Rhubarb Frangipane Puff Pastry Tart
My Rhubarb Frangipane Puff Pastry Tart is quick & simple to make with ready-made & rolled out puff-pastry & is bursting with rhubarb. Let me show you how:
Rhubarb Frangipane Puff Pastry Tart
Quicker Pastry Series
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What Is This Rhubarb Frangipane Tart?
This Rhubarb Frangipane Tart, is a puff pastry tart, filled with a frangipane (Almond cream) filling & rhubarb stalks.
Made from a ready-made puff pastry sheet, filled with an easy orange frangipane filling, topped with large rhubarb pieces. Made in a cookie tray/sheet, & crust decorated with flaked almonds.
Why Make This Rhubarb Pastry?
- Quick & easy
- No need to make puff pastry
- No need to ‘blind bake’
- No need for a pie tin/dish
- Bake in a cookie tray/sheet
- Full step-by-step instructions
- Video tutorial
- No decoration required
- Some parts can be made ahead
- Tastes great!
1.Quick & Simple To Make
This is a super simple tart, beginner bakers could make it. No need to make puff pastry or any kind of pastry.
2.No Special Equipment Required
You don’t even need a pie dish or tart tin to make this. Simply bake in a cookie tray/cookie sheet.
3. No Decorating Skills Needed
No decorating required, just construct & bake.
4. Makes a large tart
Makes for a big tart as it is made on a cookie tin/cookie sheet. So can make 12 – 16 slices.
Ingredients & Alternatives
This easy rhubarb tart is made from the following:
- Ready Made Puff Pastry
- Rhubarb
For The Frangipane (Almond Cream):
- Butter
- Sugar
- Ground Almonds*
- Eggs
- Flour
- Orange Extract (optional)
For Decoration:
- Egg wash
- Flaked Almonds*
*See notes below
Rhubarb
Fresh rhubarb is used here. When I say fresh, I just mean not frozen. In my testing, the first lot of rhubarb was at least 10 days old & stored in the fridge before I got to it.
For making a pattern on your tart, I like to use whole stalks of rhubarb (not halved), and cut into longer strips (7cm, 2.75″) to be precise. More on the rhubarb pattern below
Macerating The Rhubarb
Like strawberries, rhubarb gives off a lot of juice. Pink juice to be precise. So not only can it soak into your pastry but the rhubarb loses colour too. Whilst strong red rhubarb looks amazing in photos, my rhubarb growing friends tell me there is absolutely no difference in taste or quality, the paler the rhubarb is.
I have tested using whole rhubarb pieces & some moisture does release from the rhubarb but if you bake really well & eat fresh out the oven, there is not too much softness in the pastry part.
You can however macerate the rhubarb first. Macerating fruit is simply tossing it in sugar & leaving the sugar (that has hygroscopic qualities), to draw out the moisture. It can start happening as quick as 30 minutes & you will see the rhubarb start to look like its sweating & pink liquid will start to collect at the bottom of the bowl.
My tip is to try and macerate at least 30 minutes to 2 hours. 30 minutes for a more vibrant red colour. You can leave overnight but the rhubarb will be quite paler than it started. Rinse off any sugar if you want to terminate the macerating & pat dry.
Puff Pastry
For this easy rhubarb frangipane tart, ready-made puff pastry is used. You can of course make your own puff pastry (if you have the time), or use some frozen home-made, but shop bought is not that bad. Ironically, sometimes shop bought puff pastry can be cheaper to buy than make your own, without even factoring in your time. Frozen is what I tend to buy as there is less ‘extra’ ingredients.
A ready-rolled out sheet is the best just for convenience, but you can use the block of pastry & roll out yourself.
**Tip – ready-rolled puff pastry taken from the chiller section, can be frozen at home.
Ground Almonds
Frangipane has ground almonds in it & the US equivalents are either fine almond meal, or almond flour.
