Caramelized Rhubarb and Yogurt Ice Pops

This time of year I love making rhubarb compote or jam to eat with my morning yogurt. For these treats, I took my favorite breakfast and turned up the flavors to turn it into a tart and tangy dessert. First, I caramelized the rhubarb with a bit of honey to add some depth of flavor. By the way, have you ever tried making fruit caramel sauce? It's so, so good! This strawberry caramel sauce is a perfect ice cream topping. But, let's get back to the pops at hand because then, I swirled honey and vanilla bean seeds into the yogurt which tastes delicious and has the extra bonus of looking totally beautiful and fancy.

I first imagined this recipe as cool and creamy frozen yogurt, but forgot to put my ice cream canister in the freezer, doh! So, I went with the next best option, dusted off my popsicle molds and layered the rhubarb and yogurt in those instead. They are the perfect, late spring treat: creamy, sweet, tart and cooling, all in one.

Caramelized Rhubarb and Yogurt Ice Pops
yield, 6-8 popsicles, depending on size

2 cups chopped rhubarb
1/4 cup honey, plus 2 tablespoons honey (or more to taste)

2 Tablespoons water

2 cups 2% greek yogurt
1/4 cup milk
1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped

Add the 1/4 cup honey and water to a saucepan and stir to combine. Bring to a boil and cook until lightly caramelized, about 2 minutes. Add in the chopped rhubarb and turn the heat down to medium. Cook the rhubarb, stirring occasionally until the rhubarb is very soft and falling apart, about 7 more minutes. Chill the rhubarb mixture thoroughly.

Whisk together the yogurt, milk, vanilla bean seeds and 2 tablespoons honey in a bowl.

Fill layer the chilled rhubarb mixture and yogurt in ice pop molds. Freeze until solid, 4 hours or overnight.

Happy Birthday

 

I hope you all don't mind if I take a brief break from the rhubarb extravaganza today because today is P's birthday (mine too!) and I haven't yet added a rhubarb cake to my repertoire. We never make a big deal out of celebrating because frankly, being the center of attention in any circumstance makes me nervous, but I always like to dust off my turntable to make us a cake. This year, I think I am going to keep it simple with an angel food cake covered in the first strawberries of the season and billowy mounds of whipped coconut cream. I think I'll probably pick up some donuts too, for good measure. I'll make sure to report back if it's good.

Here are some cakes from the archives that would all make excellent birthday treats

A Chocolate Cake Fit For Celebrations: Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache and Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Almond Cake with Cherry Filling and Ombre Frosting
Brown Sugar Buttermilk Cake with Roasted Strawberry Meringue Buttercream
Vanilla Poundcake with Vanilla Buttercream and Raspberries
Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Swiss Meringue Buttercream

And a bonus tip:

Try adding crushed Oreos or Newman O's to vanilla buttercream for cookies and cream frosting or a hefty dose (4 tablespoons or so, dissolved in the milk) of instant espresso powder for coffee frosting. Better yet, add them both and call it Cappuccino Cookie Frosting, delish.

Fresh Apricot Compote with Vanilla

The apricots available at my local farmer's market are of the rosy cheeked variety, and this time of year it is impossible to ignore them. Their blushing faces stare up at me from their baskets every time I walk by, making them completely irresistible to my produce loving heart and I pick up a handful or two every chance I get.



Like most fruit this time of year, fresh apricots require very little to make them sing. Prepared this way, they are not as sweet or smooth as jam, but a bit of sugar (or honey), vanilla, and gentle heat coaxes out all of their wonderful rich, buttery flavor without losing their distinct tartness. They slump over in the pan and release their juices making them the perfect topping for all sorts of dishes. 

The day I made this compote, we piled big spoonfuls on top of a batch of "Waffles of Insane Greatness" which were so tasty and easy to put together on the fly, but if you can anticipate your desire for waffles the night before, give Marion Cunningham's Yeasted Waffles a try. You have to let part of the batter rest overnight, but the reward of crisp, full flavored breakfast treats will far outweigh the little bit of effort required to put the batter together. Both recipes can be found in this post (with far more poetic descriptions) by Molly from Orangette if you're curious.

I can also say with authority that the compote is great eaten by the spoonful, straight from the fridge or with yogurt for breakfast or an afternoon snack. I imagine it would also be delicious spooned over some crispy baked puff pastry and garnished with a dollop of creme fraiche for dessert.

See how I used apricots last summer in this Apricot Jam with Saffron and Rose.

