The other day I mentioned on twitter that I have never had rhubarb. The responses were fast and plentiful, and most fell into a rage from disbelief to pity. I never realized it was so popular – I don’t even think I knew it existed until a few years ago! I decided that since everyone seemed to love it so much, I should take the plunge and give it a try. I went with the traditional combination of rhubarb with strawberries, but I didn’t want to commit to a whole pie. So I made a tart. A tart with a brown sugar shortbread crust.
Ok, fine. Maybe I just didn’t feel like dealing with pie crust. But the shortbread crust was perfect. Strawberries and shortbread. Strawberries and brown sugar. How could you go wrong? Especially when you start out with strawberries that look like these:
I mean, strawberries have been awesome this year as it is, but take a look at those beauties! They were every bit as juicy and sweet as they look. Which is good, since I paired them with rhubarb. Which, in case you’re like me and have never had it before, is extremely tart. Especially when it’s raw. I don’t recommend doing what I did and taking a nibble to test it out.
Despite the tartness of that nibble, I could tell that this was going to be a thing of beauty so I forged ahead. Let the berries and rhubarb macerate in sugar to release the juices. Scooped it into the partially baked cookie crust. Baked it until the filling became luscious and jammy, almost like a grown up version of a linzer tart. Where has this been all my life?
Strawberry-Rhubarb Tart with Brown Sugar Shortcrust
This may be one of the easiest and most impressive desserts I’ve ever made. The cookie crust is simple to mix up, and the brown sugar gives it a nice complexity. The filling is sweet without being too sweet, with the perfect amount of tartness to balance it out. It tastes like summer.
The tart is perfect straight out of the pan, unadorned. But if you’re looking for a little something more, please don’t ruin it with whipped cream. A dollop of sour cream mixed with a touch of sugar is the perfect sweet-tart complement to this dessert.
- 1 stick butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1 cup flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1.5 pints strawberries, sliced
- 1 stalk rhubarb, diced
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 2 Tbs arrowroot powder or cornstarch
Preheat oven to 325. Lightly butter a 9-inch tart pan.
Add the butter to a bowl and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in the brown sugar, mixing well to break up and lumps. Gently mix in the flour and the salt, taking care not to overwork the dough (it will be very dry and crumbly).
Press the dough out into the prepared tart pan. Use a fork to dock the dough (poke holes in it — this will help keep the crust thin by preventing steam from making it bubble up as it cooks).
Bake for 20 minutes.
While the crust begins to bake, combine strawberries, rhubarb, white sugar, and cornstarch in a bowl. Set aside to rest — the mixture will get very syrupy.
Pour the strawberry mixture into the partially baked crust, making sure to spread it out across the whole thing. Return to the oven and bake for another 30 minutes, or until the crust is baked and the middle looks like jam.
Remove and let cool before serving.
Serves 8.
Approx. 255 calories, 12 grams fat, 2 grams fiber, 2 grams protein
Jodie says
08/01 at 8:27 pmOh my gosh this looks amazing!
Betsy says
04/05 at 10:51 pmHi! We’re hosting an online, seasonal ingredient, potluck. The seasonal ingredient for April is rhubarb! If you’d like to share your recipe, feel free to add your link http://betsylife.com/?p=3688
Annmarie Balsamello says
08/23 at 11:02 pmNever had Rhubarb, but this recipe makes me want to try.
And soon !! thank you!!
Becca says
08/06 at 12:49 amI made this today, it is fantastic! A nice change from the regular old strawberry rhubarb pie
Cameron says
06/22 at 11:56 amWOw! This looks great! I like that its a bit thinner than a standard rhubarb/strawberry recipe. Lighter for those blazing hot days. Thanks!
Cooking Rookie says
06/11 at 1:12 amI made your tart twice – great recipe, thanks so much!!!
Here’s the link to my post: http://cookingrookie.blogspot.com/2010/06/strawberry-rhubarb-tart.html
Sophie says
05/13 at 4:29 pmA georgous & stunning tarte!!! Waw!!!
I must make this tomorrow!! I have all the ingredients at home!
I also love your NEW LOOK!
Miss Stovetop says
05/13 at 8:11 amCould you help with my shortbread? Pretty please? 🙂
http://stovetopdancing.blogspot.com/2010/05/shortbread-longday-bigmess.html
Cara says
05/10 at 10:31 pmI recently made a bunch of tarts for a bake sale and got so frustrated with all that pastry crust! I wish I had tried a shortbread crust instead!
Mardi@eatlivetravelwrite says
05/07 at 9:48 pmSee now I am not a big rhubarb fan either but I have seen SO much of it around this week on blogs I might have to try it out. Or you know, you could just send me a piece of this pie!
Lisa @ The Cooking Bride says
05/06 at 5:24 pmOoooo, YES! There seems to be an abundance of rhubarb recipes floating around in the blog world this week and I am so excited. This looks divine!
Cherine says
05/05 at 2:49 amThis tart is beautiful and looks yummmyyyy!!
Nastassia (Let Me Eat Cake) says
05/04 at 8:08 pmi can’t say that i’ve had rhubarb before either, but i’ve seen strawberry and rhubarb combined before. this tart looks fantastic and simple, can’t wait to give it a try 🙂
chandani says
05/04 at 5:27 pmThat tart has some pretty good colors. I guess this is my kind of tart colorful and simple.
Katie says
05/04 at 4:59 pmMy absolute favorite summer dessert, this has my mouth watering. I must make some strawberry rhubarb jam, pie, crisp, tart, bread- something- soon!
