A delicately flavored, silky smooth strawberry panna cotta nestles inside a buttery sweet pâte sucrée crust. Topped with vibrantly pink poached rhubarb cooked in a syrup with vanilla, cardamom and black pepper, this strawberry rhubarb panna cotta tart is a showstopper dessert to highlight the all-too-brief rhubarb season.
Every spring, I see images online of gently poached bright pink rhubarb stalks in a sweet, sugary syrup. I've always been a big fan of rhubarb, and have made it into many desserts, including this rhubarb frangipane tart and these flavor-packed lemon rhubarb bars.
I'd never tried poached rhubarb until now, and now that I've made it I want to make more to top all sorts of things: ricotta toast, crepes, ice cream...there are so many delicious possibilities.
With this strawberry rhubarb recipe, I've paired the strikingly pink poached rhubarb with a rich, smooth, subtly strawberry panna cotta in an easy sweet tart dough shell. This is a dessert to celebrate rhubarb season in all its brief and brightly hued glory.
Ingredients
Gelatin - For this recipe, you'll need 1 tablespoon of gelatin, which will require opening two envelopes of powdered gelatin. An envelope of gelatin contains approximately 2 ½ teaspoons of powdered gelatin. I use powdered gelatin in bulk from my local restaurant store.
If you can only locate leaf gelatin (sheet gelatin), use 4 sheets.
David Lebovitz has an excellent summary page on different types of gelatin. He recommends 3 ½ sheets (measuring 3 x 5 inches) for each envelope of powdered gelatin.
Please let me know if you try this recipe with sheet gelatin and I will update my notes!
Don't substitute flavored gelatin mix (such as Jell-O.) It usually comes packaged with food dyes and added sugar that would throw off the proportions of this recipe and affect the final outcome.
Strawberries - Since I first made this during strawberry season, I chose to use fresh strawberries in this recipe. You can easily substitute frozen strawberries. Defrost them and drain the extra liquid. Measure and proceed with the recipe as written.
Ground black pepper - Black pepper adds a nice kick to the poached rhubarb.
If you have an adjustable pepper grinder, place it on a fine setting before grinding. If your grinder only has one setting, grind more than you will need, and pass it through a fine mesh sieve to obtain the amount you need for the recipe.
A mortar and pestle would also work to grind peppercorns if you don't have a pepper grinder.
Ground cardamom - Cardamom is an incredibly pungent and aromatic spice. I intentionally added a very small amount to the poached rhubarb in order to not overpower the other flavors.
If you find cardamom to be too strong, feel free to omit it here. I personally love the taste and find it pairs very nicely with both strawberry and rhubarb.
PÂTE SUCRÉE
See my easy pâte sucrée recipe for step by step photos and detailed instructions for making this sweet tart dough. No pie weights required!
Tart assembly
After baking the tart shell, I like to leave it in the tart pan until after I've added the panna cotta mixture and it has set in the refrigerator. The pan provides some extra protection and helps ensure that the tart shell will stay intact with all the extra handling.
If you're especially cautious like me and have enough space in the fridge, you can place the unfilled tart shell (still in the tart pan) on top of a baking sheet prior to adding the panna cotta tart filling.
This way when it's time to transfer the filled tart to the fridge, you move the baking sheet and completely avoid handling the delicate tart crust and liquid mixture altogether.
Serving the tart
When it's time to serve the tart, remove the tart from the metal tart pan and place onto a serving platter.
Before slicing, push the rhubarb aside with a knife or fork to expose the panna cotta underneath. It's practically impossible to cut through the rhubarb as it sits on the panna cotta.
After plating a slice, use a serving tool to add several pieces of rhubarb to the top. If desired, spoon extra rhubarb syrup onto each slice.
Frequently asked questions
Panna cotta is a molded, chilled Italian dessert made with very simple ingredients: cream, sugar, gelatin and optional flavorings. It translates to "cooked cream."
Although the liquid is heated on the stove top in order to dissolve the gelatin, panna cotta is not cooked in the oven and is a delicious no-bake dessert.
In this panna cotta recipe, a baked shortbread tart crust holds the panna cotta filling, it's topped with sliced rhubarb poached in a spiced sugar syrup.
You can make the pâte sucrée dough in advance and freeze it prior to the baking stage, or you can blind bake the tart shell in advance. Either way, wrap it well in plastic wrap to maintain freshness (and freeze in an airtight container if more than a day in advance).
You must prepare the panna cotta filling after you bake the tart shell; you'll need to pour the filling into the shell immediately before it begins to set.
Once filled (and before adding any toppings), you can store the panna cotta tart in the fridge for up to 24 hours before serving. Gently smooth a layer of plastic wrap onto the surface of the panna cotta to keep it fresh and avoid having the surface dry out.
You can make the poached rhubarb a few days in advance and store it in an airtight container in the fridge. Add the poached rhubarb topping to the strawberry panna cotta tart immediately before serving.
