Rhubarb Tart with Raspberry Cream

The Blackberry Farm Cookbook was one of my Christmas presents. I felt quit virtuous waiting to receive it until then, since I'd been coveting it for more than a year. The book photographs are so lush, and the recipes so appealing that once I unwrapped the book I almost left it on the coffee table to avoid the kitchen's inevitable trail of smudges, spills, and dented corners. But a cookbook only reaches its full potential when it's used, and I was curious to see if the taste of the food matched the beauty of the book's presentation.

But first, I took the time to read and savor the pages. I like the cookbook's arrangement of recipes by season. I have a few other cookbooks that have this type of organization and they are wonderful resources for menu planning.

I wanted to make something from the Spring section, and when my online buddy Kayte, who had received this book for her birthday, suggested making the Rhubarb Raspberry Tart, I happily agreed to join her (virtually, that is). This is a perfect recipe to make now, when it's not too late to find Spring's fresh rhubarb and Summer's ripe raspberries are appearing on the produce department scene.

n.o.e.'s notes:

- The recipe, which I've included, below, can be found in from The Blackberry Farm Cookbook.

- The tart combines raspberry and rhubarb, but it employs a bit unconventional way of pairing the flavors. The tart filling is straight-up rhubarb; the raspberry part of this tart comes in the whipped cream topping.

- If you want to make this tart and fresh rhubarb is not available, frozen rhubarb is fairly common in the freezer section of many grocery stores.

- To make the filling, half the rhubarb is cooked in a saucepan with orange juice, sugar along with some cornstarch to thicken it. Then the reserved half of the rhubarb is added and the filling is baked in the slightly blind-baked crust until the filling is bubbly and the rhubarb is tender.

- I made 2/3 recipe, in my 7.5" deep tart pan. By mistake I used the book's Sweet Pastry Dough rather than the Basic Pastry Dough which is indicated in the recipe. In my mind, a tart calls for tart crust rather than pie crust, I guess! The sweet dough had an interesting method: the butter is brought to room temperature before being mixed with the other ingredients in a food processor. Then the dough is chilled until it is cool enough to roll out to fit the tart pan.

- When the crust was blind baking, it oozed a lot of butter. I blotted up some of it, but also found that the crust magically re-absorbed the butter as it sat cooling on the counter.

- I rarely, if ever, sweeten my whipped cream, and I left out the recommended confectioner's sugar. I will say, however, that this is one of those times when a slight sweetening of the cream would be welcome.

the verdict:

This was a lovely dessert. The tart crust was delectable and I love the unusual combination of the creamy raspberry topping and the decidedly tart tart.

the recipe:

Rhubarb Tart with Raspberry Cream

adapted from The Blackberry Farm Cookbook and adjusted to 2/3 original size

tart or pie crust of choice in 7 to 8inch tart pan, blind baked and cooled
4 cups of sliced rhubarb
1/2 cup of granulated sugar
heaping 1/2 T of arrowroot or cornstarch (I used cornstarch)
scant 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 1/3 cup wild or regular raspberries (I used regular)
2/3 cup heavy cream
heaping 1/2 T confectioner's sugar (I omitted, but would include next time)

1. In a medium saucepan, combine 2 c of the rhubarb, with the sugar, orange juice and cornstarch. Cook over medium heat, stirring, for 6-7 minutes, until thickened. Remove from heat.

2. Fold remaining 2 c rhubarb into the cooked mixture.

3. Pour filling into the tart shell and bake 25-30 mins, until bubbling. Remove from oven and place on rack to cool to room temperature.

4. In a medium bowl, crush the raspberries with a spoon.

5. Whip the cream and confectioner's sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer or in a medium bowl with an electric hand mixer until the cream forms soft peaks.

6. Fold the crushed berries into the whipped cream and serve with the tart.