needed to use the smaller rhubarb stalks so there is more of that color in the mix. I would love to know if there are any other tricks because your photos are so beautiful.
Hi Tessa! I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe, and thank you for your kind words on my photography!
Great question! After testing the curd numerous times, I did find that the curd had a much better color when I used smaller stalks and stalks that were deeper red in color. The down side is that you can never guarantee small stalks! I’m bummed the ground freeze dried strawberries didn’t do enough for the color! The other way you could add color is by using some beetroot powder or juice, or opting for red food coloring. A little food coloring will go a long way in this, so I think you’d just need a drop or two!
Hope that helps!
This looks so good! The colors on this are so impressive! What a great combination of colors!
Thanks for sharing! Does it freeze well?
Hi Vanessa, unfortunately it does not freeze well. It’s best eaten the day it’s made or within a day or two.