rhubarb-tart-200x150.jpgBetween the bright red rhubarb and the creamy cream cheese, Martha’s tart is no shrinking violet. In fact, you might as well forget dinner entirely and just serve this. No one will remember anything else anyway.

Cream Cheese Tart Dough

  1. 1 cup all purpose flour
  2. 1 tbs sugar
  3. ½ tsp baking powder
  4. ¼ tsp salt
  5. 6 tbs unsaltedbutter, cut into bits
  6. 3 oz cream cheese, cold

Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a food processor and pulse to combine

Add the butter, and pulse until the pieces are about the size of peas

Add the cream cheese, and pulse again until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs

Turn out onto a piece of plastic wrap

Use the plastic to schmusch (Penelope’s, not Martha’s technique) the dough together

Flatten into a square and wrap with the plastic

Chill the dough at least 1 hour before rolling out

The Filling

  1. 1 ½ cups, plus 2 tbs sugar
  2. 1 vanilla bean
  3. 1 ½ lbs rhubarb, trimmed and sliced into 2-inch pieces
  4. 4 oz cream cheese, softened
  5. grated zest of 1 lemon
  6. ¼ cup sour cream

Preheat the oven to 350°

In a large skillet, stir together 1 ½ cup water, 1 ½ cup sugar, and vanilla bean

Cook over medium heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved and the water is boiling

Add rhubarb, turn off the heat, cover and let stand until the rhubarb is softened(about 25 minutes)

Remove the rhubarb from the liquid

Spread in a single layer in a baking pan lined with several layers of paper towels

Strain 1 cup of poaching liquid into a medium skillet

Cook over high heat until the syrup has thickened, set aside to cool

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese and remaining 2 tbs of sugar and lemon zest

Using the paddle attachment, beat until smooth

Add the sour cream

Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over the bottom of the cooled pastry crust

Arrange the rhubarb on top

Drizzle with the reserved cooled syrup

Chill the tart, loosely covered with plastic wrap until ready to serve