Strawberry rhubarb is one of those perfect pairs. Sultry summer evenings with slices of strawberry rhubarb pie, thick sweet juices dripping out of latticed crusts, or strawberry rhubarb crumbles and slab pies laid out on potluck tables just waiting for seconds and thirds on flower-lined paper plates. It just feels quintessentially summer. Which, perhaps, makes this dessert a bit pre-mature, maybe just hopeful that summer might grace us a little sooner than expected this year after the year we’ve all had so far. There will always be struggles we have to work through but we are facing the final battle of so many life-or-death issues like police brutality and the murder of so many black lives by the careless and institutionalized racism in the country. And so many other issues – hate and abhorrent violence directed at Asians and Asian Americans for a germ that happened to come from a single Asian country and has nothing to do with the people living in that giant and diverse global region. Which maybe is why things like this gluten free strawberry rhubarb tart feel extra-comforting this year.
Here’s to continuing to make and seek out our comfort foods, while still facing these real and immediate issues every day, because hiding from them (especially as white people), we continue to allow them to persist and wreak havoc on our friends and neighbors. If you’re looking for ways to mix the two, comfort food and action, we recommend joining some of the many groups that have started in the past year who host virtual bake sales, drawing home and professional bakers together in a global network of treats for a cause. Bakers Against Racism is perhaps the front-runner for mass bake sales – you simply join by committing to bake and sell your bakes either online or locally, and then donate the proceeds to any number of organizations fighting for change, and record your donation on their running tracker to see how you’ve contributed to a giant pool. Bakers for Change is another fantastic org that hosts bake sales and auctions that you should absolutely look at joining. If you’re not a baker, both orgs have awesome merch you can purchase instead to support their efforts!
If you’re into this nostalgic combo, then we highly recommend making our strawberry rhubarb cupcakes with an ethereal strawberry rhubarb whipped cream cream cheese frosting, or if you just want summer as badly as we do, make this strawberry lemonade cake! Or these lemon ricotta cupcakes, or this passion fruit and pastry cream tart, or this vanilla yuzu tart, or these mango panna cotta cups!
Gluten Free Roasted Strawberry Rhubarb Tart
Equipment
- 10-inch tart pan
- Small saucepan
- Cookie sheet
- Parchment paper
Ingredients
For the pastry cream:
- 1 Cup whole milk
- 1/2 Cup heavy cream
- 1/4 Cup white sugar
- 3 1/2 Tbsp corn starch
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 3 large egg yolks
- 2 Tbsp salted butter room temp
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
For the crust:
- 3/4 Cup graham cracker crumbs
- 1 Cup blanched packed almond flour
- 1/2 Cup arrowroot starch
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 Tbsp white sugar
- 8 Tbsp melted salted butter
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
For the strawberries + rhubarb:
- 4 Cups peeled rhubarb chopped into 1 1/2-2 inch pieces
- 4 Cups hulled strawberries sliced in half
- 1/2 Cup white sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp rose water
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- First, make the pastry cream! This will need to chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours. In a small saucepan, heat your whole milk and the heavy cream and 2 Tbsp of the sugar and heat over medium low, stirring frequently, until it comes to a simmer. While the milk mixture is heating, whisk together the remaining 2 Tbsp of sugar, cornstarch, salt, and egg yolks in a medium bowl until thick and smooth.
- Finally, once milk is simmering, remove from heat, and, whisking constantly, pour 1/2 cup of the mixture slowly into the egg yolk bowl to temper your egg yolks. Once tempered, put the saucepan back over low heat and whisk in the tempered egg mixture. Whisk constantly as the saucepan mixture continues to thicken over low heat. Once thick, remove from heat and whisk in the 2 Tbsp salted butter and vanilla extract until smooth, then scoop the pastry cream into a bowl, place plastic wrap directly on top of the pastry cream, and refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours (can make ahead if you'd like).
- Next, make your crust! Preheat the oven to 325° Fahrenheit and lightly grease your 10-inch tart pan with cooking spray then set aside. In a large bowl, combine all of your tart crust ingredients, stirring until it resembles wet sand. Dump crust into tart pan and press the crust into the base and up the sides so that you have an even layer lining the entire pan (patting down the edges). Bake for 20-25 minutes or until drier to the touch. Let crust cool completely before filling.
- Then, make your roasted fruit. Line a cookie sheet with a larger piece of parchment paper and raise the temperature of the oven to 350° Fahrenheit. In a large bowl, combine your peeled and chopped rhubarb, your hulled and sliced strawberries, and all other ingredients until the fruit is coated in the other ingredients. Dump fruit onto the prepared cookie sheet and spread so that you have a single layer of fruit in the juice/coating. Bake for 45 minutes total, carefully spooning some of the pan juices over fruit every 15 minutes. Let fruit cool completely before topping your tart with it.
- Once everything is cooled/chilled (you can make all three components ahead of time), stir the pastry cream to loosen, then spread the pastry cream into the tart crust, smoothing to the edges. Finally, remove the tart from the pan and plate, and carefully spoon the cooled roasted fruit (and all of the extra juices in the pan!) on top of the pastry cream, and then serve! Keep refrigerated until serving (the pastry cream needs to stay chilled).
Tag @sisterssansgluten on Instagram if you snap a photo of your tart!
Food photography and styling by Amelia Farber
One Comment
Tristan Petak
Really gorgeous and the roasted fruit is amazing – such a good recipe!