Fresh Apricot Compote with Vanilla
yield about 1 1/2 cups

1 pound/453g rosy cheeked apricots
1.5-3 ounces/36-72g sugar or honey depending on the sweetness of the fruit
1/2 vanilla bean, scraped
1, 1/2'' wide strip of lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons water

1. Remove the pits from the apricots by gently tearing the fruit in half. Add the pitted apricot halves, sugar, vanilla bean seeds and pod, lemon zest, lemon juice and water to a medium saucepan and stir gently to combine.
2. Cook the mixture on medium low heat until the sugar dissolves and the apricots begin to release their juices. Turn the heat up to medium and gently simmer the apricots, stirring occasionally, until they are very soft and beginning to fall apart, but not completely mushy. About 10-15 minutes. Taste the apricots and add a bit more sweetener if desired.
3. Remove the vanilla bean pod and reserve it for another use, remove the strip of lemon zest and serve the apricots warm or cold. If there are any leftovers, store them in the fridge.

Rhubarb Lime Granita

Granitas are a favorite in my arsenal of summer treats because they are such a cinch to put together; take some fruit, add water and sweetener, spice it up if you feel like it, then throw it in the freezer. Done. This one does require you to turn on the stovetop, but only for a few minutes. I hope you don't mind. You will be rewarded with a frozen treat that is bright and tart and the prettiest share of pink and is absolutely delicious with a splash of prosecco on top or maybe with some tequila and a sprinkle of salt? I've heard rhubarbaritas are mighty fine.  

Rhubarb Lime Granita

12 ounces water
1 pound rhubarb stalks, chopped into 1/2'' pieces
3.75 ounces sugar
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
zest and juice of one lime
pinch salt

1. Add the water, rhubarb, sugar and vanilla bean seeds and pod to a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the rhubarb is very soft and begins to fall apart.
2. Strain the mixture through a medium sieve into an 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish, pressing gently to extract as much juice as possible. Remove the vanilla bean and save for another use, save the rhubarb solids too. They are great over yogurt. Stir in the lime zest and juice and the salt. Taste the mixture and if you find it to be too tart, add in a bit more sugar and stir to dissolve. Cover the dish with plastic.
3. Slide the dish into the freezer and chill for 1hr. Remove the dish from the freezer and scrape the granita with a fork to break up the mixture, cover and place back in the freezer. Scrape the granita every 30min or so until it is frozen and crystals have formed. To serve: Spoon the granita into small dishes and top with a squeeze of lime and a splash of tequila, champagne, cava or prosecco if you are feeling festive.

Rhubarb Tart with Pink Peppercorns and Rye Pastry

Okay, I know. This tart is definitely not going to win any beauty contests. It's a bit brown and lumpy and the rhubarb I used here is a bit more green than Springy pink, but please don't be fooled by its very humble appearance. This tart is serious business.



It is a dessert for rhubarb lovers of the highest order. Barely sweet and fairly unadorned, aside from a bit of warmth from pink peppercorns, the tartness of the rhubarb really shines through. Before it was lovingly tucked into a nutty rye pastry, the rhubarb took a quick soak in sugar, vanilla bean and the aforementioned cracked pink peppercorns and since I'm not one to waste anything in the kitchen, I sweetened a bit of creme fraiche fortified whipped cream with the excess spiced rhubarb juices to serve alongside.



Oh, and that mess of a burger up there, it was dressed up Aussie style which means a menagerie of toppings from sliced beets and pineapple to a fried egg. It's another food that probably wouldn't place in a pageant, but that doesn't mean they weren't happily devoured by a hungry horde before tucking into my rhubarb tart with generous dollops of whipped cream.

Rustic Rhubarb Tart with Pink Peppercorn Cream and Rye Pastry

Rye Rough Puff Pastry
adapted from Kim Boyce's, Good to the Grain
yield, pastry for 1 large rustic tart or a single crust pie


I won't lie, the rye pastry takes a bit of work to put together but man is it good. It's my new favorite base for fruit desserts and if you stop by the blog later this week you'll see another rhubarb dessert wrapped up in rye (and custard and crumbs!).

