Mini Strawberry Rhubarb Tarts
These mini strawberry rhubarb tarts feature a buttery, flaky crust paired with sweet strawberries and tart rhubarb, all topped off with Italian meringue.
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 stick unsalted butter straight from the fridge
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
- 1 egg yolk straight from the fridge
- 4-8 tablespoon ice cold water
Filling
- 2 cups rhubarb chopped
- 2 cups strawberries quartered
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoon corn starch
Italian Meringue
- 5 egg whites
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 cup sugar
- ¼ cup water
Instructions
Prepare
- Preheat the oven to 375.
Make the Crust
- Combine the flour, sugar, and salt.
- Cut the butter into small cubes, then add to the flour mixture and toss to coat. Using your fingers, "snap" in the butter so the cubes break apart and become long and thin.
- In a small bowl, combine the egg yolk with 4 tablespoon water.
- Add the egg yolk mixture into the flour mixture, and toss to coat. Add additional water as needed, until the dough is fully hydrated. You'll be able to tell that the dough has enough water when you can shape it into a ball, and it doesn't crumble when you pull the ball apart. When in doubt, add an extra tablespoon of water.
- Refrigerate the dough while you make the filling.
Make the Filling
- Combine chopped rhubarb, quartered strawberries, sugar, and corn starch in a bowl.
Make the Tarts
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Flour you rolling surface, then roll the dough out with a rolling pin until it is about ⅛ to ¼ inch link. Place the crust into the pan. You can use a tartlet pan, as I did, or use a full tart or pie pan. Whatever you have will work!
- Put the filling into the prepared crusts. Take care not to overfill, or the juices will run into the crust and make it soggy.
- Bake the tarts for 35-45 minutes, or until the crusts are golden brown. This may take longer for larger tarts. Determine when to take it out based on the golden brown color of the crust.
Make the Meringue
- While the tarts are baking, in a small pot, combine water and sugar by swirling them together. Do not stir. With a wet pastry brush, wet the sugar that remains undissolved on the side of the pan. This will prevent crystallization of the mixture later on.
- Heat on medium heat until the mixture reaches 240 degrees (AKA the soft ball stage), which you can determine using a candy thermometer or by using the visual cues linked in the guide above.
- While the sugar is heating, whip the egg whites in a separate bowl on low speed until foamy, with a stand mixer or a hand mixer. Add cream of tartar, then increase mixing speed to medium and whip until soft peaks form (visual cue guide linked). Wait until the sugar mixture is fully heated.
- When the sugar mixture reaches 240, immediately remove the pan from the heat. Turn the mixer on low, and slowly drizzle the hot sugar mixture into the egg whites. Once fully incorporated, increase mixer speed to medium and whip until stiff peaks form (visual cue guide linked).
Put It All Together
- Once you've taken the tarts out of the oven, spoon the meringue on top of the warm tarts, then caramelize the meringue. You can either do this with a kitchen torch, or you can preheat the oven to 450, place the oven rack towards the top of the oven, then bake until the meringue becomes slightly golden brown.
- Let cool for at least one hour, then dig in!
Notes
Cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!