Rhubarb Bars Easy Ginger Curd Shortbread Swiss Meringue Spring Recipe

Rhubarb Bars are the recipe that Teresa makes every spring for the most special and genuinely impressive occasion dessert when she wants to present something that looks completely extraordinary and tastes so magnificently complex in its layering of sweet and tart and buttery and warmly gingered and perfectly marshmallowy that every person at the table immediately goes quiet at the first bite before expressing the most genuine and deeply felt admiration.

She cooks the rhubarb with sugar, water, and freshly grated ginger until the most completely broken down and deeply fragrant purée, strains twice through a fine mesh sieve for the most silky result, builds the most beautifully tangy rhubarb curd by whisking with eggs and flour and lemon juice, presses the most buttery and perfectly vanilla-scented shortbread base, bakes both components together, chills for four hours, and then crowns the whole extraordinary creation with the most gloriously white and completely marshmallowy Swiss meringue piped or spread across every bar.

Rhubarb Bars are the most stunning spring dessert bars made with a buttery vanilla shortbread base topped with a bright tangy ginger rhubarb curd of cooked rhubarb purée eggs flour lemon juice and optional food coloring baked until set refrigerated 4 hours and finished with an optional silky Swiss meringue topping or powdered sugar dusting. Come follow us on Pinterest where we share beautiful spring bar recipes and stunning celebration baking favorites from our kitchen every single week.

Why You Will Love This Rhubarb Bars Recipe

This Rhubarb Bars recipe is the spring celebration bar that produces the most genuinely extraordinary and most deeply beautiful result of any rhubarb dessert in the entire spring season because every single component has been designed to be the most complete and most deeply flavored version of itself. The ginger in the rhubarb purée adds a warm and completely unexpected depth that makes the rhubarb flavor more complex and more vibrant without competing with the most essential tartness.

The Swiss meringue topping is the component that transforms these bars from simply beautiful to genuinely spectacular. Swiss meringue is made by heating egg whites and sugar together over a double boiler before whipping, producing the most stably and most glossy and most marshmallowy meringue that does not weep or deflate and can be piped with the most beautiful and dramatic architectural peaks. The optional kitchen torch toasting of the meringue tips creates the most completely breathtaking golden-tipped and perfectly caramelized presentation. Our Rhubarb Lemon Pie makes a beautifully equally tangy and equally spring-celebratory companion for a complete and wonderful rhubarb collection.

Ingredients Needed for This Rhubarb Bars Recipe

For the Rhubarb Purée:

3 cups Fresh Rhubarb, chopped
⅓ cup Granulated Sugar
¼ cup Water
2 tsp Fresh Ginger, finely grated or minced

For the Vanilla Shortbread Base:

½ cup Unsalted Butter, room temperature
¼ cup Granulated Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla Paste or Extract
½ tsp Kosher Salt
1 cup All-Purpose Flour

For the Rhubarb Curd:

¾ cup Granulated Sugar
3 tbsp All-Purpose Flour
3 large Eggs
2 tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice
1 cup Rhubarb Purée (from above)
Red or Pink Gel Food Coloring (optional)

For the Optional Swiss Meringue:

1 large Egg White
¼ cup Granulated Sugar
Pinch of Kosher Salt
1 tsp Vanilla Paste or Extract

How to Make This Rhubarb Bars Recipe

For the rhubarb purée, add the chopped rhubarb, sugar, and water to a saucepan. Heat over medium until the rhubarb is completely soft and broken down, approximately 10 minutes. Add the grated ginger in the last few minutes of cooking.

Transfer the cooked rhubarb to a food processor or blender and purée until completely smooth. Pass through a fine-mesh sieve to remove any thick pulp, scraping the underside of the sieve to collect all purée. Measure out exactly 1 cup of the purée for the curd. Set aside.

Grease and line an 8 by 8-inch square pan with parchment slings. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

For the shortbread base, cream the room-temperature butter and sugar in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for approximately 3 minutes on medium speed. Add the vanilla, salt, and flour and mix until combined. The mixture will be very soft. Press as evenly as possible into the prepared pan, getting into all corners and sides. Bake for 15 minutes then remove from the oven.

For the rhubarb curd, sift together the granulated sugar and flour in a bowl. Add the eggs, fresh lemon juice, and 1 cup of rhubarb purée. Whisk until well combined. Add a touch of red or pink gel food coloring if desired to brighten the curd color, as the addition of eggs significantly flattens the naturally vibrant rhubarb color, cara mia.

Pour the rhubarb curd over the par-baked shortbread base and bake for an additional 20 to 25 minutes until the curd is completely set in the center with only the most very slight acceptable jiggle when the pan is tapped. Cool on a wire rack for approximately 1 hour then transfer to the refrigerator for a further 3 hours to fully chill and set.

