Put end-of-season to work with this Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler recipe.
Homemade Desserts
A Guide to End of Season Herb and Fruit Dessert Recipes
Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler Recipe
Sweet woodruff doesn’t have much of an aroma when picked fresh, but when dried, infused or cooked, it imparts a homey flavor, rather like adding a taste of vanilla and a scent of fresh mown hay. If you don’t have sweet woodruff, lemon balm and orange mint are both tasty alternatives. The vanilla-scented sugar adds a lovely dimension — if you don’t have any, just use regular sugar. Serve this dessert warm, or at room temperature, just as it is, or with vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream, garnished with a sprig of sweet woodruff.
Serves 8
12 sprigs sweet woodruff, each about 3 inches long
4 cups rhubarb, scrubbed and diced into 1/2-inch pieces
About 1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons cornstarch
4 cups fresh strawberries, halved, if large, slice them
1 2/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tablespoons vanilla sugar or plain sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 cup milk
Vanilla sugar for sprinkling
Heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter a 2 1/2-quart baking dish; set aside.
Holding woodruff sprigs, gently slide thumb and forefinger together down stem to remove whorls of leaves; discard stems.
In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, place rhubarb, 1 cup sugar, cornstarch and sweet woodruff leaves; bring to simmer. Reduce heat, stir and cook for about 4 minutes.
Add berries, stir and cook for 2 or 3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. Let mixture cool a bit and remove the woodruff sprigs.
Transfer fruit mixture to prepared dish.
In a bowl, combine flour, 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar, salt and baking powder. Cut butter into flour mixture until in pea-sized lumps.
Add milk and mix with fork until just blended.
Drop dough in large spoonfuls over fruit in prepared dish. Sprinkle dough lightly with vanilla sugar. Bake cobbler 35 to 40 minutes, or until fruit is bubbling and dough is turning golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.