Madeleine says
05/04 at 6:39 amLauren, I just came across your blog and I love it!! This tart looks incredible. Looking forward to your updates:)) Madeleine
Linn @ Swedish home cooking says
05/04 at 6:21 amRhubarbs is a great fruit for desserts, I used to have it a lot when I grew up in Sweden. My favorite was having them just dipped in sugar though, just right from the plant. Mm.
5 Star Foodie says
05/04 at 12:42 amIt’s a beauty! I love the idea of brown sugar crust!
Carolyn Jung says
05/03 at 9:24 pmThese photos have me craving that tart. And I’m not even much of a rhubarb lover, so that’s saying a lot! 😉
Teri [a foodie stays fit] says
05/03 at 8:36 pmwoah….I was just sitting here writing my grocery list and thinking about buying rhubarb because I’ve NEVER had it. I got online to google some recipes, but first I checked out some health blogs, coming to yours first. Creepy that this was the post I saw!
Lauren says
05/03 at 8:59 pmThat is creepy! it must be fate. The universe wants you to eat this. 😉
Kelly says
05/03 at 9:59 pmI have had rubarb, but it definitely has been a long time. I have a recipe for a savory indian curry kicking around in my recipe box somewhere that I’ve been meaning to try because it sounds so unique.
Erica says
05/03 at 8:35 pmum how awesome does this look? Especially that crust..drool 🙂 This would be perfect for mamas day.
The event was a little stuffy…to be honest. But we worked around it!
Kirbie says
05/03 at 7:18 pmI’ve never had rhubarb either! I was just thinking about that fact a few weeks ago when I started seeing all these recipes for rhubarb desserts. Now I really want to try it out.
Monique says
05/03 at 6:56 pmthat is the perfect dessert lauren. I love rhubarb pies! Of course I have never actually made one! i get easily intimidated by baking!
Emma @ Poires au Chocolat says
05/03 at 6:01 pmOh yum – I love rhubarb. Before this summer I had no idea people often paired it with strawberries, I must try it out.
Maria says
05/03 at 2:56 pmWe have four rhubarb plants and I can’t wait to make this dessert. Lovely!
valen says
05/03 at 2:19 pmI’ve never had rhubarb, and I’ve been wanting to try it soon! My dad has a soft spot for rhubarb desserts.
Kelly says
05/03 at 2:10 pmI had never tried rhubarb either until this weekend! I actually made a rhubarb whipped cream for a pavlova, and it was wonderful 🙂 Can’t wait to try something more rhubarby – I have a bunch leftover so may try a little mini tart tonight 🙂
Lauren says
05/03 at 8:58 pmI have some left too… still deciding what I want to do with it.
Kaitlin says
05/03 at 1:41 pmI’m glad your first encounter with rhubarb was something delicious like this!
(minus the test nibble, of course!)
Ann says
05/03 at 1:38 pmYour tart looks beautiful. Rhubarb is my all time favourite pie. I like it pure though without the addition of strawberries or other fruit. I love the idea of rhubarb on a shortbread cookie crust. Can’t wait to try. Thank you.
Heather says
05/03 at 12:56 pmThis looks fantastic! My parents have a huge rhubarb plant in their yard, we used to make rhubarb & strawberry rhubarb pies a few times a year.
Just a random FYI that the leaves are toxic, I was always told not to eat rhubarb raw.
Lauren says
05/03 at 8:57 pmI did see that the leaves are poisonous (mine didn’t come with nay on it though). I couldn’t find a reputable source on if you can eat the stalk raw or not, but it seems to be ok. Some people apparently dip it in sugar and eat it that way. Don’t take my word on it that it won’t ill you though.
Ciaochowlinda says
05/03 at 11:19 amstrawberries and rhubarb is a great spring match made in culinary heaven. great photos.
Unplanned Cooking says
05/03 at 2:46 amThat is the perfect introduction to rhubarb, and the perfect introduction to the summer!
lululu says
05/03 at 5:07 amSuch a pretty and chic looking tart!
jenn (Bread + Butter) says
05/03 at 3:25 amI’m on the same boat as you. I need to try rhubarb soon and very soon.
This is one great lookin’ dessert!!!
Simply Luxurious says
05/03 at 3:06 amOh my goodness – yum! I am a HUGE fan of strawberry rhubarb pies and tarts in general, but the combination I have never tried. This looks amazing. I will definitely be saving this recipe and giving it a go. Thank you, thank you, thank you. =)
Lauren says
05/03 at 8:55 pmEnjoy! 🙂
Joanne says
05/03 at 2:56 amI adore rhubarb and totally agree with everyone who coerced you to try it! I’m so glad you had a first good experience…but how could you not with a tart like this!
rebecca subbiah says
05/03 at 2:43 amoh wow this is impressive don’t you just love twitter and the way it inspires us lol
Lauren says
05/03 at 8:54 pmpeople were basically threatening to revoke my status as a foodie if I didn’t eat try it immediately, so what else was I to do?
doggybloggy says
05/03 at 2:41 amI almost typed out a bunch of curse words this looks so friggin’ good.
Lauren says
05/03 at 8:53 pmhahaha I’m pretty sure I said a bunch of curse words upon tasting it. It was just that good. 😉
Olga @ MangoTomato says
05/03 at 2:17 amooh yum! the tart looks so pretty.
btw, I have the same bowls in red and yellow.
Lauren says
05/03 at 2:28 amI love those bowls! They’re so cute – I spent like 15 minutes trying to decide what color I wanted to get. They’re kind of big though… not very useful.