Baking with Petra Galler: Ricotta tart with lemon poppyseed pastry and citrus-roasted rhubarb

Ricotta tart with lemon poppyseed pastry and citrus-roasted rhubarb. Photo / Petra Galler

Introducing our new columnist Petra Galler, who will be regularly sharing some of her mouthwatering baking recipes with us – both sweet and savoury. Petra is a self-taught pastry chef and author of the fabulous Butter Butter cookbook. She is a strong believer in bold baking, using different flavours and texture – you won’t see any banana cake here. You can check out her delicious, bespoke creations, and purchase them, on Instagram @butterbutternz.

Ricotta tart with lemon poppyseed pastry and citrus-roasted rhubarb recipe. Photo / Petra Galler

Ricotta tart with lemon poppyseed pastry and citrus-roasted rhubarb

Makes 1 tart

I have always felt that ricotta is an unsung hero in baking and I try to work it into recipes whenever I can. The creamy curds and exquisite fluffiness lend itself so well to sweet applications, resulting in a gorgeously light texture. This tart is perfectly balanced, no cloying sweetness here, and the airy filling coupled with the fragrant pastry makes for a rather special bake (and I must say, quite a superb breakfast.)

This tart is gorgeous piled high with tart and tangy rhubarb; one of the prettiest fruits in my opinion. Any seasonal fruit will work well with this and I’m sure this recipe will become a fast feature in your baking repertoire. The tart is best eaten on the day of making.

Citrus-roasted rhubarb

1 bunch rhubarb, trimmed and cut into batons

Juice of 1 lemon and 1 orange

40g caster sugar

Lemon poppyseed pastry

240g plain flour

80g caster sugar

½ tsp flaky salt

140g butter, cold and diced

20g egg yolk

50g full-fat cream

1 lemon, zest only

20g poppyseed

Ricotta filling

100g mascarpone

60g caster sugar

½ tsp ground cinnamon

Generous pinch salt

500g ricotta

1 large egg, plus 2 egg whites

50g runny honey

Edible flowers and an extra sprinkling of poppyseeds, to garnish

First things first, get on to your rhubarb. Preheat your oven to 200C fan bake. Lay your rhubarb batons out on a lined baking tray in a single layer. Squeeze your citrus juices over the top and sprinkle evenly with sugar. Roast for 6-7 minutes; you want the rhubarb softened but still holding its shape. Allow to cool completely to room temperature.

For the pastry, place your flour, caster sugar, salt and butter in the bowl of your food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. This can be done by hand, by simply rubbing the cold butter into the dry ingredients.

Add in your egg yolk, cream, lemon zest and poppyseeds and bring together with your hands until fully incorporated. The pastry may feel quite soft at this point but don’t despair. Shape into a disc, about 2cm thick, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Remove pastry from the fridge and roll out between two pieces of lightly floured baking paper until about 7mm thick. Carefully drape over a 22cm deep tart tin, carefully tucking it into the base and fluted sides. Trim the pastry so it is flush with the top of the tin before popping into the freezer for 1 hour. This step is crucial to avoid any pastry shrinkage.

Preheat your oven to 160C fan bake. Line your tart with foil and fill to the very top with baking beads or rice. Blind bake the pastry for 25 minutes, before removing the foil and baking for a further 15 minutes or until the pastry is dry and lightly golden.

While the base is baking, get on to your filling. Whisk together your mascarpone, sugar, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl until fully incorporated. Add in all remaining ingredients and whisk until silky smooth. Pour your filling into your baked pastry shell and smooth the top. Don’t worry if the pastry is still hot at this stage.

Bake your tart for 30-35 minutes or until the filling has just set; we are looking for a sexy little wobble in the middle. Allow to cool in the tin for 20 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack to cool completely at room temperature. Pile high with the roasted rhubarb, sprinkle with edible flowers and devour.

Petra Galler. Photo / Supplied