This Springtime Rhubarb Ricotta Tart is the answer to all of your springtime prayers!! The lightness of the ricotta and the tanginess of the rhubarb will make this a winning dish every single time!!!
Jump to RecipeI don’t know if you know how much I love rhubarb.
I mean, I looooove rhubarb.
Seriously!
I have a ridiculous amount of rhubarb recipes on the blog (I did a post on all of the rhubarb recipes here) so, if you’re like me and love rhubarb, click on any of the recipes on that post!!!
This ricotta tart is another addition to my rhubarb round-up! It is super delicious and kind of reminds me of this Easter Ricotta Pie I made a couple of years ago… (you can find that recipe here).
What Will You Need for This Springtime Rhubarb Ricotta Tart:
- chopped rhubarb (can be frozen)
- ricotta
- cream cheese
- eggs
- sugar
- butter
- cake and pastry flour
- icing sugar
- lemon or lime zest
- wheat germ
- flax seed
- vanilla
It may seem like a lot of ingredients, but you’ll probably have many of them in your pantry already!!!
I have some additional tips that might make this easier…
Additional Tips That Will Make This Springtime Rhubarb Ricotta Tart Easier to Make:
- I know it’s spring and you’ll be able to find rhubarb at your local grocer (soon, if not now) or your local farmers market. But, if you’d like to make this out-of-season, frozen rhubarb works great!! If you have rhubarb in the garden now (or know someone who does – trust me, they’ll give you some if you ask), make sure you chop it and freeze it for another time. It is a perennial plant and grows back every season – and if it likes where it is, it will grow abundantly every year so make sure you don’t let any go to waste!! It is a lot harder to find frozen (which really blows me away because it’s such a hardy plant and cheap to grow!!) so if you find it somewhere, make sure you remember that store!
- The ricotta in this makes it a bit lighter that a regular cheesecake. If you have fresh ricotta, that will work great. But, plain, old supermarket ricotta is fine for this recipe too!
- This crust is what makes this special. I wanted to make it nuttier and ended up with a healthier version of a regular pie crust! For this version, I used ground flax instead of almond flour (because I had tons!!) and it was a game changer! So super nutty!
- If you have access to vanilla beans, you can do double-duty with it here!! Once you’ve scraped out the paste from the inside of the bean, take the empty pod and tuck it into a jar filled with granulated sugar. In a couple of weeks, you will have vanilla scented sugar that is aaaamazing in your morning coffee!!
- I haven’t tried freezing this (because, honestly, it was so good we ate it ALL!!) but next time I will try to freeze it and let you know. Most cheesecakes freeze really well, but the fact that it is mainly ricotta in the filling makes me think it might get grainy if it’s frozen. Will keep you posted!!!
Seriously though, you guuuyyysss!! Isn’t she a beauty?? I’m not a fancy, shmancy baker who makes things delicate and pretty (I’m all about the “rustic” look ;)). So, my edging here is just pressed into place. It may look too ‘thick’ but I loved how it tasted and it felt like I was eating a cookie with my pie!! Win-win!!!
So let’s try this recipe!! Pleeease let me know what you think!! I’d love to here how you changed yours to make it your own!!!
Springtime Rhubarb Ricotta Tart
Ingredients
For the Tart Dough
- 1½ cups cake and pastry flour, plus more for rolling can use all-purpose flour
- ½ cup ground flax seed can use ground almonds/almond flour
- 2 tablespoons wheat germ or flax meal
- ⅓ cup icing sugar
- 1 medium lemon or lime, zested
- Pinch kosher salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
For the Filling
- ¼ cup cream cheese
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1¾ cups ricotta
- 2 large eggs
- pinch salt
For Topping
- 1 pound rhubarb, diced
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped you can sub in 2 tsp vanilla extract.
- 1/4 cup strawberry jam, optional (this makes it a touch more sweet)
Instructions
- To make the tart shell, place flour, flax and wheat germ in a food processor with the blade attachment; process about 1 minute. Add the sugar, the zest and the salt and pulse to combine.
- Add butter and pulse again until coarse. Add egg and pulse just until a crumbly dough comes together. Press dough into a disk, wrap in plastic and chill for at least 1 hour or overnight.
- When ready to bake the tart, roll the dough out on a floured board to fit a 9-inch tart pan. Place the dough into the pan, poke the bottom with a fork.
- Heat oven to 325 degrees. Line the tart shell with parchment and fill with baking weights (if you don't have these, you can use uncooked rice or dried beans). Bake for 20 minutes, then carefully remove the parchment and baking weights. Continue baking, uncovered, for about 15 additional minutes or until tart is light golden in color.
- Meanwhile make the filling: In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine cream cheese and sugar. Beat mixture until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes and then add ricotta, eggs and salt and mix to combine. Pour filling into baked tart shell and smooth the top (crust can still be hot when you add the filling).
- Bake tart for 30-45 minutes, or until filling is just set in the center (a little wobble in the centre is good). Let cool at room temperature on a wire rack.
- Meanwhile, prepare the rhubarb topping; simmer the diced rhubarb with a bit of water (if you are using frozen rhubarb and it is defrosted, simply use the water that come the the frozen rhubarb), ½ cup sugar and 1 vanilla bean (add the paste from the inside of the bean – tuck the bean pod into a container of sugar and it will become vanilla sugar in a few weeks) – if you're using the jam, you can add it now!! When the sugar dissolves and rhubarb is tender, about 5 to 7 minutes, remove from the heat. Let cool before spooning compote over the tart.
- Cool to room temperature and serve with ice cream or whipped cream.
