Double-Chocolate Rhubarb Tart | Baking with Dorie

For weeks, I’ve been debating whether I’d make the double-chocolate rhubarb tart or the chocolate banana one that Dorie suggests as a playing-around option. Seeing the results of our fellow bakers at Tuesdays with Dorie, the rhubarb tart clearly emerges to be the crowd favorite. Now the mission is to hunt down some fresh rhubarb. After scouting out in the local farmers market and small grocers, I secure a small bag of trimmed rhubarb, enough to make the toppings for the tart.

Double chocolate means a chocolate tart shell at the bottom and a chocolate frangipane for the filling. The tart is layered with chocolate and more chocolate. Does the paring of chocolate and rhubarb work? They are an elusive pair. You seldom see a chocolate rhubarb tart combo on offer in bakeries, let alone a double chocolate one. The only way to find out is to bake the tart and serve it to a group of testers. I had the opportunity to do just that in a backyard party last weekend.

No one seems to be excited about the look and the notion of a chocolate rhubarb tart. Any rhubarb fans around? However, the results of the tasting is overwhelmingly positive. Every one seems to be surprised how delicious the tart is: the fudge-like brownie feel of the tart, the crunchy shell and the tender flavorful rhubarb chunks on top. The only drawback is perhaps the stringiness of some of the rhubarb chunks.

Another interesting comment was regarding the crust to filling ratio. There were arguments on bother sides whether there was too much shell and not enough filling, or not.

The process involves making the chocolate tart shell (using cocoa powder) and the chocolate frangipane (with bittersweet chocolate). There’re ingredients you don’t need a lot of work: the jam which goes between the shell and the fillings. In addition, very little preparation goes in with the rhubarb. The stalks are trimmed and cut in chunks, and no cooking is required. By the way, make it less messy and easy for yourself by setting aside extra time to rest the crust in the fridge in between steps. The crust with the jam filling goes into the freezer to chill before covering it with the frangipane spread. Lastly, stalks of rhubarb are arranged over the top of the tart. I make a subway-tile-like pattern with minimal cuts involved.