Strawberry rhubarb buckle and Mark Rylance

I have been able to catch up and watch all the Oscar movies of this year – it has not been a quick task but it certainly is a pleasant one. :)

One of the movies I have seen lately is Bridge of Spies – I was quite shocked when Mark Rylance’s name was announced as Best Actor in a Supporting Role and I know I was not the only one. I remembered him from Angels and Insects, a good movie I watched twenty years ago, but not much more than that, and I got very curious about his part alongside Tom Hanks.

The movie is… OK. Interesting story, but nothing out of this world (well, not a big fan of Spielberg here). And Mark Rylance’s performance is flat and silly - he should wrap his Oscar in bubble wrap and send it to Tom Hardy by Fedex. :)

I have a more interesting supporting “actor” here: strawberries – unlike Mr. Rylance, their flavor and smell work to create a super tasty buckle, in a beautiful combination with the rhubarb. I had trouble trying not to eat several squares in a row, so please be warned. :)

Strawberry rhubarb buckle
slightly adapted from here

Cake:
115g strawberries, trimmed and diced
225g rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 1cm pieces
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar, divided use
1 cup (140g) all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
85g unsalted butter, softened
finely grated zest of 1 small lemon
1 large egg
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¼ cup sour cream*

Crumble topping:
½ cup (70g) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, melted

Butter a square 20cm (8in) baking pan, line it with foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides and butter the foil.
In a medium bowl, stir together the rhubarb, strawberries and ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar. Let it macerate for 30 minutes – in the meantime, preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.

Make the crumble topping: in a medium bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, and salt. Using a fork, stir in the melted butter until mixture is crumbly. Refrigerate until needed.

Cake: in a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
In a stand mixer or another large bowl, beat the butter, lemon zest, and the remaining ½ cup (100g) of sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and the vanilla. Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the sour cream, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth the top. Drain the macerated strawberries and rhubarb through a fine mesh strainer, discarding the liquid, and arrange them on top of the batter. Scatter the crumb topping on top.
Bake for about 50 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack. Cut into squares for serving.

* homemade sour cream: to make 1 cup of sour cream, mix 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream with 2-3 teaspoons lemon juice in a bowl. Whisk until it starts to thicken. Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for 1 hour or until thicker (I usually leave mine on the counter overnight – except on very warm nights – and it turns out thick and silky in the following morning; refrigerate for a creamier texture)

Makes 16

Orange rhubarb giant financier, a TV show and beautiful things

So yes, I am officially a softie. :)

I was crying easily for days and feeling very emotional. Then I decided to start watching a new TV show, but it could not be Stranger Things for everyone had been talking about it so much I was already fed up with it (plus all those spoilers on Facebook, why to people do these things?).

I went for River because I adore Stellan Skarsgård (ever since he had loads of hair in Breaking the Waves). I watched the pilot and indeed, it is an excellent show, but I felt so miserable at the end I could not bring myself to watch the second episode – I just told my husband: “let’s please watch one episode of The Blacklist now?” – I needed some of Raymond Reddington’s witty lines to improve my mood.

Beautiful things improve my mood, too, and I felt incredibly happy when my husband arrived home with a bunch of rhubarb stalks – he definitely knows my favorite kinds of gifts. ;)

I ended up making two recipes with the rhubarb, both delicious, but decided to share with you the most beautiful of them: the giant financier I made using a rectangular tart pan – I was very pleased when I got it out of the oven, it looked amazing!
I used Bill Granger’s friand recipe, one that already worked so well with cherries and pears, and added orange zest for zing. It was delicious, with a nice texture and wonderful flavor. On top of tasting great, the giant financier looked beautiful, so I had a slice of it with a cup of coffee while watching Red Reddington and I was happy again.

Orange rhubarb giant financier
adapted from Bill Granger’s friands

140g (5oz) trimmed rhubarb, cut into sticks, about 8x1cm (3x½ in) each
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
finely zest of 2 oranges
1 cup + 2 tablespoons (160g) icing sugar, sifted
1 cup (100g) almond meal
½ cup (70g) all purpose flour
pinch of salt
6 egg whites
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 teaspoons Cointreau – optional

Place the rhubarb in a bowl and sprinkle with the granulated sugar. Mix lightly, then set aside for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Generously butter a 30x10cm (12x4 in) rectangular tart pan with a removable bottom.

In a large bowl, mix the orange zest and the icing sugar and rub with your fingertips until sugar is fragrant. Whisk in the almond meal, flour and salt. Stir in the egg whites until just combined. Stir in the melted butter and Cointreau (if using).