For the optional Swiss meringue, fill a saucepan with approximately 1 inch of water and heat to a boil. Place a heatproof bowl securely over the saucepan without the bottom touching the water. Add the egg white, sugar, and salt and whisk together. Continue whisking until the mixture is warm and the sugar is completely dissolved, approximately 160°F on an instant-read thermometer. Transfer immediately to a stand mixer bowl fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip on medium speed for 1 minute then on high speed until stiff peaks form completely. Add the vanilla and mix once more. Pipe or spread over the chilled bars. Slice and serve.

How to Serve This Rhubarb Bars Recipe

Present these extraordinary bars on a beautiful white plate with the meringue peaks visible and optionally toasted to the most gorgeous golden tips with a kitchen torch for the most dramatically beautiful and completely professional presentation. The contrast of the golden shortbread edge, the pink rhubarb curd layer, and the gleaming white meringue peaks creates one of the most genuinely breathtaking spring dessert bar presentations imaginable.

For a simpler presentation, sift a generous layer of powdered sugar over the chilled bars in place of the Swiss meringue for the most elegant and most effortless alternative finishing that is equally beautiful in its own understated way. Our Rhubarb Custard Tart makes a beautifully equally silky and equally spring-celebration-worthy companion for a complete and wonderful rhubarb curd collection.

How to Store This Rhubarb Bars Recipe

Store uncovered in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. The bars can be frozen for up to 3 months before adding the meringue topping. Freeze cut bars on a cookie sheet for 2 hours, then wrap individually in plastic wrap and store in a freezer bag. Thaw in the refrigerator and add the powdered sugar or Swiss meringue just before serving.

Tips to Make This Rhubarb Bars Recipe

Look for the most deeply colored red rhubarb stalks available for the most vibrant and genuinely beautiful pink color in the finished curd. Rhubarb with green stalks will not produce the most vibrant color regardless of how much pink food coloring is added. The most natural and most beautiful result always begins with the most deeply red rhubarb.

Strain the rhubarb purée through the fine-mesh sieve at least twice for the most completely smooth and most professionally silky curd texture. Even a single straining may leave some fibrous pieces that produce an unpleasant texture in the finished bar.

Helpful Notes for This Rhubarb Bars Recipe

The pink or red gel food coloring for the rhubarb curd is entirely optional but strongly recommended for the most visually striking and most completely beautiful final bar. The eggs added to the rhubarb purée produce a significant flattening and dulling of the naturally vibrant rhubarb color during cooking. A drop or two of red or pink gel food coloring restores the most gorgeous and vibrant pink color that makes these bars so completely beautiful on any spring table.

The Swiss meringue is optional but genuinely transforms these bars into the most spectacular and most impressive spring celebration dessert. For the most time-efficient preparation, the bars can be made completely and refrigerated 1 to 2 days ahead, with the meringue added and the bars sliced only on the day of serving.

Variation of This Rhubarb Bars Recipe

Maria made a version using a combination of rhubarb and fresh strawberries in equal quantities for the rhubarb purée for the most beautifully vibrant and naturally pink strawberry rhubarb curd bar that required no food coloring and was completely extraordinary. Teresa tried dusting the finished bars with a combination of powdered sugar and a small amount of freeze-dried strawberry powder for the most gorgeously pink dusting that was deeply beautiful and completely impressive.

For the most elegant celebration version, use a large Wilton 1M or Ateco 847 closed star tip to pipe the most beautifully architectural Swiss meringue rosettes across the surface of every chilled bar before torching for the most completely spectacular and genuinely patisserie-worthy spring celebration dessert bar presentation. Our Rhubarb Cheesecake makes a beautifully equally elegant and equally rhubarb-spectacular companion for a complete and wonderful spring rhubarb celebration collection.

FAQs About This Rhubarb Bars Recipe

Why is the rhubarb cooked and pureed rather than used raw?

Cooking the rhubarb before pureeing and using in the curd produces the most concentrated and most deeply flavored rhubarb curd with the most beautifully smooth and completely silky texture. Raw rhubarb is extremely fibrous and would not blend to the most smooth purée and would not produce the same depth of sweet-tart flavor concentration that cooking achieves. The cooking process also allows the ginger to infuse most completely into the rhubarb for the most harmonious and deeply complex flavor combination.

What does the Swiss meringue have over regular meringue?

Swiss meringue is made by heating the egg whites and sugar together over a double boiler before whipping, which dissolves the sugar completely and pasteurizes the egg whites. The result is the most stable, most glossy, and most marshmallowy meringue that does not weep, deflate, or become grainy over time. Regular French meringue uses unheated egg whites and is significantly less stable and more prone to weeping and deflating, especially in humid conditions.

Can I make these bars without the meringue?

