Strawberry Rhubarb Tart

I just learned that May is national strawberry month! Also, last weekend was Mother’s day. Unfortunately my mother lives in South Carolina so, it’s been a long time since I’ve been able to spend it with her. I am very fortunate to live close to The Boyfriends mom who I consider a second mom. This year we prepared a lunch for her consisting of spinach and kale salad, roast chicken, tomato cobbler, extra biscuits, and this strawberry rhubarb tart.

This dessert is pretty easy to make. I think the tart dough is much more forgiving than pie dough. I love the flavors of strawberry and rhubarb together, sweet and tart.  While in Charleston, I found the most beautiful looking rhubarb at the downtown farmer’s market. It had such a dark red color I just had to buy it. I considered making a strawberry rhubarb coffee cake, strawberry rhubarb jam, and a pie, but settled on this delicious tart.

One change I will definitely make next time is going over the top with a jam glaze to add some shine.  I simply didn’t have the jam or the time to run to the store this go round. Also, my tart filling was a bit drier than I expected. It didn’t have the dreaded juice puddle and soggy crust, but I did expect a little bit more juice. I suspect this is because my strawberries were not as ripe as they could have been. The tart was still amazingly delicious, I would not share a recipe with you that wasn’t!  Some people may prefer a juicier or drier tart. As I make this recipe again I’ll post my findings on what contributes to the juiciness. Or maybe you can try it out and share with me!

I hope you all enjoy!

• Servings: 8-10
• Difficulty: Easy
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Inspired by: NYT Cooking and Martha Stewart

Ingredients

Crust:
• 1 1/4 cups AP flour, extra for dusting
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 tsp. coarse salt
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 8 Tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• 1/3 cup ice water

Filling:

• 4 cups rhubarb, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 11/2 pints strawberries, hulled and quartered
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 Tbsp. corn starch
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 2 tsp. granulated sugar
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 °F
• In a food processor add flour and salt and pulse to combine. Add cold butter and pulse until butter is pea-sized. Beat the egg yolk with ice water until mixed and pour over flour mixture in processor. Pulse until mixture comes together and forms a dough
• On a floured surface gather dough into a flattened ball. Roll dough and place in 10-inch tart pan. Press dough into all corners of the pan. Place parchment paper on dough and add baking weights or beans. Blind bake on middle oven rack for ~10 minutes. Remove paper and weights and bake ~20 minutes until lightly browned. Remove from oven.
• In a large bowl add rhubarb, strawberries, brown sugar, granulated sugar, lemon juice, corn starch, and cinnamon. Mix until combined.
• Spoon filling into tart pan and bake ~60 minutes until filling is bubbly. Remove from oven and let cool on wire rack.

Recipe Tips:

• I placed my butter in the freezer before using to ensure it stayed cold before baking. Not frozen, but very cold. The food processor will do a good job of chopping it up
• Make sure your strawberries are very ripe. I think mine were a bit under ripe (notice the white centers) so not much juice formed; can always add a few Tbsp. of apricot jam or melted butter to add more liquid component and richness (butter). I was still very happy with the overall tart
• No rhubarb available? No worries! Replace rhubarb with more strawberries for a tart of roasted strawberry goodness
• Place a baking sheet lined with foil underneath your tart while baking to catch any overflowing juices
• Use a glaze to create a shine on top of your tart. An example recipe can be found here
• Eat by itself or pair with whipped cream or mascarpone on the side

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