This rhubarb frangipane tart has a buttery, flaky, shortcrust pastry shell filled with a chewy, rich, almond frangipane and a colorful, brightly flavored rhubarb topping.It's easy to put together and a wonderful way to showcase the taste and color of rhubarb.
244grams, (2 cups, 8.6 ounces)rhubarb(sliced on the bias)
41grams (2 Tablespoons)strawberry jam (or another fruit jam such as apricot)
1teaspoonwater(if needed, to thin jam for brushing)
15grams (2 Tablespoons)powdered sugar (optional, for decoration)
Instructions
SHORTCRUST PASTRY
Into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, sugar and salt. Mix well to combine, and continue beating on medium high until mixture is pale and fluffy, about two minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Add the flour and mix until just combined. It will be coarse and grainy.
120 grams (1 cup) all purpose flour
Add the egg yolk and mix for about 30 seconds. The dough should start to pull together into a ball.
1 egg yolk
Flatten the dough into a disc shape. Roll the dough out between two sheets of parchment paper to a 10 inch (25 centimeter) diameter circle. Slide parchment covered dough onto an upside down baking sheet and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Remove dough from fridge and place on a flat work surface. Peel the top layer of parchment off the dough. Replace the parchment, flip the dough over, and peel the second layer off. Discard it.
Once dough is slightly malleable, carefully center and place rolled out dough on 9 inch tart pan. Gently press the dough down into the pan and up the sides, ensuring that no empty space remains between the dough and the pan. If any cracks or tears occur, patch with extra dough scraps. Trim the excess dough with a knife held parallel to your work surface to ensure the tart shell has a clean edge. Cover tart pan with plastic wrap and return to the refrigerator to chill while oven preheats.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 C, Gas number 6). Remove tart pan from refrigerator and cover the dough with a piece of parchment paper (this is easiest if you crumple, then uncrumple it first.) Fill with pie weights, dried beans or granulated sugar to keep the dough from bubbling up. Bake for 6 minutes and then carefully lift the weight-filled parchment from the pan. Return to the oven to bake an additional 6 minutes. Place on a baking rack to cool.
FRANGIPANE FILLING
In the bowl of a food processor, add the almond flour, flour, sugar, salt, lemon zest, vanilla and eggs. Scatter the butter over the top.
Process until well mixed. You may need to stop the processor to scrape down the walls partway through.
Pour filling into cooled tart shell. Use an offset spatula to smooth the filling evenly around the entire shell.
RHUBARB TOPPING
Preheat oven to 350 F (177 C, Gas number 4) and place rack in the middle of the oven.
Cut the rhubarb on the bias into long thin slices. (Instead of simply cutting straight across the stalk, turn your knife 45 degrees so that it makes a diagonal cut.) Continue cutting along same angle with remaining rhubarb. This creates longer slices.
244 grams, (2 cups, 8.6 ounces) rhubarb
Place the rhubarb stalks onto the frangipane filling in a decorative pattern, pressing down gently. For this tart, I used four rhubarb slices for each square to make a square basket parquet pattern, also known as parquet mosaique. If you do a Google image search for visuals of either of these terms and also look at the photos I've included here, you'll get a sense of the pattern.
As your pattern nears the edges of the tart, trim the rhubarb slices to fit the remaining space on top of the frangipane filling so that the rhubarb stays within the tart border.
Using a pastry brush, gently brush strawberry jam onto the rhubarb slices. If the jam is too thick to apply easily, add a teaspoon of water and stir well to create a thinner jam.
41 grams (2 Tablespoons) strawberry jam, 1 teaspoon water
Use a pie shield or strips of aluminum foil to keep the outer crust from becoming too dark. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until tart edge is golden brown and frangipane filling is set and no longer moist and shiny. Set on a baking rack to cool. Immediately before serving, dust with powdered sugar by placing the powdered sugar in a small sieve and lightly tapping it with your hand as you move it over the tart.