Rhubarb Tart with Pistachio Frangipane

On By neverenoughcounterspaceIn Desserts, Tarts

Every rhubarb season I make my grandmother’s Rhabarberkuchen with meringue and slivered almonds. It’s delicious and for many years has been an official harbinger of spring, but with my first few stalks from the grocery store, I wanted to make something new. (I will, however, definitely be making my grandmother’s recipe once my own rhubarb has matured in the garden.)

For my new recipe, I was inspired by this Instagram post by Sarah Jampel, which my sister sent to me repeatedly. Tragically, there was no recipe, so I decided to give it my best approximation. I used my grandmother’s traditional crust from her Rhabarberkuchen which is extra flaky and delicious because of the egg yolks in the recipe, and this pistachio frangipane recipe from Wild Wild Whisk. 

  • Before baking
  • After

When it comes to how you choose to decorate with the rhubarb, you can go as fancy or easy as you like. It will taste just as fabulous if you just dump all the chopped up rhubarb on top. Just push it into the frangipane a little. If you have any leftover rhubarb, just chop it up, add sugar to taste, and cook it down in a small pot on the stove into a delicious compote to put on top of your ice cream, yogurt, or cottage cheese! 

You can see the clear layer of frangipane under the rhubarb

A little tip for the crust: sometimes the dough for the crust remains very crumbly. That’s okay! Just use the bottom of a cup measure or other flat-bottomed instrument, and push it down into the tart pan, like you would a graham cracker crust. Once you stick it the freezer, it will be strong enough to hold the frangipane. 

Recipe:

For crust: 

Ingredients:

11/2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour 

3 tbs sugar 

1 stick butter

1/2 tsp vanilla 

5 egg yolks

Pinch of salt 

Method:

Pulse together the flour, sugar, and butter until it gets a sandy texture. 

Add the vanilla and egg yolks until the mixture comes together a little more, and when you squeeze it together, it holds its shape. 

Dump the crust mixture into a tart pan, and push the mixture into the pan with the bottom of a cup measure, until it is evenly coating the whole pan, like you would a graham cracker crust. 

Place the tart pan in the freezer for an hour (or as long as it take to make the frangipane and let that freeze.) 

For Filling: 

Frangipane recipe (courtesy of Wild Wild Whisk) 

Ingredients:

1 stick softened unsalted butter

1 cup ground pistachio (4 1/4 oz)

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 large egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3-4 large stalks of rhubarb 

Method: 

In the bowl of the same food processor, grind the pistachio until mealy, set aside.

Add sugar and softened butter to the same food processor and cream together.

Add ground pistachio, flour, and salt, and pulse until combined.

Beat the eggs with the vanilla extract and add to the food processor. Pulse until a smooth paste forms.

Spread the pistachio filling out in an even layer on a piece of wax paper in a circle a about the size of your tart pan. 

Place another piece of wax paper on top and place onto a plate or board and freeze for 45 minutes to 1 hour. 

Assembly: 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees or convection bake 375. 

Remove the tart crust and frangipane from the freezer. 

Place the disk of frangipane into the tart pan. It’s okay if it’s not exactly the right size, just wait for it to warm a little and then spread it out in an even layer. 

Chop up your rhubarb however you wish, and place it all over the top of the frangipane. Don’t be shy, really cover it in rhubarb, and push it gently into the frangipane. 

Place the tart pan onto a lined baking sheet, just in case of escaped juices, I did not have any, and bake for 30-40 minutes. The frangipane should be set, and the rhubarb should be nice and tender. 

Let rest for 20 minutes, and then carefully remove the outer ring of the tart pan using a jar or a bowl to push the bottom of the pan out. 

Then even more carefully, and possibly using a couple of plastic flippers, slide the tart off of the base of the pan and onto a serving dish. (If this seems too dangerous, just leave it on the base.)

Let cool completely before serving with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream if desired. 

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