Yes and the bars are completely extraordinary without the meringue as well. Simply sift a generous layer of powdered sugar over the completely chilled bars immediately before serving for the most elegant and most classically lovely lemon-bar-style finishing. The rhubarb curd and shortbread base together are deeply satisfying without any additional topping.

Conclusion

These Rhubarb Bars are the most completely stunning and deeply extraordinary spring celebration bar that makes every spring gathering and every special occasion feel genuinely and completely beautiful through the most warm gingered rhubarb curd and the most buttery vanilla shortbread and the most magnificently marshmallowy Swiss meringue in every single individually cut and completely irresistible spring bar bite. We hope they bring the same deeply beautiful spring celebration and the same completely delighted gathering to your kitchen that they have always brought to ours. Make them, share them, and come back to tell us all about it. With all our love, Maria, Lucia, and Teresa.

Rhubarb Bars The Most Beautiful Ginger Curd Shortbread Swiss Meringue Spring Bar You Will Bake

Author: Nonna Lucia Bianchi
Total Time: 5 hours 10 minutes including chilling
Yield: 9 bars 1x
Diet: Vegetarian

Print Recipe

Description

The most stunning Rhubarb Bars made with a cooked ginger rhubarb purée of chopped rhubarb sugar water and fresh ginger cooked until soft pureed and strained twice used in a tangy rhubarb curd of sugar flour eggs lemon juice and optional food coloring poured over a par-baked vanilla shortbread base of room temperature butter sugar vanilla salt and flour baked 20 to 25 minutes more until set chilled 4 hours and topped with optional silky Swiss meringue of heated egg white sugar salt and vanilla whipped to stiff peaks. A completely extraordinary spring rhubarb curd bar recipe.

Ingredients

Scale

3 cups Fresh Rhubarb chopped for purée

1/3 cup Granulated Sugar for purée

1/4 cup Water

2 tsp Fresh Ginger finely grated

1/2 cup Unsalted Butter room temperature for shortbread

1/4 cup Granulated Sugar for shortbread

1 tsp Vanilla Paste or Extract

1/2 tsp Kosher Salt

1 cup All-Purpose Flour for shortbread

3/4 cup Granulated Sugar for curd

3 tbsp All-Purpose Flour for curd

3 large Eggs

2 tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice

1 cup Rhubarb Purée from above

Red or Pink Gel Food Coloring optional

1 large Egg White for meringue optional

1/4 cup Granulated Sugar for meringue

Pinch Kosher Salt for meringue

1 tsp Vanilla Paste or Extract for meringue

Instructions

1. Cook chopped rhubarb, sugar, and water over medium heat 10 minutes until soft. Add ginger in last few minutes.

2. Purée rhubarb mixture until smooth. Strain through fine-mesh sieve twice. Measure 1 cup purée. Set aside.

3. Grease and line 8×8-inch pan with parchment slings. Preheat oven to 350°F.

4. Cream room temperature butter and sugar 3 minutes. Add vanilla, salt, and flour. Mix until combined.

5. Press mixture evenly into pan getting into all corners. Bake 15 minutes. Remove from oven.

6. Sift sugar and flour for curd. Add eggs, lemon juice, and 1 cup rhubarb purée. Whisk until combined.

7. Add optional food coloring to brighten color.

8. Pour rhubarb curd over par-baked shortbread.

9. Bake 20 to 25 minutes until curd completely set with very slight center jiggle when tapped.

10. Cool on wire rack 1 hour. Refrigerate 3 more hours until fully chilled and set.

11. For Swiss meringue: heat 1 inch water in saucepan to boil. Place heatproof bowl over without touching water.

12. Add egg white, sugar, and salt. Whisk until warm and sugar dissolved about 160°F.

13. Transfer to stand mixer. Whip medium 1 minute then high until stiff peaks form.

14. Add vanilla. Mix once more.

15. Pipe or spread over chilled bars. Slice and serve. Alternatively sift powdered sugar over bars.

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Category: Dessert, Bars
Method: Baking
Cuisine: American French

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 bar
Calories: 330
Sugar: 28g
Sodium: 95mg
Fat: 13g
Saturated Fat: 8g
Unsaturated Fat: 4g
Trans Fat: 0g
Carbohydrates: 48g
Fiber: 1g
Protein: 5g
Cholesterol: 95mg

Keywords: rhubarb bars, rhubarb curd bars with ginger shortbread and Swiss meringue, stunning spring rhubarb bars recipe, best rhubarb curd shortbread bars spring

Author
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Lucia Bianchi

Lucia Bianchi is the heart of authentic Italian pizza. With decades of experience, she masters both classic and gourmet pizzas, bringing rich heritage and elegant flavors straight from Italy’s kitchen to your plate. Her passion for tradition and culinary creativity ensures every pizza is a delicious journey into Italy’s finest flavors.