Gordon Ramsay’s rhubarb tart is sharp, buttery and quick, made with puff pastry, grated frozen marzipan and fresh rhubarb, ready in about 20 minutes. The marzipan melts into the base as it bakes, so you get an almond layer with none of the frangipane faff.
This is his recipe from Ramsay in 10, and he walks through the whole thing in his YouTube video where he builds it from scratch in 12 minutes. He admits it bends his own ten-minute rule, but the prep really is five minutes flat. His trick is grated marzipan, which he says “gives the illusion of having rustled up a homemade frangipane but without any of the effort.”
Don’t peel the rhubarb. Gordon won’t, because “all that flavour is in the skin.” The skin holds the pink colour too, so it’s what makes the tart look the part once it comes out of the oven.
Gordon Ramsay Rhubarb Tart
Course: DessertCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy4
tarts5
minutes15
minutes310
kcalFrom Gordon Ramsay’s Ramsay in 10. Quartered puff pastry scored into rectangles, a quick grated-marzipan base, rhubarb laid in rows and baked until golden, served with orange mascarpone and toasted almonds. Makes 4 small tarts.
Ingredients
- For the tarts:
Butter, for greasing
1 x 320g sheet ready-rolled puff pastry
40g block frozen marzipan
3 sticks rhubarb
1 egg, beaten
2 tbsp soft brown sugar
- For the topping:
2 tbsp flaked almonds
120g mascarpone
1 tbsp icing sugar
Zest of 1 orange or clementine
Directions
- Heat and prep: Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan, 350F). Butter a baking tray or line it with parchment.
- Score the pastry: Unroll the pastry and cut into quarters. Score a line 1cm in from the edge of each piece, then prick inside the lines with a fork. Lift onto the tray.
- Grate the marzipan: Finely grate the frozen marzipan evenly over the inside of each rectangle.
- Add the rhubarb: Cut the rhubarb into lengths to fit the marked rectangles and lay them in neat rows on top.
- Glaze and bake: Brush the outer edges with beaten egg and sprinkle with the brown sugar. Bake 15 minutes, until the rhubarb is tender and the pastry is golden.
- Toast and serve: Toast the almonds in the oven 3 to 4 minutes. Beat the mascarpone with the icing sugar and half the orange zest. Scatter the almonds and remaining zest over the tarts and serve with the orange mascarpone.
FAQs
Why does Gordon score the pastry instead of just folding a border?
He scores a line 1cm from the edge and calls it a “moat.” As the outer rim puffs up it traps the rhubarb juices inside, so nothing runs off the edge and burns on the tray. Prick inside the scored line too, that keeps the base flat so the marzipan and fruit sit level.
In the video he uses egg yolk only on the border, no white, because it gives what he calls a “royal texture,” a deeper golden glaze than a whole-egg wash. Small thing, but it’s the difference between a pale edge and a proper golden one.
Does the marzipan really replace frangipane?
It does, and that’s the whole point of this recipe. Gordon freezes the block solid so it grates into clean dry shards instead of sticking, then scatters them over the raw pastry. As it bakes, the marzipan melts into a thin almond layer that tastes like you spent twenty minutes making frangipane.
He says the same trick works grated into crumbles and mince pies. If you want to go the other direction and actually bake rhubarb into a proper pudding, his rhubarb crumble roasts the fruit so it stays sharp and holds its shape.
Can I use shortcrust instead of puff?
Gordon says so himself in the video: “shortcrust is equally as good.” Puff gives a lighter, flakier result with more rise on the border, but shortcrust holds the fruit better and doesn’t go soft as quickly. Either works.
If you go with shortcrust, skip the scoring and just press the edges up with a fork. The base doesn’t balloon the way puff does, so you can leave out the pricking too.
Why does Gordon salt the almonds?
On camera he lightly seasons them in the dry pan as they toast, so they come out as a sort of salted almond rather than plain. That hit of salt against the sweet marzipan and tart rhubarb lifts the whole thing. It’s a small move but the tarts taste flat without it.
He also makes a honey and blood orange glaze in the video, brushed over the hot rhubarb as the tarts come out. The book keeps it simpler with the orange mascarpone. Both work, use whichever citrus you can get.
Does this store well?
Not really. Puff pastry is at its best within an hour or two. Once it sits, the rhubarb juices soften the base and that crispness is gone. Make the mascarpone ahead, it keeps a couple of days in the fridge, but bake the tarts to eat the same day.
If you’d rather a rhubarb pudding you can make properly ahead, his apple crumble reheats well, and the rhubarb crumble does the same.
