Rhubarb and White Chocolate Tart
There is been a lot of chatter lately amongst bloggers about not blogging anymore. I have read a couple posts recently by successful bloggers that are either taking an extended break or they are moving on to new ventures entirely. There are new blogs being started every day but those of us who have been slogging it out for a few years (and more) are burning out. I have not spoken to a single blogger who has been around for a while that isn’t sick of the ‘game’. The bullshit three ring circus that one has to go through to get a few extra pins or grow their social media reach.
I’m not so naive as to think that the Field of Dreams method of blog writing is really going to work if you want to make a living at blogging. If you build it, people will not come by way of the magical force of nostalgia. Promoting your work through social media and recipe sharing sites is an important aspect of food blogging.
As opportunities to make an income solely through a blog via money from ad networks shrink, bloggers are seeking alternative sources of income. One of these is the sponsored post. This is something that I do now and then, but I’m very picky about what I do. The reason I can be choosy is because this blog isn’t really a source of income for my family. I have more or less, stopped trying to monetize my blog lately.
Worrying about how I’m not making any money from my blog and still doing all the work in creating recipes and writing blog posts that connect with readers was sucking the soul out of me. The blog had become a dark shadow that was hanging heavily across my life. Last month, I seriously considered quitting the blog altogether. Then I ordered 10 pounds of winter rhubarb through a local food source and recipe ideas started to flood my mind.
I have been thinking long and hard about my blog and what it means to me. I have had some low points recently where my confidence was shot to hell and I felt as though everything I made or wrote was so derivative and irrelevant. It isn’t in me to give up though. I don’t know if I will actually make a living from my blog but I’m not stopping anytime soon.
I thought back to when I started my blog and had an epiphany about why I really, truly started it. I started blogging because I have something to say and I create recipes worthy of sharing. This will be what I build on going forward. I will not be concerned about building my brand as though I am some start-up tech company. I will focus on sharing recipes that I am proud of and that others may enjoy making. I will write blog posts that share part of me. I will focus on the belief that I do have something to say in this world.
Have you ever been passionate about something such as music, art, or blogging and then become disillusioned? Did you recover and move forward? Please share if you did or did not and perhaps what you learned from this.
It is fitting that the first recipe I share after my little hiatus is rhubarb. It is a beloved part of spring for many people. This recipe is a bit of a riff off of my other Rhubarb Custard Tart; as you can see I love rhubarb with custard. 
For this recipe, use any basic pie dough you like. Use store-bought if that is what you prefer. I am including my recipe for basic double crust pie dough. This tart only calls for a single crust, so save the other half of the dough for another day. Omit the sugar in the dough recipe and you can use it as the base for a quiche for dinner. There is no reason you can’t have pie for dinner and dessert.
Rhubarb and White Chocolate Custard TartDouble Crust Pie Dough
Ingredients
- 2 cups chopped rhubarb approx. 230 grams
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 whole egg
- 2 tbsp corn starch
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 100 g white chocolate
- 1 cup 35% cream
- 1 tsp vanilla
1 single crust pie dough (recipe below)
- 2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cold lard cubed
- 1/2 cup cold butter cubed
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- 1 tbsp white vinegar
- 2 tbsp cold water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 F.
- Roll out one half of a double crust pie dough to about 12" in diameter.* Fit it into a 9" ceramic tart dish or a regular pie dish (not deep dish). Slice the excess dough off using the top of the dish as a guide. Set it aside in the fridge while you make the filling.
- Chop the rhubarb into 1/4" (or slightly thinner) pieces. If the stalk is quite thick, slice it in half lengthwise first. Set the chopped rhubarb aside.
- Break up a 100 g bar of white chocolate into a microwave safe bowl or use white chocolate chips. Pour 1/2 cup of the cream over the white chocolate and microwave it on medium high for 45-60 seconds. When it is 70% melted and the bowl is distinctly warm, stir the white chocolate and cream with a whisk to melt it all the way and mix it with the cream. Pour in the remainder of the cold cream into the now melted white chocolate mixture.
- In another bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, whole egg, sugar, corn starch and vanilla. Whisk in the white chocolate and cream mixture.
- Spread the chopped rhubarb on the bottom of the prepared pie shell. Pour the custard over the rhubarb.