Make Your Own Ground Almonds – If you can’t source ground almonds or Almond Meal, you can grind your own almonds, skin and all. Check YouTube videos on how to do this, but basically you crush the almonds a little in a food baggie, and then process. (See my photo for reference).
Flaked Almonds
I decorate the edges of the rhubarb tart with flaked almonds. US equivalent sometimes referred to sliced almonds. See photo.
Sugar
Granulated sugar is used, but Caster (extra/super fine sugar) can also be used if you don’t have regular sugar.
Flour
A little regular Plain (All Purpose) flour used to make the frangipane.
Eggs
I have used both UK medium & large eggs during recipe testing so both sizings are listed in the Recipe Card below. Note US equivalent is large to extra large. Also make sure the eggs are at room temperature.
Butter
Unsalted butter is always recommended for sweet for savoury baking, for best & consistent results. Make sure it is softened & at room temperature before using.
Orange Extract
Frangipane typically has almond extract added, which is optional & I changed it up a bit, pairing orange extract with the rhubarb.
Equipment
For this easy puff pastry tart, I used a cookie tray/cookie sheet. Size 32 x 23 x 1.5cm (12.5 x 9”) . So about a US 1/4 sheet pan. But with a working area a little smaller than this.
You can use a smaller baking tin or even a square one instead of rectangular. Just make sure that you take into account, making the pastry sheet smaller, to make a crust/edge.
The Rhubarb Pattern
No rhubarb pattern is required, or you can do a different one. Mine is a very simple geometric one, consisting of a repeated pattern with 7cm (2.75″) long rhubarb pieces.
The pattern is columns of 4 stacked pieces, with every 2nd column positioned half way further down. Simple to understand in the photo collage here. It is very easy to do and only requires positioning these long pieces and then filling a few gaps at the edge with half-size pieces.
Number of columns of rhubarb – I made a plan of my working area – the base of the cookie tray, less the border crust. From there I divided the dimensions by the width of my rhubarb stalks. Make sure to check all your rhubarb pieces and keep same width pieces together.
Some instances you can split extra wide rhubarb down the middle. My rhubarb stalks ranged from 2-2.5cm (0.75 – 1″). With this in mind, I was able to use 8 columns of rhubarb, with little gaps in-between. (With various widths). On one of the tests however, the rhubarb was larger & so constructed with 7 columns.
For my 7 column pattern & size of rhubarb, I needed 25 x the 7cm pieces, plus 6 of the 1/2 sized, 3.5cm pieces. (Note, these were whole stalks I used & didn’t cut in half). For 8 column pattern it was 28 pieces & 8 halves.
If you find working with measurements difficult, or can’t do a rough sketch of the pattern, you can try out rhubarb pieces on top of your cut-out pastry, before adding any frangipane. Or follow with my photos here & below in the instructions.
Recipe Yield
Using the cookie tray/sheet listed, this can make 12 – 16 slices.
Step-By-Step Instructions
Planning & Preparing Rhubarb
1. Plan out if you are making a pattern with the rhubarb. Take into account the size of your sheet of pastry & that you want to make a border around the tart. I used a UK cookie tray/cookie sheet. With a working area of 32 x 23 x 1.5cm (12.5 x 9”). So about a US 1/4 sheet pan size. You want a tart border of about 1.25cm (1/2″) around the edges & so you need to cut this from your sheet of pastry. With that in mind your base sheet of pastry will be shorter & not as wide, by 2.5cm/1″.
UK rolls of puff pastry tend to be about 38 x 26cm (15 x 10”). If you have a larger block of puff pastry, you can go ahead & roll out for a bigger tray, remembering to cut off pastry strips for the crust edging.
2. Once you know the size of your pastry area (mine is 28 x 17cm, 11 x 6.5”) you can then look at your rhubarb stalks. They don’t all come in the same width, even in the same packet/bunch. So a plan of how to position the rhubarb is helpful in a quick sketch.
