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Rhubarb Panna Cotta Tart Recipe: Tangy Creamy Dessert

For years I’ve read British cookbooks that casually mention winter tarts, cakes and pavlovas made with “forced rhubarb,” and I’ve wanted to try it. Nigella Lawson, for example, calls rhubarb tart “perfect for January, when the new season’s forced rhubarb is just in, rosy and budding with its rhubarbiness.”

I spent several winters hunting for forced rhubarb in New York City and Washington, D.C., with no success. In one year I didn’t see rhubarb until late April. So when I found rhubarb in a New York Whole Foods in January, I stood in the produce aisle, stunned. I nearly bought the whole display and carried it home on the train, but decided to leave it—surely a Whole Foods in Washington would have some, too.

Back in D.C., I visited several Whole Foods stores and came up empty. I resigned myself to another rhubarb-less winter—until a few weeks later at my local Harris Teeter, while picking up grapefruit and kiwi for a winter tart, I spotted it: vivid fuchsia stalks, unmistakably rhubarb. I grabbed a pound right away.

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My rhubarb bounty.

I originally planned a rhubarb panna cotta tart topped with dozens of rhubarb roses for a tidy pink canvas. Once I started shaping the roses, though, I realized the forced rhubarb stalks were very thin and the roses were fiddly. I switched to rhubarb ribbons instead and discovered I preferred the simpler ribbon decoration. The finished tart felt clean, elegant and very pink.

Rhubarb panna cotta tart
Rhubarb panna cotta tart.

The rhubarb flavor in this tart is clear but restrained. If you prefer a stronger rhubarb taste and deeper pink color, increase the amount of rhubarb when preparing the filling. As written, the tart is pleasantly balanced and not overly sweet.

rhubarb panna cotta tart.
Rhubarb panna cotta tart.
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5 from 2 votes

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Rhubarb Panna Cotta Tart

The filling for this pretty pink tart is based on a simple panna cotta technique. The tart shell is my go-to sweet shortcrust pastry.

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:

  1. Place the flour and chilled, diced butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on low speed until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs.

  2. Add the powdered sugar and beat gently until just combined.

  3. Add the egg yolk and milk, increase the mixer to medium-low, and mix until the dough just starts to come together.

  4. Gather the dough into plastic wrap, form it into a ball, then flatten to a disk about 1/2 inch thick. Chill for at least one hour.

  5. Roll the chilled dough between two sheets of parchment to about 1/8 inch thick. Transfer, parchment side up, to a 9-inch fluted tart pan, remove the top sheet, press the dough into the pan, and trim so there is about a 1/2-inch overhang; reserve extra dough.

  6. Chill the tart shell for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

  7. Prick the chilled shell all over with a fork. Line with crumpled parchment and fill with pie weights, dried beans, or rice. Blind bake for 15 minutes, remove weights and parchment, and bake another 5 minutes until the dough loses its raw look.

  8. Patch any cracks with reserved dough. Mix the remaining egg yolk with a couple of drops of boiling water and brush the inside of the shell to seal it. Return to the oven and bake 15 more minutes. Cool on a wire rack while still on the baking sheet.

  9. When cool, shave away the overhang with a vegetable peeler and brush out crumbs with a soft pastry brush.

Make the panna cotta filling:

  1. Combine the chopped rhubarb, sugar and a couple teaspoons of water in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook over low to medium-low until the rhubarb is nearly broken down. Let cool 10–15 minutes.

  2. Add the cream to the rhubarb mixture and heat until just steaming (about 160–170°F). Remove from heat and steep 30 minutes.

  3. Place the cold water in a spouted container, sprinkle the powdered gelatin over it, and let it soften.

  4. Reheat the rhubarb-cream until steaming again, stir in the vanilla bean paste, then strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into the softened gelatin. Use a spatula to press through as much liquid as possible, then whisk until fully combined.

  5. Place the tart shell on a baking sheet in the refrigerator on a low shelf. Carefully pour the panna cotta filling into the shell and refrigerate to set overnight or for at least four hours.

Decorate the tart:

  1. When the filling is fully set, arrange rhubarb ribbons or roses on top as desired.

Recipe Notes

Instructions for making rhubarb roses and ribbons are commonly available in cookery sources and can help you choose the finish you prefer.

If the filling sets with small bubbles on the surface, minimize whisking when combining the warmed cream with the gelatin and pop any remaining bubbles with a toothpick after pouring the filling into the shell.

For a stronger rhubarb flavor and deeper pink color, increase the amount of rhubarb in the filling.

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