Equipment
Ingredients
pastry crust
- 180 g all-purpose flour, sifted
- 115 g unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1 cm cubes
- 45 g confectioners' sugar
- 1 egg yolk, chilled
- 15 ml water, ice-cold
- 2 g salt
strawberry rhubarb filling
- 300 g rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 1 cm slices
- 250 g strawberries, hulled and quartered
- 120 g granulated sugar
- 30 g cornstarch
- 15 ml lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 5 ml vanilla extract
- 1 g salt
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 307 kcal
- Protein
- 3 g
- Carbohydrates
- 46 g
- Fat
- 13 g
- Fiber
- 2 g
- Sugar
- 23 g
- Sodium
- 151 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 8 g
- Potassium
- 189 mg
- Calcium
- 48 mg
- Iron
- 1.4 mg
- Magnesium
- 14 mg
- Phosphorus
- 50 mg
- Zinc
- 0.3 mg
- Vitamin A
- 109 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 22 mg
- Water
- 74 g
Sources: Aggregated Public Data, USDA FoodData Central
Method
Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F).
Place the all-purpose flour, confectioners' sugar, and salt into the food processor, add the chilled cubed unsalted butter, and pulse 8 to 10 times until the mixture resembles coarse meal with pea-sized butter bits.
Add the chilled egg yolk and ice-cold water to the food processor and pulse in short 1-second bursts until the dough just begins to clump together into moist curds.
Transfer the dough clumps into the tart pan with removable bottom (23 cm) and press firmly and evenly across the base and up the fluted sides.
Place the pressed tart shell into the freezer to chill for 20 minutes until the pastry is completely firm and cold.
Dock the bottom of the chilled pastry shell thoroughly with a fork, spacing holes about 2 cm apart.
Line the tart shell with a sheet of parchment paper, fill with pie weights, place onto a rimmed baking sheet, and bake in the preheated oven at 190°C (375°F) for 15 minutes until the pastry edges look dry and lightly set.
On a cutting board with a chef's knife, trim the rhubarb stalks into 1 cm thick slices and hull and quarter the fresh strawberries.
In a mixing bowl, combine the sliced rhubarb, quartered strawberries, granulated sugar, cornstarch, freshly squeezed lemon juice, vanilla extract, and salt, stirring thoroughly with a rubber spatula until all dry starch dissolves into the surface juices.
Remove the parchment paper and pie weights from the warm tart shell, pour the fruit mixture into the crust, and spread it into an even layer using the rubber spatula.
Return the tart on its rimmed baking sheet to the oven, reduce temperature to 180°C (350°F), and bake for 35 minutes until the crust turns golden brown and the fruit juices bubble thickly across the entire tart.
Transfer the tart pan to a wire cooling rack and allow the tart to cool completely at room temperature for 70 minutes so the starch and fruit pectin can fully set.
Gently push the bottom plate of the tart pan upward to detach the fluted outer ring, place onto a serving platter, slice into 8 wedges with a chef's knife, and serve.
Chef's Notes
- Cornstarch requires reaching the boiling point (100°C / 212°F) to fully gelatinize and thicken fruit juices; do not remove the tart until slow, heavy bubbles burst throughout the center.
- Never consume or prepare rhubarb leaves as they contain toxic concentrations of oxalic acid; use only the stalks.
- Mixing the fruit filling with sugar immediately prior to filling the crust minimizes excess liquid separation, protecting the blind-baked crust from soaking up raw syrup.
- A press-in pastry method delivers a uniform shortbread texture without the risk of over-stretching or shrinking that can occur with rolled doughs.
Storage
Refrigerator: 3 days — Store cooled tart covered in an airtight container or loosely tented with foil to preserve crust texture.
Freezer: 1 month — Wrap the fully baked and chilled tart tightly in plastic wrap and aluminum foil; thaw in the refrigerator overnight before serving.
Reheating: Warm uncovered in a preheated oven at 160°C (325°F) for 10 to 12 minutes to restore pastry crispness.
Troubleshooting
Filling remains loose and runs out when sliced
Cause: The tart was sliced before cooling completely, or the juices did not reach a full boil to activate the cornstarch.
Fix: Chill the entire tart in the refrigerator for 2 hours to help the filling firm up before slicing.
Prevention: Ensure the filling bubbles vigorously across the center before pulling from the oven and cool fully to room temperature.
Pastry bottom is soggy or soft
Cause: Crust was insufficiently blind-baked or the oven temperature was too low.
Fix: Cannot be fixed once fully assembled and baked; serve immediately to avoid further softening.
Prevention: Par-bake the crust until dry and matte before adding the moist fruit filling, and bake on a preheated baking sheet.
Crust edges brown too quickly during the fruit bake
Cause: Oven hot spots or prolonged exposure to direct top heat.
Fix: Shield the rim loosely with strips of aluminum foil for the remainder of baking.
Prevention: Keep an eye on the fluted rim at the 20-minute mark of the second bake.
Cultural Context
Originating in classical European patisserie, fruit tarts celebrate the height of seasonal produce encased in crisp, buttery pastry. The pairing of assertive, tart garden rhubarb and sweet early summer strawberries became a definitive hallmark of nineteenth-century British and American home baking, balancing vibrant acidity with delicate pastry richness.