If you don’t want a pattern, you can add as you like, leaving a little gap in-between. Just make sure you have at least 400g (14 oz) of rhubarb you can use. **You can read more about the pattern & planning before these instructions.
(Not good at maths & measuring, just cut the pastry to fit your tray & your border. Then place rhubarb on top to see how much you are going to use).
3. Once you have planned out your pattern (if not using same as mine), chop & clean the rhubarb. I kept the rhubarb whole & cut in pieces 7cm/2.75″ long.
4. Macerate the rhubarb for at least 30 minutes to 2 hours, by placing in a bowl with 2 tbsp sugar. Use your hands to toss the sugar & coat the rhubarb. Leave to the side & some pink liquid will be extracted from the rhubarb. (See more above about macerating).
Prepare The Pastry
1. Unroll the ready-made pastry (and leave on the paper it came with), before placing on top of a chopping board.
2. Use a ruler to mark out 2.5cm/1″ from all ends & cut these 2.5cm/1″ strip off all sides. You should be left with a rectangle that now is 5cm/2″ shorter in length & in width. (See Photo 3).
3. Grease & paper line the cookie tray/sheet. Fold over the large piece of pastry & transfer to the lined tray. See Photo collage 3.
4. Add the egg for the frangipane, into a small bowl & whisk till combined.
5. Brush the egg-wash onto the edges of the pastry base, where the pastry strips will be positioned. This will help them stay in place.
6. Next, take one piece of the pastry strips you cut and place on top of the pastry as a border or edge, trimming off the end if too long (lifting the strip, it will become a little longer from stretching too).
7. Repeat with the other 3 sides till a frame is formed. (See Photo collage 4).
8. Use a fork to ‘dock’ the base of the pastry sheet. This simply involves making lots of holes over the surface. This allows air & moisture to escape & helps to reduce a soggy bottom in pastries.
9. Now brush some more egg wash on top of the pastry edging/border you added.
10. Place some flaked almonds (almond slices), on top of this egg-washed border. Whole and broken pieces is all fine.
11. Cover all the border with the almonds, pressing in place by hand if needed. (See Photo collage 5).
12. Leave the remaining egg to the side.
13. Place the pastry in the fridge while you prepare the filling & topping.
Making The Frangipane
1. Heat your oven to 180°c/160°c Fan Oven/350°f/Gas Mark 4 before you start to prepare the filling.
2. Start by adding softened cubed butter to a mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer till spreadable & no longer cubed. (See Photo collage 6).
3. Add in the sugar & beat till combined, (note since we are using granulated and not Caster/fine sugar or making cake, we don’t need to ‘cream’ till smooth).
4. Add the remaining egg from earlier & beat until incorporated.
5. Beat in the flour & then fold in ground almonds (fine almond meal/almond flour). **Note the mixture will be lumpy and looking curdled but is how it should be.
Filling The Tart
1. Add heaped spoons of the frangipane filling over the pastry base, dividing up the filling. (See Photo 7).
2. Then spread out into a thin layer. Thin is best or you will cover the rhubarb when baking.
3. Take the rhubarb pieces you cut for your pattern and have them laid out on some paper. Since my rhubarb pieces were 7cm long & was doing a pattern where some ends were halved, I separated the pieces out.
4. For my geometric pattern I started on the right side, (with shorter edge facing you, see Photo 8). Start by placing the first 7cm stalk of rhubarb at the top right cover of the pastry base (meeting the corner of the pastry crust). Then place 3 pieces below this, individually.
5. For the second column, start by placing a 7cm piece next to the first one you put down, but at the half-way down point. Add 2 more 7cm pieces below this.
6. You will now have a column of 3 pieces, with a gap at the top & bottom. Take 2 half pieces & place in the gap.
7. Repeat this 2-column pattern, that is really easy when you see in photo 8 below. Move the pieces across the way to leave even & small gaps between the columns.
