Rhubarb for the weekend
Double the rhubarb, double the fun 🌞
Happy Tuesday. Today, I am celebrating the season of tart rhubarb with a rhubarb tart! And creamy homemade rhubarb ice cream. If you’ve followed me on Instagram, you know my first attempts were not winning any beauty contests. Nevertheless, I persisted and have what I think is a pretty wonderful dessert to ring in rhubarb season.
The tart is all rhubarb. When I first made this tart, I followed recommendations to add lemon juice and zest to the filling. This added an extra sourness that was simply not needed. I also modified the crust to be less crumbly and sweet. It acts as more of a neutral, crisp texture to allow that creamy rhubarb filling to shine.
The ice cream is just fantastic. It’s a basic no-churn recipe, but I use a scoop of the prepared rhubarb and swirl it into the cream mixture before freezing. The ice cream is so unbelievably easy to make that you’re going to want it all the time.
I always tell people to temper their expectations with no-churn ice cream. Is it the same as machine-churned ice cream? No, of course not. But it is absolutely wonderful as a creamy, rich dessert. The key? Tight plastic wrap. If you leave any space for air, ice crystals will form and will cause your ice cream to be very icy. Before serving, I also recommend running your scoop under very hot water. This will soften the ice cream and give it a creamier mouthfeel.
If you decide you want one or the other instead of both recipes, here are the changes you need to make:
Just the rhubarb tart: You need only 3½ cups chopped rhubarb, approximately 1 pound. Reduce sugar and water to ⅓ cup each.
Just the ice cream: You need just ½ cup chopped rhubarb, approximately ¼ pound rhubarb. Reduce sugar and water to ¼ cup each.
For those who are visual, I have photos of most of the process below with captions. The full recipe follows the galleries below, and a print-friendly PDF is at the very bottom of the post.
Rhubarb ice cream:
Rhubarb tart:
I also should note that tarts are traditionally baked in a tart pan with a removable bottom. This makes it very easy to serve. I used a regular old pie dish, and it turned out wonderful each time, though it is more challenging to remove that first piece. If serving from a pie dish, give it a good amount of time to set up in the fridge; overnight, if possible. You want the filling to be as firm as possible. I use one of these guys to shimmy the crust loose from the edge of the pie dish.
Rhubarb Tart with Homemade Ice Cream
Serves: 10 | Cook time: 2 hours (plus 4 hours inactive time)
Tart filling:
1½ pounds rhubarb, trimmed and chopped (4 cups chopped rhubarb total)
½ cup sugar
½ cup water
4 drops of red food coloring, optional
6 egg yolks
½ cup sugar
6 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter; cut into cubes
Rhubarb ice cream:
14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
16 ounces heavy cream
½ cup prepared rhubarb (from above)
Tart crust:
½ cup (53 g) whole pecans
1 cup flour
¼ cup (32 g) powdered sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For serving:
Powdered sugar, optional
Prepare the rhubarb:
Combine the chopped rhubarb, ½ cup sugar, and ½ cup water in a medium pot and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for 30–45 minutes until very soft.
Use an immersion blender to blend until completely smooth. You may also use a traditional blender or food processor. Just pour the mixture back into the pot.
Let the rhubarb cool completely. Add the food coloring, if using, and mix well to incorporate.
Remove ½ cup of the rhubarb mixture from the pot and reserve for the homemade ice cream.
Make the ice cream:
Pour the sweetened condensed milk into a medium mixing bowl and add the vanilla extract. Stir to combine.
Pour the heavy cream into a large mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer, mix on medium speed until thick, stiff peaks form.
Pour the sweetened condensed milk into the heavy cream and gently fold everything together with a rubber spatula. Do not over-mix!
Pour the cream mixture into an 8-inch cake pan or loaf pan. Drizzle the reserved ½ cup of rhubarb on top and use the rubber spatula to swirl and mix into the cream gently.
Cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap. The wrap should be completely in contact with the ice cream without air bubbles. Use your hands to pat it down as tightly as possible. If there are air bubbles, ice crystals will form and make the top of your ice cream icy. Be sure the wrap is in contact with the ice cream from edge to edge. Transfer to the freezer until it is completely frozen, at least 4 hours.
Prepare the tart crust:
Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Place the pecans in a food processor and pulse them into a fine meal. Transfer to a mixing bowl with the flour and powdered sugar. Add ¼ teaspoon salt.
Melt the butter in the microwave or a small saucepan over the stovetop. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Let stand for 5 minutes. Pour the butter into the bowl of flour and pecans and use a rubber spatula to mix until there are no dry bits of flour and the dough is smooth and moist.
Place the dough into a 10” greased pie dish or tart pan. Use your hands to smooth it into the dish and up the sides in an even layer. Transfer to the oven for 15 minutes. Remove and let stand for 30 minutes. Keep the oven at 350ºF.
Finish the filling:
Add the egg yolks and remaining ½ cup sugar to the pot of the remaining rhubarb. Turn the heat back to medium and whisk until completely smooth.
Add the cold, cubed butter and continue whisking until the heat melts the butter completely. It will take 2–3 minutes of regular whisking. Continue whisking until completely smooth. Turn off the heat and immediately pour into the prepared crust.
Bake the tart:
Transfer the tart to the oven for 15 minutes; carefully rotate the tart once midway through cooking.
After 15 minutes, remove from the oven and do a jiggle check. It should be set up around the edges and slightly jiggly in the middle. It should wobble, not slosh. If it’s still very jiggly around the edges, return to the oven and continue baking in 2-minute increments until the tart is set around the edges but still jiggly in the middle. It should not need more than 20 minutes in the oven.
Finish the tart:
Let the tart stand for 1 hour at room temperature. Then, transfer to the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight before serving.
To serve:
Slice the tart and carefully remove each piece. If you made this in a pie dish, it will be more difficult to serve but not impossible! Dust the tart with powdered sugar and serve with rhubarb ice cream on top. Enjoy!
Download the print-friendly PDF:
I hope everyone has a wonderful week with lots of tasty food and plenty of rhubarb. :)
-kylie
Love this recipe!
Love this dish!