My first reaction when biting into this Strawberry Rhubarb Tart was to close my eyes in disbelief about how good this combination of strawberry rhubarb curd and cinnamon brown sugar crust was. The cinnamon went perfectly with the slight tartness of strawberry and rhubarb. It was utterly delicious and I decided to slowly eat my way through the tart so I could savor every bite and make it last. This tart combines two of the curds from my blog, Strawberry Curd and Rhubarb Curd, into a beautiful dark pink tangy curd, that is utterly delicious.
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I could easily eat this curd by the spoonful, but I stuck to the original plan to make these delicious tarts. The recipe has two main components - the curd and the brown sugar crust. After baking these two treats together be as creative as you want in decorating the tarts or just eat them plain.
How to Make the Brown Sugar Crust
The Brown Sugar Crust is a delicious shortbread crust that is incredibly easy to make. Not only is this crust easy to mix together, but it doesn't shrink when you pre-bake it, so there is no need for pie weights. The crust has five simple ingredients:
- All-Purpose Flour
- Unsalted Butter
- Brown Sugar
- Salt
- Ground Cinnamon
The technique for making this crust is based on a French pastry dough recipe. That technique calls for melting the butter in the oven, then removing it and adding flour, mixing together, and pressing the hot dough into a tart tin.
The technique for this tart crust is similar. Whisk the dry ingredients together, add the hot melted butter and stir until no dry white streaks of the flour mixture remain. Press the warm dough into the tart tin. Place the tart molds on a baking tray and bake until slightly darker in color, about 20-22 minutes. Set aside until the curd is ready.
This recipe creates enough dough for 1 9-inch tart, 4 4-inch tarts, or 5 3-1/2 inch tarts.
How to Make Strawberry Rhubarb Curd
Curd is a creamy fruit spread make with fruit, eggs, butter, sugar and depending on your tastes, a little cream. This curd has 6 ingredients:
- Strawberries
- Rhubarb
- Sugar
- Lemon Juice
- Egg Yolks
- Butter
- Kosher Salt
Cutting Fresh Strawberries Strawberries and Sliced Rhubarb Mixed Together
To make the Strawberry-Rhubarb Curd I started by cooking the strawberries and rhubarb together with half the sugar and lemon juice. I then strained the mixture to remove the strawberries seeds. Since the sweetness of strawberries and the tartness of rhubarb can vary this is the best time to add the remaining sugar, and lemon, taste and then add additional sugar if it is too tart. Add the additional sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. Puree the cooked fruit with a stick blender until relatively smooth.
Combine the egg yolks and remaining sugar in a medium bowl and whisk until lighter in color. Slowly pour half of the pureed fruit into the egg mixture whisking constantly to temper the eggs and avoid scrambling them. Whisk until the puree and eggs are thoroughly combined.
Pour everything back into the saucepan, add the butter and return the pan to increase the heat to medium. Whisk constantly until the mixture reaches a temperature of 175 degrees F.
Baking the Tarts
Divide the strawberry rhubarb curd evenly between the tart shells, about 1/4 cup each. Bake for 15 minutes in a 350°F oven until the surface of the curd is firm. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool to room temperature. Eat plain or decorate with berries and whipped cream.
I hope you try this recipe. The combination of the strawberry-rhubarb curd with the cinnamon crust tastes absolutely delicious. Enjoy this tart with the last of the seasonal rhubarb.
More Strawberry Recipes
If you love strawberries as much as I do check out my other strawberry recipes:
Strawberry-Rhubarb Tarts
Ingredients
Tart Crust
- 1 1/3 cups (189 grams) all-purpose flour
- 5 tablespoons (63 grams) light brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 10 tablespoons (142 grams) unsalted butter melted
Strawberry-Rhubarb Curd
- 1 cup (6 ounces) chopped fresh strawberries
- 1 cup (6 ounces) chopped rhubarb, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) white sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 4 (80 grams) egg yolks
- 6 tablespoons (85 grams) unsalted butter cut into 4 pieces
Whipped Mascarpone (Optional)
- 4 ounces (114 grams) mascarpone cold
- 1/2 cup heavy cream cold
- 1 tablespoon honey
Instructions
For the Crust
- Adjust 1 oven rack to the middle position in the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- For this recipe you will need five 3 1/2-inch mini-tart tins.