*You can choose to add the flaked almonds now instead
Baking The Rhubarb Tart
1.Once the oven is ready, pop the tart in the centre of the oven to bake. Bake for about 35-45 minutes, till the pastry has puffed well at the edges, is a deep golden shade, and the rhubarb will have softened, shrunk & become paler in colour. (See Photo).
**After about 20- 25 minutes, (once the rhubarb has shrunk and become wrinkled), go ahead and sprinkle on 2 tbsp of sugar on top of the rhubarb. I found when its part cooked, the rhubarb takes on the sugar better, and counter acts the sharp taste of the rhubarb. Rotate the tart tray/pan during baking if needed. Rotate the tart tray/pan during baking if needed
2. Leave to cool on a cooking rack for about 15 minutes & remove the cookie tray/cookie sheet & leave to cool a bit longer.
Serving & Storing
1. Serve while still a little warm or at room temperature. Eat as they are or with some ice-cream or custard which is classic. (Try my recipe for Pastry Cream and just make a little thinner for an easy homemade custard).
2. Store the leftover rhubarb frangipane tart slices at room temperature, in a metal cake or cookie tin or under a cake dome.
3. Best consumed on same day as making this tart. You can re-heat in the oven or air fryer next day to bring some crispiness back. If you did not macerate the rhubarb, the pastry centre will become more moist & affect the pastry crust. You can half the recipe and make in a smaller tray or even air fryer basket.
4. **The frangipane & pastry crust can be prepared ahead of time, just make sure to cover well & refrigerate. The pastry can be cut, up to 2 days before & the frangipane, up to 1 week1 before using.
DIFFICULTY LEVEL: easy, beginner
Other Easy Pastry Recipes
This rhubarb tart, joins my series of easy pastry recipes, using ready-made puff pastry or pastry alternatives.
Try one of the recipes below, by clicking the photo – Cream cheese pastry swirls, the cheese twists or quick white cheese dill swirls. Or even, pastry-free quick cheese swirls.
Recipe Card
Quick Rhubarb Frangipane Tart
Equipment
- Digital scales or measuring cups
- Knife and chopping board
- Ruler to measure
- Mixing bowl
- Electric mixer
- Wooden spoon/spatula
- Baking/parchment paper
- 1 Cookie Tray (working size 32 x 23 x 1.5cm (12.5 x 9”), US ¼ sheet pan*)
- Cooling rack
Ingredients
- 400 grams Rhubarb (14 oz, fresh not frozen)*
- 375 grams Puff Pastry (13¼ oz, ready-made, rolled sheet)*
- 63 grams Unsalted Butter (2¼ oz, ¼ cup + 1 tsp, cubed small)
- 63 grams Sugar (2¼ oz, ¼ cup + 2 tsp *)
- 1 Egg (UK med-large, US large- extra-large*)
- 1 tsp Orange Extract (optional or almond extract)
- 50 grams Ground Almonds (1¾ oz, ½ cup, Fine Almond Meal/Almond Flour*)
- 1½ tsp Flour (Plain, All Purpose flour)
- 8 grams Flaked Almonds (about 2 tbsp, Sliced almonds, optional, for decoration)
- 1 tbsp Sugar (before baking)
- 2 tbsp Sugar (during baking)
Instructions
Prepare The Rhubarb
- See before this recipe card for how to plan out your own rhubarb pattern, follow my pattern or no pattern at all. This will determine how many pieces of rhubarb you need & what size. For my pattern, I cut 25 pieces, 7cm (2¾"). And used 6 pieces that were 3½cm (1⅓"). They were cut from whole stalks.
- You can use the rhubarb without macerating (which extracts moisture), but I recommend doing so, for at least 30 minutes. Add the measured and chopped rhubarb pieces to a bowl & add 2 tbsp sugar. Coat the pieces & leave to the side. The rhubarb will start to sweat & some pink liquid will collect in the bowl. Leave for 30mins – 2 hours. Longer left more liquid extracts, but you do lose a lot of red colour in the rhubarb.
