Tangy and sweet rhubarb pairs with a creamy ginger-vanilla filling in this vibrant rhubarb tart. Baked on buttery puff pastry and topped with crunchy pistachios and honey, it’s a simple spring dessert that celebrates rhubarb’s bright flavor and hotpink stalks.
The Flavors: Buttery puff pastry. Tangy rhubarb. Zesty ginger. Floral vanilla. Crunchy pistachios. Sweet honey.
Rhubarb arrives at Cali farmers markets in early spring, with stalks ranging from deep crimson to soft rose and pale green. One of the first harvests of the season, it typically appears in April and lasts through June or July. Though often treated like a fruit in desserts, rhubarb is actually a veggie in the buckwheat family.
Redder stalks aren’t always sweeter, but they make for a prettier presentation in my world.
Transform this tart and fibrous veggie into a sweet flavor and silky texture with gentle poaching.
Why This Rhubarb Tart Recipe Works
- Quick & Easy. Save time using frozen puff pastry.
- Dock & Par-Bake the Puff Pastry: Pricking the pastry with a fork lets steam escape, helping create a flaky crust instead of a soggy bottom.
- Basting the Rhubarb: Brushing the stalks as the tart bakes softens the fibrous texture and gives the rhubarb a silky finish.
- All the flavors. Bright and tart rhubarb, buttery puff pastry, zesty ginger, floral vanilla, crunchy pistachios, and a light honey glaze.
This rhubarb tart falls in that magic intersection of looks highly impressive and is very low maintenance to make.
When is Rhubarb Season?
Rhubarb is in peak season in California from April through June.
The arrival of rhubarb at the farmers market signals the start of spring.
Buying: Look for firm, crisp stalks with vibrant color. Thinner stalks are often sweeter, more tender and less stringy than thicker ones.
Storing: Keep unwashed rhubarb loosely wrapped in the refrigerator crisper for up to one week.
Prepping: Trim and discard the leaves before using. Rhubarb leaves contain oxalic acid and are not safe to eat.
Food tastes best grown in its own season.
How to Make this Rhubarb Tart
- Start by thawing the puff pastry until it’s cold but pliable. Dock the pastry all over with a fork and par-bake so the crust stays crisp and flaky.
- While the pastry bakes, whisk together the ginger-vanilla filling. Spread it over the par-baked crust, then arrange the rhubarb stalks across the tart. Drizzle lightly with honey and bake until the pastry is golden and the rhubarb is tender.
- Sprinkle chopped pistachios over the tart during the final minutes of baking for a little crunch.
- Serve the tart the day it’s baked while the pastry is still crisp.
Notes:
For a tart with a puffed outer edge, lightly score a border around the pastry with a paring knife, and then prick everything inside this border with a fork. The edges will puff while the center stays flat for the filling.
To make this recipe gluten-free, simply use a gluten-free puff pastry.
Rhubarb, ginger, and vanilla make a beautiful trio in this vibrant spring and early summer dessert.
Take advantage of the vibrantly colorful, transient and delightful seasonal stalk while ya can!
Cooks Tips
- When possible, buy local and organic rhubarb grown sustainably.
- For the sweetest stalks, pick the thinnest and firmest ones with deep shades of red near the base.
- For a crisp, flaky crust, prick the puff pastry with a fork and par-bake before adding the filling.
- Tart is best served immediately, or within a few hours of baking. The pastry loses its crispiness after that.
If you’re looking for more ways to bake with rhubarb, try some of my other fav rhubarb desserts. The season for this hot pink stalk is short – let’s take full advantage.
More Rhubarb Recipes?
- Vanilla Poached Rhubarb — an easy way to create lusciously silky, sweet rhubarb with endless ways to enjoy it.
- Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake — caramelized rhubarb baked over a warmly spiced yogurt cake for a super sexy spring dessert.
- Rhubarb Tart — crisp puff pastry topped with ginger-vanilla filling, rhubarb, pistachios, and honey.
- Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp — the classic sweet-tart combo topped with a crunchy, crumbly layer.
- Strawberry Rhubarb Galette — the classic spring pairing gets a subtle upgrade with chopped dates in this rustic free-form tart.
If ya tried this recipe, I'd love to hear about it — leave a comment below and let me know, and tag me on IG, @danielagerson, so I can see too!
If you enjoyed this recipe, explore more seasonal recipes and colorful produce guides here on the site — there’s plenty more inspiration waiting for you.
Let’s make waves in the kitchen.
Rhubarb Tart
Ingredients
- 1 sheet puff pastry thawed, or use phyllo dough
- 3 eggs divided
- 15 oz ricotta
- 1/3 cup honey + 1 tablespoon
- 1 zest & juice lemon
- 1½ teaspoons fresh ginger finely grated
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons pistachios chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll the puff pastry until large enough to fit your tart pan. Carefully transfer the dough to the pan and trim any excess.
- Prick the base of the puff pastry all over with a fork to prevent it from puffing too much during baking. Add pie weights or dried beans so the pastry won't puff up excessively. Spread evenly.
- Whisk 1 egg with 1 tablespoon of water to make an egg wash. Brush the edges of the puff pastry and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 400°F.
- Meanwhile, finely grate the ginger. In a food processor combine the ricotta, honey, ginger, lemon zest and juice, vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Lightly beat the remaining eggs and slowly add them to the food processor while it runs until the mixture is smooth.
- Pour the ricotta filling into the par-baked puff pastry crust and smooth the surface with a spoon or spatula.
- Trim the rhubarb stalks so they fit neatly in the tart pan and arrange them on top of the filling.
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan and stir in the remaining honey. Brush the rhubarb with the honey-butter mixture
- Bake the tart at 400°F for about 35 minutes, brushing the rhubarb with the honey-butter mixture every 10 minutes or so.
- Sprinkle the chopped pistachios over the tart and bake for another 5-10 minutes, until the tart is fully set.
Notes
- When possible, buy local and organic rhubarb grown sustainably.
- For the sweetest stalks, pick the thinnest and firmest ones with deep shades of red near the base.
- For a shatteringly crispy crust, prick puff pastry with a fork and par-bake, allowing steam to escape.
- Tart is best served immediately, or within a few hours of baking. The pastry loses its crispiness after that.
Hey, I think your site might be having browser compatibility issues.
When I look at your blog in Chrome, it looks fine but when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping.
I just wanted to give you a quick heads up! Other then that, terrific blog!
LOVE LOVE LOVE this recipe. It is exactly what you promised…so easy to make and soooo show-stopping-beautiful!!! I made this for a friends birthday and she took so many photos and then kept raving about the mouthwatering flavour combinations. Thank you for sharing!
Mine doesn’t last long but if I had leftovers how long do you think it would keep?
Thank you so much for your super sweet words Wendy and I'm super stoked to hear this! I'd say it def keep up to 3 days in the fridge. Really appreciate your feedback and would love to see a pic next time :)!