Rhubarb Tart

I love spring and the Farmers Market! Saturday morning was the first Farmers Market of the season and Saturday evening was the Kentucy Derby! What a great day! I bought rhubarb in the morning and took this rhubarb tart to a Derby party in the afternoon. I made this tart what seems like every weekend last spring and so excited to continue the tradition.

We ate the leftovers on Sunday with vanilla ice cream and it was still d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s!

Rhubarb Tart with Brown Butter Streusel
serves 8 to 10
modified from Bon Appetit, January 2004

Crust
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 egg yolk
3 to 4 tablespoons chilled whole milk

Streusel
9 tablespoons butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3/4 cup almonds
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon molases (or 3/4 cup brown sugar)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup all purpose flour

Filling
2 pounds rhubarb, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices rhubarb (about 4 cups once sliced)
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

For crust:

Blend flour, sugar, and salt in processor. Using on/off turns, cut in butter until coarse meal forms. Add egg yolk and 3 tablespoons cream. Blend until moist clumps form, adding more cream if dough is dry. Gather dough into ball. Press enough dough into 10-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom to make 1/4-inch-thick crust. Pierce crust all over with fork. Chill at least 2 hours*. Bake cold crust at 375F until golden brown, pressing with back of fork if crust bubbles, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and reduce oven temperature to 350°F

For streusel:

Grind almonds in a food processor until they are finely chopped. It is ok to have some slightly bigger pieces, but you are looking for a nice almond meal. Cook butter in large skillet over medium heat until golden*, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Mix in almonds, sugar, and cinnamon. Add flour and stir until moist clumps form. Cool completely. (Crust and streusel can be made 1 day ahead. Cover separately and chill.)

For filling:

Toss all ingredients in bowl to blend. Let stand until filling looks moist, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes.

Spoon filling into warm crust. Crumble streusel over. Bake until filling is bubbling and streusel is crisp and brown, about 1 hour. Cool tart on rack 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.


*Notes:
I have to be honest here. I never chill my pie crust for 2 hours. Maybe it would make an absolutely melt my heart pie crust if I did, but honestly I just wouldn't make pie that often if I had to chill the crust for 2 hours. Instead, I stick it in the freezer and give it as long as possible, but usually thats only 15 or 20 minutes.

I have made this tart several times and I think this was the very first time I actually let the butter get brown enough. Just before it gets dark, the butter will start to foam, a lot, whcih makes it hard to see the color. I let it foam for maybe 30 to 60 seconds until, while stirring very quickly with a spatula, I was able to see that the butter was starting to get a deep brown.