I’ve posted a chocolate bakewell tart once before on this site, but I have never had the “regular” version.  A traditional bakewell tart contains a shortcrust pastry, filled with some kind of fruit, and topped with frangipane.  The frangipane filling is light and spongy, flavored mostly from the almonds.  For the Daring Bakers challenge, we had to include the shortcrust pastry and frangipane but could use whatever fruit filling we wanted.

I decided to make a rhubarb compote to fill my tarts.  We were watering some plants for some friends that are out of town and noticed that they had a meyer lemon tree.  Since there happened to be a ripe one, and I already knew I liked the combination of Meyer lemon and rhubarb, I brought it home and added its juice and zest to the rhubarb.  I also ended up flavoring the rhubarb with lavender by adding a few stems while it stewed.

The almond frangipane is really pretty sweet, so the rhubarb compote was a good match as the tartness helped to cut the sweet filling.  Still, it was almost too sweet for me, and I’m glad I decided to halve the recipe and make small tarts instead of a large pie-sized tart as the orginal recipe called for.  And I’m definitely looking forward to eating the leftover compote on pancakes (like this morning) and ice cream.  Overall, I enjoyed the flavor of these tarts, and it was nice to have a challenge that was interesting but a bit more relaxed and not too involved.  Thanks to Jasmine and Annemarie for hosting, and don’t forget to check out the blogroll to see what everyone else was up to!

Rhubarb Bakewell Tarts

Adapted from Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict

1 recipe shortcrust pastry (see below)
about 2 cups rhubarb compote (see below)
1 recipe frangipane filling (see below)
a couple tablespoons slivered almonds

Roll out the pastry for the tarts and place in tart pans. Freeze the crust for at least fifteen minutes. Preheat oven to 400 F. Spread about a tablespoon of rhubarb compote on the bottom of each tart. Top with the frangipane so that the pans are about 2/3 full or a little more. Spread to the edges of the tart so it seals over the rhubarb.

Bake for about fifteen minutes. When the crust is starting to puff and barely golden, pull out and top each tart with a few slivered almonds. Bake another five minutes, until the filling is lightly browned.

Let cool a few minutes before removing from the pans. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Shortcrust Pastry

1 c flour
2 T sugar
1/4 t salt
1/2 stick (4 T) butter, cold
1 egg yolk
1/4 t almond extract
1-2 T cold water

Sift together the flour, sugar, and salt. Cut in the butter. Beat the egg yolk and almond extract. Mix into the flour and butter. Add the water a little at a time just until the dough comes together. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before rolling out.

Lavender Lemon Rhubarb Compote

This ends up with about 3 cups of compote, more than is needed to fill the tarts.  Leftovers are great on pancakes, ice cream, by the spoonful, etc.

4 stalks rhubarb, cut in 1/2″ pieces (about 4 cups)
1 T Meyer lemon zest
1/4 c Meyer lemon juice
3 stalks of fresh lavender

Mix the rhubarb, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Tie the lavender stalks together and place in the pan. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the rhubarb starts to break down and release its liquid. Remove the cover and continue to simmer for 15 minutes or so, until it’s thickened up and the rhubarb has broken down.

Frangipane Filling

6 T (3/4 stick) butter, softened
3 oz. powdered sugar
2 eggs
1/4 t almond extract
3 oz ground almonds
1 T flour

Cream together the butter and sugar.  Beat in eggs and almond extract.  (The filling will look “curdled”, but that’s as it should be.)  Stir in the almonds and flour until mixed well.

You might also like:

• Rhubarb Meyer Lemon Scones
•  Ginger Rhubarb Tarts
• Rhubarb Apricot Galette
• Jammin’ Chocolate Tarts

I have a wonderful friend named Linda who happens to have a Meyer lemon tree in her yard, and who very generously shares them with me.  When she brought a bag to choir a few weeks ago, I was thinking of making scones out of them.  Then I decided to combine with something else I love: rhubarb.  Meyer lemons are a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange, so they’re sweeter than a normal lemon.  They also have a thinner and less bitter peel, which has a nice floral aroma that went really well with the rhubarb.  I based these scones on a recipe from Baking Bites, but added a filling of the rhubarb, which I just stewed with a bit of sugar until it was falling apart.

Rhubarb Meyer Lemon Scones

Adapted from Baking Bites

3 sticks rhubarb, sliced
2 T + 1/4 c sugar, divided
2 c all purpose flour
1 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
2 t Meyer lemon zest
1/2 cup butter, cold
~1/2 c Meyer lemon juice
1/4 c cream (optional)
Coarse sugar (optional)

In a small saucepan, sprinkle the rhubarb with about 2 T sugar, or to taste. (How much sugar you want will also depend on how tart your rhubarb is.) Add a couple teaspoons of water. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the rhubarb is falling apart. Let it continue to cook on very low heat to get out as much of the water as possible so the scones won’t be too mushy. When it seems pretty thick, remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 F. Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, and zest. Dice the butter and cut it into the dry ingredients, but not too evenly. You want some bigg-ish (pea-size) pieces to remain to make the scones a little flaky. Stir in the juice with a fork, a little at a time, until the dough just comes together.

Divide the dough into two balls. Press both halves into discs about 1/2 ” thick. Place one disc on a piece of parchment paper. Spread the stewed rhubarb on top of this disc, not quite to the very edge. Place the other disc on top and press together a bit at the edges to seal the two together.  If it doesn’t seal too well, don’t worry; it will when it cooks.  Cut into six or eight wedges and spread apart slightly. Optionally, brush with cream and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.

Bake at 400 F until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Ginger Rhubarb Tarts  

3 or 4 large stalks of rhubarb, or several thin ones
1-2 T granulated sugar (or to taste)

1/3 c brown sugar
3 T finely chopped almonds
2″ piece of ginger, grated
salt

1 package frozen puff pastry, thawed
3 T butter

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Cut the rhubarb into sticks, 3″ long and about 1/2″ wide. Toss with the sugar. Leave in a colander or on paper towels to drain off some of its water.

Meanwhile, mix together the ingredients for the crumble: brown sugar, almonds, ginger, and a pinch of salt. Let it stand while you prepare the crust, so the flavors meld a bit.

Roll out the puff pastry so it’s a little thinner than it comes in the package (maybe 3/16″? I’m terrible at estimating these things). Cut it into rectangles about 1/2″ wider than the sticks of rhubarb, and 4-5″ long. Optional: brush the edges with a little bit of melted butter. Sprinkle each rectangle with the crumble and top with several sticks of rhubarb. Dot lightly with butter.

Bake on a cookie sheet at 400 F for about 20 minutes, until the pastry is puffed and golden. Serve warm or at room temperature. I wished I had some lightly sweetened whipped cream to top them with, although they were plenty tasty without it.