Prepare The Pastry
- Unroll the read-made pastry & trim off 2½cm (1") strips from all 4 sides to make a border. **See note below if using a smaller sized baking tray/pan.
- Whisk the egg for the frangipane, and brush onto the edges of the pastry, before placing the cut strips on to form a border/crust (trimming if needed). Brush egg wash on top of the crust & add ground almonds (sliced almonds). Reserve the remaining egg.
- 'Dock' the pastry base, by making lots of holes on the surface with a fork. Place in the fridge while you prepare the frangipane.
Prepare The Frangipane (Almond Cream)
- Preheat the oven to: 180°c/160°c Fan Oven/350°f/Gas Mark 4
- Add the softened cubed butter to a mixing bowl & beat with an electric mixer till spreadable. Add the sugar & beat together for about 30 seconds before adding in the remaining egg & mixing together.
- Add the orange extract (optional), flour & ground almonds (almond flour/meal) & mix until combined. Note the mixture will be lumpy & look curdled.
Fill The Pastry
- Divide up the prepared frangipane on top of the base of your pastry tart casing & spread out into a thin layer. Thin is important for the rhubarb to be visible once baked. So hold back any extra if making a smaller tart in a smaller sized cookie tray/sheet. **You can spread some jam/preserve before the frangipane if you like.
- Start the pattern of rhubarb by placing a 7cm (2¾") piece at the top right corner, in a vertical position. Place 3 more directly below, leaving some space, letting the 4th piece meet the bottom crust.
- Take another similar sized piece, and start a 2nd column, but start half-way down from where you placed the first rhubarb piece. Place 2 more to make a column of 3 pieces, with a small gap top and bottom.
- Repeat this 2-column pattern till filled across the way. Then use the half-sized pieces (3½cm, 1⅓") to fill in the gaps. Sprinkle on 1 tbsp sugar over the rhubarb. See Process collage photos before this Recipe Card, for the step-by-step instructions.
Bake The Tart
- Pop the tart in the centre of the pre-heated oven to bake for 35 – 45 minutes until the pastry has risen, is a deep golden colour and the rhubarb is cooked through. **After 20-25 minutes baking, (when the rhubarb looks wrinkly), sprinkle 2 tbps of sugar over the rhubarb again. Adding at this stage, the rhubarb absorbs the sugar better & reduces excess tartness. Then turn the tray & continue baking till ready.
- Leave to cool on top of a cooling rack for 15 minutes, before sliding the tray/sheet off, via the paper & leaving to cool some more.
Serving & Storing
- Serve warm or at room temperature, on its own or with some custard (see my Pastry cream recipe that you can make thinner as a custard). Or add some ice-cream.
- Best enjoyed same day as baked as the pastry will start to lose its crispiness. **Frangipane & prepared pastry crust can be made ahead of time. Cover well & store in the fridge. Up to 2 days for the pastry case & up to 1 week for the frangipane1.
- Store the cooled tart at room temperature in a metal cake or cookie tin or under a cake dome for up to 2 days.
Video
Notes
Ground Almonds – US best equivalent is fine almond meal or almond flour that isn’t too fine.
Equipment – see listed sizing in equipment list, but you can make a smaller size tray/sheet to bake in.
Rhubarb Pattern – for more on how to plan out a pattern , what size you need for your pastry & how many pieces, see before the step-by-step instructions section.
Recipe Yield – 12 to 16 slices depending on sizing cut.
Check out my other quick puff pastry recipes, like the cream cheese pastry swirls below.
Reference – 1 storing frangipane information from King Arthur Baking-Frangipane/Almond Cream.
Nutritional Information – I am not a qualified nutritionist & all values are approximate. These values are based on using all the ingredients listed, where 1 serving is one slice from a yield of 16 slices. Make bigger or smaller slices & these values will change. Values calculated via MyFitnessPal.com
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Rhubarb Frangipane Puff Pastry Tart
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Reference:
- storing frangipane information from King Arthur Baking-Frangipane/Almond Cream ↩︎
