Rustic French Rhubarb Tart

5 from 1 vote

Rustic French Rhubarb Tart

Sweet, tangy, and buttery, this Rhubarb Tart has it all! Featuring a crumbly shortbread crust (known as "pâte sablée" in French), this tart is generously filled with a rich rhubarb vanilla filling over a bed of almond flour and topped with a glaze of melted salted butter. Perfect for a taste of summer in true French style!

Prep Time30

Cook Time30

Resting Time45

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: French

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings:

Calories: 354kcal

Author: Ninon Michels

Ingredients

For the shortbread crust (pâte sablée)

115 g room-temperature unsalted butter
90 g powdered sugar
15 g almond flour
1 free-range egg
240 g all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

For the rhubarb filling

800 g rhubarb stalks
25 g cane sugar (plus 1 tablespoon to sprinkle on top)
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
20 g almond flour
30 g salted butter melted

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make the shortbread crust (pâte sablée) dough.

Add room-temperature butter, powdered sugar, almond flour, egg, all-purpose flour, and fine sea salt to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or use a mixing bowl and a spatula). Mix until the mixture is well combined and resembles wet sand.
Transfer the dough onto a 16x16-inch (40x40 cm) sheet of parchment paper. Then, shape it into a round form using the palm of your hand. Cover with another sheet of parchment paper.
Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a 14-inch (35 cm) circle. Place the dough on a sheet pan and let it firm up in the fridge for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the rhubarb filling.

Thoroughly rinse the rhubarb stalks under cold water and pat them dry. Trim the end and cut into ½-inch (1.5 cm) pieces.
Add the rhubarb pieces, cane sugar, vanilla bean paste into a mixing bowl and mix well. Set aside.
Melt the salted butter and set aside.

Assemble the tart.

Preheat the oven to 390°F (200°C) with the fan on. Take the rolled crust out of the fridge (leave it on the sheet pan), and carefully remove the top parchment paper sheet. Immediately sprinkle with almond flour, leaving a 1-inch (2.5 cm) border to fold the crust over.
Add the rhubarb filling on top of the almond flour. Then brush it with melted salted butter.
Gently fold the edges over the filling. Then sprinkle both the crust and filling with cane sugar. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, until the crust is golden and the rhubarb lightly charred. It’s ready!

Notes

Weigh your ingredients – While I’ve included volume measurements (cups and spoons), use metric gram measurements if possible. A digital kitchen scale is more accurate than cups, ensuring precise, consistent results. Since weight is exact and volume can vary, a scale eliminates inconsistencies and will invariably give better results.
Room-temperature butter - For the best texture in your shortbread crust, make sure your butter is at room temperature. The technique I like best is to cut it into small cubes and let it sit out for about 30 minutes. If you're in a hurry, you can microwave the butter cubes on the Defrost setting (30%) in 10-second bursts until they’re soft.
The shortbread crust dough is really soft and can’t be shaped as is. This is normal and what gives the crust its deliciously crumbly texture.
The easiest way to handle shortbread crust dough is to roll it out between two sheets of parchment paper and then chill it in the fridge. Some recipes suggest putting the dough in the fridge first and then rolling it out, but from my experience, that makes the dough way too hard and rolling it becomes a real hassle!
Once the chilled dough is out of the fridge, act quickly and begin adding the toppings immediately. The dough warms up fast and becomes difficult to handle if it gets too warm.

Nutrition