4.5 ounces rye flour
4.5 ounces all purpose flour
1/8 ounce salt
1/2 ounce sugar
6 ounces cold butter cut into chunks
4 ounces ice water (may need a little less or more than this)
1t apple cider vinegar

1. In a large bowl, mix the flours, salt and sugar together. Add in the butter and quickly rub it into the flour mixture with your fingers. You want the butter to break up into small pieces the size of peas to lima beans.
2. Combine the water and apple cider vinegar in a measuring sup. Make a well in the flour/butter mixture and slowly stream the water into the dough while mixing gently. Mix until the water is evenly distributed and the dough holds together when you squeeze it. It will look dry, and that's okay, just as long as it holds together when you squeeze it. If it is too dry, add a bit more water.
3. Dump the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap, gather the wrap tightly around the dough and refrigerate it for at least an hour or overnight.
4. After it has chilled, unwrap the dough and place it onto a lightly floured board. Pat the dough into a rough square, then roll it into an 8'' x 11'' rectangle. The dough will be a bit rough and crumbly and that's okay! With the long side of the dough facing you, gently fold the dough into thirds. Then turn the dough so the seam is at the top and parallel to your body. Repeat this process 2 more times then wrap the dough in plastic and chill for at least 2 hours and up to 2 days before using.

If the rolling/turning sounds confusing, here is a great photo tutorial for making rough puff pastry on Food52.  Their method utilizes 6 "turns" of the dough, which isn't necessary for this recipe but it will give you a great idea of what the rolling process looks like.

Rhubarb Pink Peppercorn Filling

1 1/2 pounds rhubarb, cut into 3'' batons
5 1/4 ounces white sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped and reserved
1/2t pink peppercorns, crushed with a mortar and pestle
pinch

Combine the rhubarb, sugar, vanilla bean seeds, pink peppercorns and salt in a medium bowl. Stir well to combine and let the mixture macerate for an hour.

To Assemble and Bake


1 egg yolk, for egg wash
1 ounce unsalted butter
2T turbinado sugar


Preheat oven to 350º

1. Roll the chilled pastry into a rough rectangle, about 12''x 20''. The pastry should be no more than 1/4'' thick. Place the rolled pastry on a parchment lined baking sheet.
2. Neatly arrange the rhubarb batons in the crust, leaving about 2'' at the edges to fold over. You will have some excess liquid leftover from the rhubarb macerating, reserve about 2 ounces of the syrup to flavor your whipped cream later.
3. Gently fold the excess crust over the rhubarb, making sure to seal the edges well over the rhubarb. IF the pastry seems soft, pop it into the fridge for a few minutes before proceeding.
4. Pour a few tablespoons of the macerating liquid over the rhubarb to moisten it and dot the top with butter. Brush the crust with egg wash and sprinkle the whole tart with the turbinado sugar. Slide into the oven and bake until the crust is a deep golden brown and very crisp, 60-70min.
5. If you have any macerating liquid left brush it on the still warm tart before you serve it, not too much though, you don't want it to get soggy. Serve warm with pink peppercorn cream on the side.

To Serve: Pink Peppercorn Cream

8 ounces heavy cream
2 ounces creme fraiche
2 ounces reserved syrup

Whip the cream to soft peaks, then whip in the creme fraiche and add in the syrup to taste. Serve along side the warm rhubarb tart.

Rice Pudding with Old Fashioned Oranges

It's easy to hibernate in New York in the winter. It's cold and grey, the wind whips through the buildings straight to my bones, and the walk from my warm cozy apartment to the subway seems immeasurably long. This season, in an effort to spend more time together and keep ourselves from getting too lonely, some pals and I are going to make an effort to have a Sunday meal together a few times a month, a Sunday roast if you will. I don't know about you guys, but I will pretty much always show up when someone invites me for dinner, public transportation and weather be damned. Our inaugural dinner was a few weeks ago and I offered to bring along a sweet something to end the meal. I knew I needed something that was easy to transport and I wanted it to be both comforting and light, so I turned to the most comforting dessert I could think of then lightened it up with a healthy dose of citrus. Then, because it's winter, I put some booze in it. These chilled, boozy oranges are the perfect foil to creamy rice pudding and the perfect thing to share with friends, elbow to elbow, in someone else's warm cozy apartment. Now, getting up from the table and heading home is another story.

For the Pudding
Adapted from Martha Stewart's Pies and Tarts

1c arborio rice
4 1/2c milk
1/2 vanilla bean
1/2c sugar
pinch salt
1 cara cara, navel or blood orange
3/4c heavy cream
1 egg yolk

1. In a medium bowl zest the orange directly in the sugar then scrape the vanilla bean and add the seeds into the sugar mixture. Rub the sugar, zest and seeds with your fingers until it is all evenly distributed.
2. Supreme the orange over a bowl, and squeeze the membrane to extract as much juice as possible. Strain off the juice and reserve for later, you should have between 1/4-1/3c of juice. You will use the orange segments later as well.
3. In a medium saucepan combine the rice, milk, salt, sugar mixture and vanilla bean pod. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook, stirring occasionally until the rice is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed, about 30min. Remove the vanilla bean pod, rinse it off and save it for another use.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, egg yolks and reserved orange juice. Slowly add the hot rice mixture while whisking constantly. Return the entire mixture to a saucepan and cook over medium low heat until the mixture boils and thickens, about 10min. Remove from heat and cool slightly before serving. This can also be served room temperature or chilled. If you find the chilled rice pudding is too firm, loosen it up by stirring in a few tablespoons of milk or heavy cream.

