Greek Yogurt Tart with Whole Wheat Walnut Crust and Rhubarb Berry Compote

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Spring is a non-stop parade of birthday cakes around our house!  My girls have an end of March birthday and an early May birthday and it seems one birthday cake just doesn’t cut it these days.  There are treats to take to school, cupcakes for the party with friends, ice cream cake for the party with the grandparents and more cake on the actual birthday.  It wasn’t like that when I was little. (Insert story here where you recall the hardships of your childhood LOL!  I swore I would never make those kinds of statements!)  When I was little I got half a birthday cake!  My oldest brother Tom’s birthday is August 26 and mine is August 27.  We would always share a cake.  I tell my kids that I didn’t even get a whole cake for my birthday to somehow teach them a lesson about being appreciative.  Just like the stories our parents told us.  Still doesn’t do the trick as I usually just get a groan and an eye roll!  The truth is, I have great memories of sharing my birthday cake with my biggest brother.  It’s something special that we shared and I treasure those memories!

My brother Tom and I with our shared birthday cake!  Apparently when you share a cake you must make sure to only blow out your half of the candles or it messes with the wishes.

Birthday cake is awesome! My favorite is chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream straight out of the refrigerator the day after!  For some reason I love it cold.  But, seriously, after an entire season of birthday cakes, I’ve had enough and I crave something a little less sugary.

Enter: The Greek Yogurt Tart!!

This was originally another contest creation, which again didn’t take the top prize, but became a standout in my recipe file.  It’s a nice light tart.  It’s thin, with an equal amount of crunchy crumbly crust and cool yogurt filling.  This time I topped it with a mix of berries and rhubarb.  It was my first time cooking with rhubarb and I love it!  I definitely see more rhubarb creations in my future!

The Crust:

Pulse walnuts in food processor until finely ground.  Add white whole wheat flour, salt, sugar and pulse to mix.  Drizzle in oil while the processor is running.  Add the mixture to a bowl and sprinkle with cold water.  Pat into your tart pan and prick the crust with a fork so it doesn’t puff when you bake it.

Bake the crust.  When almost finished brush the hot crust with an egg white wash and return to oven for a few minutes.  This forms a barrier that will later help your tart crust to not get soggy from the filling.  You can see a little bit of the egg white on the crust after the final baking.

The Filling:

While the crust is cooling, whisk together yogurt, eggs, sugar, lemon zest and vanilla bean paste.  Bake for about 25 minutes then cool and chill.

The Rhubarb Berry Compote:

In a saucepan, combine sliced rhubarb, berries, sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice.  Simmer for a few minutes.  The first time I made this I overcooked the rhubarb, it turned to mush and I had to start over.  Cook the rhubarb with the berries until it’s just tender – I’d taste a piece to test it.