Strawberry-Rhubarb Cobbler with Cornmeal Topping
This Easter desssert recipe is brought to us by our Christmas 101 guest author, Rick Rodgers, just in time to shop for the ingredients. If you can’t find rhubarb just yet, no worries. “Just substitute more berries,” advises Rodgers. Yummy! Be sure to click on his link to check out his amazing cooking classes! Happy Easter!
Easter is a wonderful way to bring in the spring season. We are all ready for a party after weeks of grey weather, right? My usual go-to dessert is coconut cake, but when I share that recipe with friends, they often laugh at me, saying “I don’t bake except at holidays, so give me something easy!” That’s when I recommend my cobbler…or coming to take ˆclasses with me online https://coffeeandcake.org/cooking-classes/. My Italian friends are grateful that I am teaching pastiera https://momence.com/Rick-Rodgers/Pastiera-(Easter-Ricotta-and-Wheat-Berry-Torta)-/669153 on April 9, as to them, it isn’t Easter without that cheesecake/pie hybrid.
Strawberry-Rhubarb Cobbler with Cornmeal Topping
Makes 6 servings
In the northeast, strawberries arrive in early summer, but these berries are still harbingers of spring that have pride of place on many Easter dinner tables. Even “non-bakers” will find this a simple recipe to pull off
Filling
3 pounds strawberries, hulled and cut in half (7 cups)
1¾ pounds rhubarb stalks, cut into ½ -inch lengths (5 cups)
1⅓ cups packed light brown sugar
¼ cup cornstarch
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, chilled and thinly sliced, plus more for the pan
A few drops of red food coloring (optional)
Topping
1½ cups (210 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
½ cup yellow cornmeal, preferably stone-ground
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, thinly sliced
1 cup buttermilk, or more as needed
Vanilla ice cream, for serving
1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400°F. Lightly butter a 3-quart baking dish.
2. To make the filling, combine the strawberries, rhubarb, brown sugar, cornstarch, and butter, and food coloring, if using, together in a large bowl. Transfer to the baking dish. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is juicy, about 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, make the topping. Sift the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together into a large bowl. Add the butter. Using a pastry blender, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs with some pea-sized pieces of butter. Stir in enough of the buttermilk to make a soft, but not wet, dough.
4. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly to smooth out the dough. Pat the dough to ½ -inch thickness. Using a 2 ¾ -inch round cookie cutter, cut out rounds. Gather up the scraps, pat out again, and cut out more rounds to make a total of 8 rounds.
5. Remove the baking dish from the oven. Arrange the dough rounds on the filling and return the dish to the oven. Bake until the rounds are golden brown, about 30 minutes.
6. Let cool 20 to 30 minutes. Serve warm in bowls, with the ice cream.