Old Fashioned Oranges (like the cocktail)
Adapted from Alice Medrich's Pure Dessert

4 cara cara, navel or blood oranges (plus the one from the rice pudding)
2/3c sugar
3T whiskey

1. Zest the oranges into a medium sized bowl. Use a sharp knife to cut away the tops and bottoms of the oranges then using a sharp knife, cut the white pith away from the fruit and discard it. Over the bowl with the reserved zest, carefully cut the wedges of fruit away from the membrane and seeds, letting the fruit and juices fall into the bowl, add the reserved orange segments and juices from the rice pudding. Add the whiskey, then arrange the fruit and juices in a shallow dish, something like a 9x13 baking dish.
2. Spread the sugar into a large, dry skillet over medium heat and cook without stirring until the sugar starts to melt into a clear syrup. Turn the heat down a bit and continue cooking the syrup without stirring, you may shake the pan a little to distribute the sugar evenly.
3. When the syrup begins to color, stir gently with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula to make sure it colors and cooks evenly. When the syrup is amber in color, remove it from the heat and stir until the syrup is a reddish amber color, the color of medium dark honey.
4. Immediately pour the hot caramel over the oranges, they may spit and sputter a bit. The caramel will harden when it comes into contact with the oranges. Cover the dish and refrigerate for at least one hour and up to 2 days. In that time the caramel will slowly melt into a syrup, perfect for drizzling.

To assemble:

Layer the rice pudding and oranges in small dishes and garnish with chopped pistachios, I forgot to add them in these photos.

Notes:

- The host made some chocolate espresso cookies that we served alongside the pudding and it was a fantastic combo.

Saffron Vanilla Sugar Cookies

I like to keep the spice cabinet open while I cook dinner so I don't forget that I have a whole mess of things that can make my meals more interesting, but it's a dangerous mess in there. Every time I add something new I vow to clean and organize the damn thing. Maybe 2012 will be the year I do it; especially after the little episode that led to the making of these cookies. Let's just say the spice cabinet is above the sink, I pulled something out, turned away, and when I turned back there was an entire container of saffron floating in a bowl of (clean) water. Cue sad trombone. I fished out as much as I could with a tea strainer, switched gears and got to work making a very saffron heavy meal. Lemonade out of lemons, right? These cookies were inspired by the legendary Saffron Snickerdoodles sold by Blue Bottle Coffee Co., but as I was putting them in the oven I realized a handful of things that I should have done to make a more accurate representation. That said, these aren't much like the cookies from Blue Bottle, but they have crispy edges, soft centers and a really pleasing complex flavor.

Saffron Vanilla Sugar Cookies

2 3/4c flour
2t cream of tartar
3/4t baking soda
1/2t salt
8oz softened butter
1 1/2c plus 1/4c sugar
2 eggs
1/2 vanilla bean
large pinch saffron threads

1. Sift together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt.
2. In a mortar and pestle, grind the saffron into a powder with a small pinch of sugar.
3. Add the saffron and vanilla bean seeds to the sugar and rub the mixture together with your fingers to distribute the seeds evenly.
4. Cream the sugar with the softened butter until very light and fluffy, about 5min. Add the eggs, one at a time, then slowly add in the flour mixture.
5. Form the cookies into 2T sized balls, place on a baking sheet in a single layer, cover and chill overnight. You can bake the cookies immediately if you like, but I find the cookies spread less after a night in the fridge which helps them have crisp edges and thick, soft middles.
6. When you are ready to bake, heat your oven to 400º. Roll the cookie balls in the remaining 1/4c sugar (vanilla sugar if you have it) and place them 2'' apart on a lined baking sheet and bake for 10-12min, rotating half way through the baking time. When they are done they will be very light golden on the edges.

Notes:

-My mom informed me that you shouldn't consume too much saffron at one sitting because it slows your heart rate, we all survived this time...
-Rumor has it that the Blue Bottle Cookbook will be out in 2012
-If you can't commit to using saffron in cookies (I understand) these cookies are a great base to add other flavors, try some citrus zest or spices.
-I might attempt these cookies again, using a different base recipe. I'll post my findings on the end of this one.