Rhubarb Galore

I love rhubarb. If you look through my recipe archives, I think that fact is quite obvious. I do tend to consume it in sweet concoctions, but I am not averse to its savoury renditions. Given the vagaries of climate, rhubarb season can start as early as February in parts of Europe, or as late as late May -as it has this year in Montreal. I admit that I do become green with envy when friends and strangers start posting pictures of their first rhubarb feast weeks, if not months, before I even get to see a single stalk.



Luckily, rhubarb season is finally here, and as I write, I've already indulged in a few different rhubarb treats, so I thought I'd share this rhubarb and almond tart. It's not only very pretty, it is also super scrumptious! I did fuss over the chopping of the rhubarb for the pictures, but it is absolutely not necessary. In fact, I made a sample with several different possible presentations. Just in case any of you don't have 45 minutes to lay out bits of rhubarb on a tart. If rhubarb is not your thing, you can substitute with any fruit you like, or even chunks of chocolate.



You will need a blind baked sweet shortcrust shell, either a 20cm/ 8" round or a 10x30cm/ 3.5"x12" rectangle. This recipe has been my go-to recipe since cooking school: it is reliably sturdy even when rolled out very thin, without being tough. Half a recipe should be enough, but it is a bit of a tight squeeze if you are making a rectangle tart, so it might be easier to make a full recipe and reserve the trimmings for another day. When blind baking tart shells, I prefer lining the pastry with baking parchment because it tends to be sturdier than aluminium foil. However, parchment can be a little stubborn: to encourage the paper to hug the pastry, scrunch up the paper before lining the tart.



The filling is a basic crème d'amande, or almond cream, an all-purpose filling for all sorts of classics such as the Galette des Rois and Bakewell tarts. The typical proportions for crème d'amande are equal weight almond powder, sugar, butter and whole eggs or yolks, making it one of the easiest recipes to remember if you have a good set of scales. Since I always seem to have way more egg whites than I know what to with, I have used whole eggs for this rhubarb tart. Additionally, this almond filling can be flavoured with vanilla extract, orange flower water, orange zest, or rum -basically, whatever floats our boat.



Crème d'Amande
Makes enough filling for 2 tarts

200g/ 1 cups sugar
220g/ 2 packed cups ground almonds
220g/ 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 large eggs
1 Tbs flavouring of choice, optional

Cream butter and sugar together until thoroughly combined.
Stir in the ground almonds, then add the eggs one at a time, making sure that each egg is completely mixed in before adding the next one.
Keep at room temperature until needed, for up to 2 hours.
If the almond filling was refrigerated, allow to soften at room temperature before filling tart shells.
Can be refrigerated for up to 3 days, or frozen for 1 month.



Rhubarb and Almond Tart
Makes one 20cm/ 8" round tart or one 11x35cm/ 4"x14" rectangular tart

1 sweet shortcrust shell, blind baked until pale golden
½ recipe crème d'amande
5-6 rhubarb stalks, 2-3cm/ ¾-1" thick
50g/ ¼ cup sugar

Cut rhubarb stalks so that the pieces fit inside the tart shell. If the stalks are very thick, they can be sliced in half widthwise as well.
Sprinkle the cut rhubarb with sugar, and allow to sit for 1 hour, or up to overnight, until it renders its juices. 
Fill the blind baked tart shell halfway with the almond cream.
Pre-heat the oven to 160°C/ 325°F.
Drain the rhubarb -reserve the juice for another purpose- and arrange the pieces in a decorative manner on top of the filling, pushing them in lightly to prevent the rhubarb from popping out during baking.
For extra sweetness, sprinkle generously with more sugar before placing in the oven
Bake in pre-heated oven until the almond filling is set and the pastry edges are golden brown, about 30-40 minutes. The rhubarb should be cooked through, but not blown out.
Allow to cool down completely before attempting to unmould tart.



While pre-sugaring the rhubarb is not an essential step, it does help to prevent the rhubarb from dissolving into sludge. However, keep in mind that macerating will cause some shrinkage, so plan your design accordingly, and cut a fair few extra pieces of rhubarb. Maceration also extends the tart's shelf life, but the rhubarb still remains juicy enough to render the pastry into a soggy mess after two days. Though I doubt it'll stick around for that long!





Bon App'!