- Whisk flour, brown sugar, ground cinnamon, and salt together in a bowl. Add melted butter and stir with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon until a dough forms and no bits of flour remain. Divide the dough into 5 equal portions (74 grams each). Using your hands, press the dough into each mini-tart pan, starting with the bottom and pressing it up the sides. Press and smooth dough with your hands to even thickness.
- Place the mini-tart pans on a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet and bake on the middle rack, until crust is deep golden brown and firm to touch, 20-22 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Set the tart shells aside and prepare the curd filling.
For the Strawberry-Rhubarb Curd
- Combine the strawberries, rhubarb, 1/4 cup of sugar, lemon juice and salt in a 3-quart saucepan. Place the pan over medium heat and cook the fruit until the rhubarb turns soft. The mixture should be very thick. If it gets too dry before the rhubarb is tender add 2 tablespoons of water. Once the rhubarb is tender, puree the mixture with a stick blender until all the fruit is broken down.
- Place a bowl with a coarse strainer near the stove. In a separate bowl combine the eggs and the remaining sugar (1/4 cup) and whisk until the egg yolks are lighter in color, about 1 minute. Slowly drizzle half the warm strawberry-rhubarb puree into the eggs, whisking the entire time you’re adding the puree. Continue to whisk until the eggs and fruit are well combined. Scrap the egg mixture into the pot with the rest of the fruit puree. Return the pot to the stove and continuously whisk over medium heat until the curd reaches a temperature of 175 degrees F.
- Remove the curd from the heat and whisk in the butter one tablespoon at a time. Scrap the curd into the strainer and use the back of a tablespoon to push the puree through into the bowl below. Save the solids that remain for toast or biscuits.
- You should have 1-1/4 cups of strawberry-rhubarb curd. Place 1/4 cup in each of the tart shells. Put a cooling rack on top of a half baking sheet and place the filled tarts on top.
- Bake for 15 minutes until the curd is set. You know it is set, when you lightly touch the curd with your finger and no imprint is left.
- Remove the tarts from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature. Top each tart with whipped mascarpone or whipped cream, fresh fruit, and enjoy.
Whipped Mascarpone (Optional)
- Place the mascarpone in a bowl. With a handheld mixer whip beat the mascarpone on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add the heavy cream in a steady stream down the side of the bowl. After adding all the cream continue to beat the mixture until soft peaks form. Add the honey and beat on medium-low speed until it is thoroughly combined.
sallybr says
They are just adorable! I love the crust with brown sugar, have not tried that yet, I bet it tastes wonderful...
Cheryl Norris says
Thank Sally. The combination of brown sugar and cinnamon is really good. I hope you and your husband are doing well.
Angela says
I tried this recipe because I was intrigued by the crust, but I was definitely skeptical about the curd. Rightfully so, it turns out. First of all, The curd ingredients don't list salt, but the instructions say to add salt. Additionally, the ingredients list for the curd includes butter, but there is no reference to adding the butter. Finally, I don't understand why the recipe calls for baking the curd in the tart shells. Once the curd is cooked on the stove, it is safe to eat, and usually chilled to set. Baking the tarts after adding the curd resulted in sunken centers. Overall, the crust was a little crumbly for a tart, and the curd required more effort than necessary for a mediocre result.
Carron says
Took this as a 9" tart to a dinner party. It was a HUGE hit. I did not do the final baking of 15 min after adding the curd to the crust and just chilled it. it was fine. I served it with whipped cream and did not make the mascarpone. It's a lot of work, but it was loved by all.