For years British cookbook writers have casually mentioned winter tarts, cakes, and pavlovas made with “forced rhubarb,” and I always pictured a rosy seasonal treat I couldn’t quite find here. I remember reading Nigella Lawson’s description—“perfect for January, when the new season’s forced rhubarb is just in, rosy and budding with its rhubarbiness”—and thinking how lovely it sounded, if only I could source the stalks.
For several winters I hunted forced rhubarb through grocery stores and farmers’ markets in New York City and Washington, D.C., but with no success. One year, rhubarb didn’t appear in my D.C. market until late April. So the sight of rhubarb in January at a Whole Foods in New York felt almost unreal. I stood in the produce aisle debating whether to buy it all and carry it back on the train. Eventually I convinced myself that if a New York Whole Foods had it, one in D.C. surely would too.
Back in Washington I checked several stores and struck out. I resigned myself to another rhubarb-free winter—until a week or two later, when I found a vibrant, fuchsia bunch at my neighborhood Harris Teeter while buying grapefruits and kiwis for a winter tart. I grabbed a pound on instinct and went home delighted.
Originally I planned a rhubarb panna cotta tart topped with many delicate rhubarb roses—a clean pink canvas to showcase those little floral swirls. When I prepared the roses, however, the stalks were thinner than I expected and the roses became fiddly to form. Instead I made rhubarb ribbons and arranged them across the tart. The ribbons were simpler to work with and created a striking result that I liked even better than the rose idea I had imagined.
The panna cotta filling highlights rhubarb in a subtle, elegant way: the flavor is present but not overpowering, and the pale pink hue is lovely without being cloyingly sweet. If you prefer a stronger rhubarb taste or a deeper color, increase the amount of cooked rhubarb in the filling. For my tastes, though, the balance in this version felt just right—a lightly sweet, gently tart, perfectly pink tart that’s well-suited to winter entertaining.
Rhubarb Panna Cotta Tart
The filling for this pretty pink tart is adapted from a blackberry panna cotta base. The tart shell uses a sweet shortcrust pastry inspired by the recipe in Soulful Baker by Julie Jones.
Ingredients
Tart Shell
- 230 g all-purpose flour
- 125 gunsalted butter, chilled and diced
- 50gpowdered sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 2tbspwhole milk
To glaze the tart shell:
- 1 egg yolk
- a couple of dropsof boiling water
Rhubarb Panna Cotta Filling
- 2cupschopped rhubarb
- 2tspwater
- 1/3cup / 67 ggranulated sugar
- 2cupsheavy cream
- 1/2tspvanilla bean paste
- 1 3/4tsppowdered gelatin
- 3.5tbspcold water
To decorate:
- rhubarb ribbons or rhubarb roses (see notes)
Instructions
Make the tart shell:
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Put the flour and chilled diced butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on low until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
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Add the powdered sugar and mix gently until just combined.
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Add the egg yolk and milk, increase the mixer speed to medium-low, and mix until the dough begins to come together.
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Chill the disk in the refrigerator for at least one hour.
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Roll the chilled dough between two sheets of parchment to about 1/8 inch thickness to avoid adding extra flour.
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Transfer the dough (parchment side up) to a 9-inch fluted tart pan. Remove the top parchment, press the dough into the pan, and trim so the pastry overhangs the pan rim by about 1/2 inch. Reserve any extra dough.
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Chill the lined tart shell in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
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Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
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Remove the tart shell from the fridge, place it on a baking sheet, and prick the bottom at one-inch intervals with a fork. Line with crumpled parchment and fill with pie weights, dried beans, or rice.
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Blind bake for 15 minutes. Remove the weights and parchment, then bake an additional five minutes until the dough looks no longer raw.
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Patch any cracks with reserved dough. Whisk the remaining egg yolk with a couple of drops of boiling water and brush the inside of the shell with this glaze.
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Return the tart shell to the oven and bake for another 15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack while still on the baking sheet.
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Once cool, trim the overhang with a vegetable peeler and brush away any crumbs with a soft pastry brush.
Make the panna cotta filling:
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In a saucepan combine chopped rhubarb, sugar, and a couple teaspoons of water. Simmer over low to medium-low heat until the rhubarb is almost fully broken down. Let cool 10–15 minutes.
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Add the heavy cream to the rhubarb mixture and heat until just steaming (about 160–170°F / 71–77°C). Remove from heat and let steep for 30 minutes to extract flavor and color.
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Toward the end of the steeping time, pour the cold water into a large, spouted container and sprinkle the powdered gelatin evenly over the surface to soften.
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Reheat the rhubarb–cream mixture until just steaming and stir in the vanilla bean paste.
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Place a fine-mesh sieve over the container holding the softened gelatin. Pour the hot rhubarb–cream through the sieve, using a spatula to press and extract as much pink-tinged liquid as possible. Whisk the strained liquid thoroughly into the gelatin until dissolved and smooth. Avoid whisking vigorously to limit incorporated air.
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Place the tart shell on a low shelf in the refrigerator. Carefully pour the panna cotta filling into the shell and refrigerate until fully set—overnight or at least four hours.
Decorate the tart:
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When the filling is set, arrange rhubarb ribbons or roses on top as desired. Keep the decoration simple to let the pale pink panna cotta shine.
Recipe Notes
Instructions for making rhubarb roses are widely available; search for rhubarb roses for step-by-step guides if you’d like to try them. Rhubarb ribbons are another easy option and can be made by thinly peeling or candying stalks before arranging them on the tart.
If your filling develops small surface bubbles, avoid whisking too vigorously when combining the warm rhubarb cream with the softened gelatin. If bubbles remain after pouring, gently pop them with a toothpick.
Rhubarb in this tart provides a clear but gentle note. Increase the amount of cooked rhubarb if you prefer a more intense tartness and a stronger pink hue.