Panna cotta made in containers will stay fresh in the fridge, tightly wrapped, for up to 10 days. Even though the tart shell has a protective egg wash layer, moisture from the panna cotta will begin to soften the base of the tart shell after a few days.
This strawberry rhubarb panna cotta tart is freshest when served on the same day it is made, although it still tastes delicious and holds up very well several days afterwards.
Note that foods prepared with gelatin will continue to stiffen the longer they sit, so plan to eat the panna cotta within a day or two of making it for best results.
Grainy panna cotta happens when you don't dissolve the gelatin fully.
Blooming the gelatin (sprinkling the powdered gelatin onto a bit of liquid, stirring briefly, and letting the granules absorb the liquid) will help you avoid grainy panna cotta.
Stir the bloomed gelatin thoroughly once you add it to the warm cream mixture to ensure it fully dissolves.
The panna cotta will set in 4 hours. Allow enough time for it to chill in the fridge and fully set before you serve it.
Try these rhubarb recipes too!
Love this recipe? Please leave a comment and star rating. ★★★★★ Your feedback, suggestions, and adaptations are very helpful to other bakers!
📖 Recipe
Strawberry Rhubarb Panna Cotta Tart
INGREDIENTS
- 1 9.5 inch (24 cm) pâte sucrée, blind baked (follow link for recipe)
STRAWBERRY PANNA COTTA FILLING
- 1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin, powdered (see ingredient notes for sheet gelatin)
- 2 tablespoon cold water
- ½ lb (226g) strawberries, hulled and chopped
- ½ cup (125mL) whole milk
- 2 cups (500mL) heavy cream
- ⅓ cup (67g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
POACHED RHUBARB
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (125mL) water
- ½ vanilla bean pod, split in half lengthwise
- ⅛ teaspoon cardamom, ground
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
- 1 lb (453g) rhubarb, cut on bias into 2 to 3 inch pieces
INSTRUCTIONS
- Prepare pâte sucrée recipe for a 9.5 inch tart pan. Use longer baking time to blind bake the sweet tart dough.
STRAWBERRY PANNA COTTA FILLING
- In a small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over water and mix to incorporate. Set aside to bloom for 3-5 minutes.1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin, powdered (see ingredient notes for sheet gelatin), 2 tablespoon cold water
- Using a blender, stick blender or food processor, blend the berries and milk until the strawberries are pureed. Strain mixture through a very fine strainer into a bowl. Set aside. If needed, press on the mixture in the strainer with the back of a spoon to release as much liquid as possible.½ lb (226g) strawberries, hulled and chopped, ½ cup (125mL) whole milk
- Prepare ice bath in a bowl large enough to fit base of 3 quart saucepan.
- Add cream and sugar to heavy 3 quart saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently.2 cups (500mL) heavy cream, ⅓ cup (67g) granulated sugar
- Remove from heat and add strawberry mixture, vanilla extract and bloomed gelatin.1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Whisk over ice bath until gelatin has completely dissolved.Be careful not to introduce any water from the ice bath into your panna cotta! You can test to see if the gelatin has dissolved by rubbing a bit of the liquid between your fingers, much as you would with a Swiss meringue. It should feel smooth with no graininess.
- Cool to room temperature, stirring frequently to ensure mixture remains homogeneous.
- Place baked tart shell on a baking sheet. Pour panna cotta mixture into prepared tart shell. It should fill the tart most of the way, but not quite reach the top.
- Carefully transfer the tart, uncovered, to the refrigerator for 4+ hours to set.
POACHED RHUBARB
- In a large saucepan over medium heat, add sugar, water, vanilla pod, cardamom, and black pepper. Stir to combine.½ cup (100g) granulated sugar, ½ cup (125mL) water, ½ vanilla bean pod, ⅛ teaspoon cardamom, ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- Add rhubarb slices. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a low simmer, carefully turning the rhubarb so that it cooks evenly.1 lb (453g) rhubarb
- Cook for 5-7 minutes, watching to make sure it doesn't get too soft. Overcooked rhubarb can become mushy. A knife should go through the rhubarb easily, but it should retain its shape. Err on the side of slightly underdone - it will continue to cook in the pan with the retained heat.
- Once cool, use an offset spatula or pancake flipper to transfer rhubarb pieces to the top of the chilled tart. Work carefully - the poached rhubarb is delicate. Reserve the additional rhubarb syrup to spoon onto individual slices of the tart, or to add to drinks.
- Cut into slices and serve. When cutting, it's easiest to push the rhubarb to the side and then place a piece on each cut slice. It's difficult to slice through it.
EQUIPMENT
Notes
50 grams (¼ cup) granulated sugar
½ teaspoon Kosher salt
120 grams (1 cup) all purpose flour
1 large egg, separated
Karmen says
I made this tart and not only is it beautiful to look at it was amazing. My family has definitely requested it be put into regular rotation.
The Floured Table says
Karmen,
Thank you so much! I love that your family wants it to be on rotation.
I wish rhubarb had a longer growing season...
Kathleen