- Bake at 400 F for 25-30 minutes. It will be done when the edge of the tart starts to soufflee (puff) very slightly and the centre of the tart is just set. The centre should be slightly jiggly but not runny or liquid. If the centre of the tart is very runny, then give it another 2 or 3 minutes.
- Allow the tart to cool for at least an hour before serving.
Pie Dough Recipe
- In a food processor, pulse the flour, butter, lard, salt and sugar together until you get pea sized pieces of the fat.
- Pour in the liquid all at once and pulse until the dough becomes a large lumpy ball.
- Turn it out onto a floured surface and shape it into a ball. Cut the ball in half and shape each half into a disc and wrap each in plastic wrap. Chill in the fridge while you prepare the filling.
- Place a large piece of parchment paper on a board or on the counter. Dust it with flour and put one of the discs of dough on it. Dust the top of the dough with flour as well.
- Put another piece of parchment paper on top and begin rolling out the dough. As the dough gets pressed out, lift off the parchment and dust with flour. Turn the dough a quarter turn and use the bottom piece of parchment to lift the dough up so you can dust the underside of the dough with flour. Use the parchment as an extension of your hands so you touch the dough as little as possible.
- When the dough is about 12"-13" in diameter, roll the dough onto the rolling pin.
- Unroll the dough onto your pie dish and gently fit the dough inside the dish with the excess hanging over the edge of the dish. Slice the excess off using the rim of the tart plate as a guide.
- Save the other disc of dough in the freezer - well wrapped in plastic and in a freezer bag.
Notes
You get approximately 3 1/4 cups of filling with this recipe. Plan accordingly with the dish you use for that volume.
This looks really pretty! It’s like the tart has bright jewels! I have a friend who would absolutely love this!
I have been blogging for 8 years now and although blogging has become something entirely different these days I blog because I still enjoy it and do it merely for fun and a sense of community (which has unfortunately is harder to find). It’s true I post less than she I was a newbie but as long as we continue to share delicious recipes I’m still in.
I have a gluten intolerance. This has gluten in it and I ate some. For some things it is just worth it. It was also a big hit at my work when I brought it in.
What a great way to use up some spring rhubarb. Definitely going to try this (maybe even this weekend)!
First of all, this is GORGEOUS. I adore rhubarb, and your photos capture it beautifully. Also, I’m so with you on the blog feelings. I recently realized this is not meant as a major income for me, it’s meant as a hobby, a creative outlet and place to share. I’ve left things alone, and whatever minor income comes in through my existing ads just covers the hobby, but I realized I never, ever want food to be my full time job, so why spend time making it look like it, or spend hours late into the night posting to all kinds of food sites or trying to pin the right things? I use Pinterest only for myself now too, and FBC is the only community I’m actively a part of because I just love the people 🙂 Looking forward to more in your new direction!
Thanks Anna, I knew that there are a lot of us out ther. I’m going to try and just work on my blog and be open to any opportunities that come my way.
I love the colours of this tart – it just screams spring time. Hopefully I can get my hands on some rhubarb soon, every place I go seems to be sold out.
Your post really spoke to me because I get burnt out from blogging all..the..time and I’m probably always going to be in the transition of moving forward. I used to get anxiety when I would go on vacation and wouldn’t have enough back-up content to maintain a regular schedule. Once during a horrible period of writer’s block last year, I even openly wept while scrolling through more successful blogs with their beautiful photos and unique recipes (and regular scheduled posts!).
It’s not easy and I constantly have to remind myself that blogging is just a hobby, one that I love doing because of a love for food and not to get a paycheck or a million followers that I don’t even know. The more that people talk about this on their blogs, the more I’m glad to know that I’m not alone in this feeling.
Amen!
I’m hopeful that the farmers’ markets this weekend will have some rhubarb. The plants in my garden are a long way off from me being able to harvest them. I really want to make rhubarb syrup although that gets me into canning season.
First of all, this recipe combines two of my favourite ingredients: rhubarb and white chocolate. I also make a similar recipe with rhubarb and custard and I’m stoked to try this one.
Second of all, I SO get you on the burnout factor. I’ve personally never tried to monetize my blog because it is just an adjunct to my main business, but even without that, I find just keeping up with the blog to be exhausting and I am constantly failing my own expectations. I’ve lately been taking the pressure off of myself, thinking more along the lines you spoke of: I do this for me, because I have ideas and recipes worth sharing, and not for some goal of making money or having traffic. As long as I enjoy it, I will continue.
