Flaky Rhubarb Puff Pastry Tarts with Sweet Cream Filling
These golden rhubarb puff pastry tarts are buttery, flaky, and filled with a tangy-sweet rhubarb compote, making them the perfect easy dessert for spring and summer baking.
The Rhubarb Recipe You Will Be Making All Spring Long
If you have a bundle of rhubarb sitting on your counter and no idea what to do with it, this is your answer. These flaky rhubarb puff pastry tarts come together in under an hour, look like they came from a proper French bakery, and deliver that perfect balance of buttery, tangy, and sweet in every single bite. Think of them as elevated rhubarb pop tarts, but far more impressive and honestly just as easy.
Rhubarb has this incredible quality: it is intensely tart on its own, almost shockingly so, but once you cook it down with just the right amount of sugar, it transforms into something deeply complex and jammy. Pair that with store-bought puff pastry (yes, store-bought, no shame here) and a quick cream cheese layer, and you have a dessert that tastes like it took all day.
Getting the right puff pastry matters more than most people think. A good-quality all-butter puff pastry will give you those dramatic, shattering layers that make this recipe sing. The same goes for fresh rhubarb: look for firm, brightly colored stalks with no soft spots. These small choices add up to a noticeably better tart.
Why This Rhubarb Pastry Works So Well
There are a lot of rhubarb puff pastry recipes out there, but most skip the cream cheese layer. That layer is the secret. It does two things: it balances the tartness of the rhubarb with a cool, slightly tangy richness, and it creates a barrier that keeps the pastry base from going soggy under the compote. The result is a tart that is crisp on the bottom, pillowy and golden at the edges, and luscious in the middle.
Chef's Tip: Let your rhubarb compote cool completely before assembling. Warm filling is the number one cause of soggy pastry bottoms. Even 10 minutes in the freezer can speed this up if you are in a hurry.
The lemon zest in the cream cheese layer is another quiet hero. It brightens everything and lifts the flavor so the filling never feels heavy.
From Strawberry Rhubarb to Pure Rhubarb: Choosing Your Direction
One of the best things about this rhubarb tart recipe is how adaptable it is. The base recipe here is a pure rhubarb pastry, letting that unique flavor take center stage. But if you want to lean into the classic combination, stirring in 0.5 cup of sliced fresh strawberries to the compote while it cooks turns this into a gorgeous strawberry rhubarb puff pastry.
You can also experiment with:
- Rhubarb and ginger: Add 0.5 tsp of freshly grated ginger to the compote for warmth.
- Rhubarb and orange: Swap lemon zest for orange zest in both the compote and the cream filling.
- Rhubarb cream puffs style: Use the compote as a filling piped into baked choux shells instead.
All of these variations follow the same technique, so once you have this rhubarb puff pastry down, a whole world of rhubarb pastry recipes opens up.
A Note on Using Buttermilk
Some rhubarb recipes with buttermilk use it to tame rhubarb's tartness in cakes and quick breads. In this recipe, the cream cheese filling plays that same role, providing creaminess and tang without any extra liquid that could make the pastry wet. If you love the flavor buttermilk brings, try drizzling the finished tarts with a simple buttermilk glaze made from powdered sugar and a splash of buttermilk. It is a beautiful finishing touch.
Ready to bake the best rhubarb pastry of your life? Here is the full recipe:
Flaky Rhubarb Puff Pastry Tarts with Sweet Cream Filling
These golden rhubarb puff pastry tarts are buttery, flaky, and filled with a tangy-sweet rhubarb compote, making them the perfect easy dessert for spring and summer baking.
Ingredients
- 1 sheet puff pastry sheet, store-bought, thawed overnight in the fridge
- 2 cups fresh rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 0.5-inch pieces
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar, divided
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, pure, not imitation
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 3 tbsp powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 large egg, beaten with 1 tbsp water for egg wash
- 1 tsp lemon zest, freshly zested
- 1 tbsp coarse or turbinado sugar, for sprinkling on top
Instruction
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the rhubarb pieces with 0.25 cup of the granulated sugar and the cornstarch. Stir constantly and cook for 5 to 7 minutes until the rhubarb softens and the mixture thickens into a jammy compote. Remove from heat, stir in the vanilla extract, and let cool completely.
In a small bowl, beat the softened cream cheese with the powdered sugar and lemon zest until smooth and fluffy. Set aside.
Unfold the thawed puff pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Cut it into 6 equal rectangles.
Score a border about 0.5 inches from the edge of each rectangle using a sharp knife, being careful not to cut all the way through. This border will puff up beautifully around your filling.
Spread a thin layer of the cream cheese mixture inside the scored border of each pastry rectangle. Spoon the cooled rhubarb compote evenly on top of the cream cheese layer.
Brush the scored border of each tart with the egg wash, then sprinkle with turbinado sugar for a bakery-style crunch.
Transfer the tarts to the prepared baking sheet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the pastry is deeply golden and fully puffed.
Allow the tarts to cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes before serving. They are delicious warm or at room temperature.
Equipment
- Large baking sheet
- Parchment paper
- Small saucepan
- Sharp chef's knife or pastry cutter
- Cutting board
- Pastry brush
- Mixing bowl
- Hand mixer or fork
Notes
Serving and Storing Your Rhubarb Tarts
These tarts are genuinely perfect warm from the oven, when the pastry is at peak crispness and the filling is still slightly loose. Dust them lightly with powdered sugar and serve alongside a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of softly whipped cream.
For leftovers, skip the microwave entirely. A few minutes back in a hot oven restores that shatteringly crisp pastry shell that makes rhubarb puff pastry so irresistible in the first place. They keep in the fridge for up to 3 days, though they rarely last that long.
