I’m continuing to test the recipes from my beloved magazine, namely Fou de Pâtisserie <3 Not to mention that I’ve been spotting this magnificent rhubarb tart by Philippe Conticini online for a while now. And then, two weeks ago, my mother-in-law gave me some rhubarb from her garden. The perfect opportunity to try this recipe.
I’m giving you Philippe Conticini’s recipe here, but I think it would be better to reduce the amount of sugar in the rhubarb confit. It’s up to you to try! I took the pâte sucrée recipe from the blog Chic, chic, chocolat. (except that I messed up lining the ring! That’ll teach me not to butter my ring!) And as for the strips of rhubarb placed on top of the tart, they perhaps need to be caramelised a little longer than I did. Mine were still a little crunchy (the recipe in the magazine recommended 3-4 minutes).
I’ve never eaten rhubarb in my life, and it was the first time I’d used it in baking. It didn’t particularly appeal to me, I admit — I didn’t taste it… but my other half and my in-laws loved it (especially the rhubarb confit).
Ingredients & Method
6 components · Full recipe
Sweet Pastry (makes enough for 2 tarts)
Ingredients
- 250g (8.8 oz) flour
- 30g (1.1 oz) ground almonds
- 150g (5.3 oz) butter
- 100g (3.5 oz) icing sugar
- 1 egg
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 vanilla pod
Method
1
Cream the softened butter with the paddle attachment of a stand mixer or a spatula, then add the icing sugar.
2
Add the egg, ground almonds, salt, flour and vanilla seeds. Do not overwork the dough.
3
When the mixture is homogeneous, shape into a ball. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
4
Roll the dough between two sheets of parchment paper.
5
Line a 22cm (8.7 in) tart ring, then place in the freezer for 20 minutes.
6
Preheat the oven to 170°C / 340°F.
7
Dock the pastry base and cover with parchment paper and baking weights to prevent it from puffing up during baking.
8
Bake for approximately 20–25 minutes until golden. Leave to cool on a wire rack.
Rhubarb Compote
Ingredients
- 500g (17.6 oz) fresh rhubarb
- 160g (5.6 oz) sugar (reduce by 20g (0.7 oz) if you prefer less sweet)
- 40ml (1.4 fl oz) water
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- pinch of fleur de sel
- 5g (0.2 oz) gelatine
Method
1
Peel the rhubarb and cut into 5cm (2 in) pieces.
2
Halve each piece lengthways and place in a saucepan with the sugar, water, lemon juice and fleur de sel.
3
Cook over a medium heat for approximately 45 minutes, stirring regularly, until almost all the liquid has evaporated. The aim is a thick, soft but firm paste.
4
Add the gelatine, previously softened in cold water, and stir to combine.
5
Cover with cling film and set aside in the refrigerator. You can also freeze it and use it later – that’s what I did.
Pastry Cream (some will be left over)
Ingredients
- 250g (8.8 oz) milk
- 40g (1.4 oz) egg yolks
- 50g (1.8 oz) sugar
- 25g (0.9 oz) cornstarch
- 1/4 vanilla pod
- butter
Method
1
In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture turns pale.
2
Add the cornstarch and mix.
3
Heat the milk with the vanilla seeds in a saucepan. Pour a little of the hot milk in a thin stream into the bowl, whisking constantly to temper the mixture, then pour everything back into the saucepan with the remaining milk.
4
Whisk over a medium heat until the cream thickens.
5
Transfer to a bowl and add the butter cut into pieces. Whisk vigorously until the butter has melted, then cover with cling film pressed directly onto the surface.
6
Leave to cool at room temperature first, then refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Almond Butter
Ingredients
- 53g (1.9 oz) pastry cream (from the recipe above)
- 60g (2.1 oz) soft butter
- 30g (1.1 oz) ground almonds
- 60g (2.1 oz) icing sugar
- 15ml (0.5 fl oz) rum
Method
1
In a bowl, whisk together the soft butter and ground almonds.
2
Incorporate the 53g (1.9 oz) of pastry cream, icing sugar and rum. Whisk until smooth and homogeneous.
3
Lower the oven temperature to 150°C / 300°F.
4
Spread the almond butter over the cooled tart base and bake for approximately 20 minutes until lightly golden while remaining soft.
5
Leave to cool.
Decoration
Ingredients
- 2 large rhubarb stalks
- sugar
- neutral glaze or sugar syrup
Method
1
Raise the oven temperature to 160°C / 325°F.
2
Peel the rhubarb stalks.
3
Cut each stalk lengthways into about 20 strips approximately 0.5cm (0.2 in) thick.
4
Lay the strips flat on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
5
Sprinkle generously with sugar and bake for 8–10 minutes until lightly caramelised.
Assembly
Ingredients
- None
Method
1
Fill the cooled tart base with the rhubarb compote, right up to the edges of the ring.
2
Arrange the rhubarb strips side by side in a decorative pattern on top.
3
Brush the tart with a little neutral glaze or sugar syrup to give it a shine.
Gallery