I’m happy to know that others, who have beautiful and professional blogs, feel the same way!
Have mercy! Both this and the other rhubarb custard tart sound amazing. Grow, rhubarb, grow, I say!
This is beautiful! Also, I’m so glad you’re back to blogging. I subscribe to the school of thought that says “write what you want, when you want”. I find I’m a happier blogger when I forget about terms like “building your brand” and instead focus on sharing my simple stories and the recipes that I’m confident will resonate with my readers.
I really love this post. Even when you’re passionate about something, in our case food and blogging, sometimes it can feel like, “why am I doing this, again?” I think everyone goes through phases like this, especially in a creative field. You go through dry spells and even times when you can’t stand your own posts (this happens to me, at least). But other times, like you explained with your rhubarb, you’ll suddenly get inspired and have tons of content ideas flowing at once. I don’t monetize because I wanted to spend a year building up content, but my new blog has just surpassed the 1-year mark and I haven’t done anything yet. I don’t have enough traffic to make anything from ads, and even for sponsored posts you’d have to reveal your numbers and I’d fear mine aren’t impressive enough. All I know is that I love it and wouldn’t want to NOT be doing it (even though it takes up all my free time outside of my full-time marketing job). Anyway, thanks for sharing your perspective! I enjoyed reading it.
i think making money off of a blog at this point probably requires a lot of luck but also more than a full-time job’s-worth of effort, honestly. I’ve blogged consistently for a minimum of once a week for almost 5 years, and I barely make anything from it. It does depress me to be honest. These days I make money from other opportunities that cross my path because of the blog. I still don’t make a full time salary, but I am slowly making more this year than I made last year.
I find the hardest part is that I have tried so hard over the years, yet I feel like I don’t get noticed still. In Quebec, it’s like I don’t exist (I am assuming partly because I blog solely in English), and that’s sad because my blog’s been around since 2010. It’s rough and I have trouble not taking it personal!
Fresh rhubarb is inspiring and I’m glad you jumped on it and headed back to the kitchen. It’s what we do when times are tough! I hope all that rhubarb will inspire you to move forward even if it all seems pointless because, if it makes you happy, keep chugging away and the rest will come.
I can understand all about the burnout. I started blofgging back in 2008 and it seemed like everyone was ahead of me, making tonnes of money. I make a tiny amount of money here and there, which isn’t even enough to cover the costs of my blogging. Sad, I know.
Plus, with the loss of Google’s RSS app, it makes things harder to follow. Well, I guess I could, but whatever.
I must say that I love the concept of the pie here. I love the rhubarb half moons, and the white chocolate is something that would be smashing, My wife is not a huge custard fan, but I bet you I could get her to like it anyway.
Hi Christina, you don’t know me but I know your wonderful new sister-in-law, Vanessa! I too started blogging a couple of years ago and find myself burning out! I have 2 blogs ([email protected]), which I kept up on a weekly basis and my second blog ([email protected]) which really inspired me to inform people about the benefits of eating a whole, plant-based diet, while sharing homemade family recipes which I modify to plant-based! I have 7 posts and haven’t written anything since March! Not sure why but after reading your post I feel better knowing this is normal for bloggers. I’m off for the summer and hope to start blogging again! My goal is to eventually publish a cookbook! Do you have any suggestions to help me get blogging again? Thanks, Sandra
Lol! Don’t even know my own address for blogs! http://www.wakeupandsmellthepetunias.blogspot.com
and http://www.italianpastafazoolgirl.blogspot.com
If you are experiencing blogger burnout, then the best thing to do is take a break from it to gain some perspective. If you can’t stop thinking about blogging and it is a positive part of your life, then go back to it without set plan of publishing once a week but when you really feel that you have a recipe and story to share with your readers. That urgency to get your work out into the world will help fuel your blogging fire. Good luck with it all!
I’ve only been blogging for 3 months and already I feel exhausted. I didn’t realize it was a lot of work. I cannot imagine how I will feel in x years. I have to constantly remind myself why I started in the first place. This is a really enlightening read thank you. And what about that rhubarb tart? Divine.
It is a lot of work and blogger burnout can be tough. I hope you are able to keep a keen eye why you started blogging. It will definitely help keep your passion alive for blogging.