Pour the batter in the pan and smooth the top. Drain the rhubarb sticks and place them gently on top of the batter, without pressing them onto the batter.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden and risen and a skewer inserted in the center of the financier comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack. Carefully unmold to serve.
Financiers are best eaten the day they are made, but can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Serves 8-10

Rice pudding with rhubarb compote and homemade meringues

Another rhubarb recipe – please, bear with me. :)

The idea for this dessert came from "Jamie at Home" – he uses strawberries for it – the rice pudding is Sophie Dahl’s – have I told how much I love this book? :) – and the rhubarb compote and the meringues are the ones left from the mini pavlovas. Does that sound messy? I bet that not as messy as the dessert itself. Nor as delicious. ;)

I ate one of the bowls you see on the photo on my couch, watching “Watchmen” for the third time – the perfect afternoon. :)

Rice pudding with rhubarb compote and homemade meringues
adapted from Jamie at Home and from Miss Dahl's Voluptuous Delights

1 2/3 cups (400ml) whole milk
½ cup basmati rice
3 tablespoons caster (superfine) sugar – or to taste
2 sticks of cinnamon

rhubarb compote and meringue recipes here

In a heavy saucepan, bring milk, rice, sugar and the cinnamon stick to the boil. Take the heat down to its lowest flame and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until rice is cooked. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
Transfer the rice pudding to two bowls, top with the compote and the broken meringues. Serve immediately.

Serves 2

Rhubarb white chocolate muffins + a useful website

Having some rhubarb stalks left after making the compote, I needed a good recipe to use them, and something quick would be even better, since I had plans of watching a movie with my sister. There was a recipe for delicious-looking raspberry rhubarb muffins on "Flour" and adapted it a bit to get to the muffins you see on the picture – which were, indeed, delicious and super tender. :)

I found the rhubarb recipe really fast using “Eat Your Books” – I’ve been using this tool for over a month now and that has made my New-Year resolution of using my cookbooks more often a lot easier; I’m not getting a dime to tell you about the website – I just thought that many of you would find it as useful as I did. :)

Rhubarb white chocolate muffins
adapted from Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe

1 ½ cups + 1 ½ tablespoons (225g) all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2/3 cup (133g) caster (superfine) sugar
¼ cup + 1 tablespoon (70g) unsalted butter, melted
½ cup (120ml) whole milk, room temperature
½ cup (130g) plain yogurt, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
125g rhubarb, chopped
½ cup (93g) white chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line twelve 1/3-cup (80ml) capacity muffin pans with paper liners.*

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg and egg yolk with a fork. Add the sugar, butter, milk, yogurt and vanilla and whisk until well combined. Pour the liquid ingredients into the large bowl and mix lightly with a fork. Add the rhubarb and the white chocolate and mix, again with the fork – do not overmix the batter or you’ll end up with tough muffins. Divide the batter among the prepared pans and bake for 15-18 minutes or until risen and golden – a skewer inserted in the center of a muffin should come out clean.
Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then carefully remove from the pan and transfer to the wire rack to cool completely.

* I did not use paper liners and unmolding the muffins was complicated because some of the chocolate chips stuck to the pan

Makes 12

Mini rhubarb pavlovas

I told you once how much I adore “True Blood” – the show got me so addicted that after watching the 3 seasons I started reading Charlaine Harris’ books – in a very incessantly way, I might add. :)

Something similar happened when I watched some of Sophie Dahl’s videos on You Tube: her soft, lovely way around her beautiful kitchen and the delicious food got me hooked – I immediately bought her book.

The original recipe calls for cooking the rhubarb for only 5 minutes but to me it tasted raw and sort of astringent; I added more water and sugar and cooked it longer – the result was a wonderful, jammy compote.

Mini rhubarb pavlovas
slightly adapted from Miss Dahl's Voluptuous Delights

Meringues:
3 large egg whites
¾ cup + 1 ½ tablespoons (168g) caster (superfine) sugar
pinch of salt

Rhubarb compote:
225g rhubarb, chopped in rounds
1/3 cup (80ml) water
3 tablespoons caster (superfine) sugar – or more, to taste
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

To assemble the dessert:
½ cup (120ml) heavy cream, very cold
½ vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped with the back of the knife
1 tablespoon icing sugar
2-3 tablespoons lightly toasted sliced almonds

Start by making the meringues: preheat the oven to 140°C/285°F. Line a large baking sheet with baking paper. In a very clean bowl, with no traces of fat or water, whisk the egg whites in medium-high speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar, whisking well until the mixture is thick and glossy – rub a bit of the mixture between your fingers: you should no longer feel the sugar granules.
Drop 6 large blobs of meringue onto the prepared pan, 5cm (2in) apart. Bake for 1 hour, or until crisp and firm. Leave to cool inside the oven with the door ajar.
Now, the compote: place the rhubarb, water and sugar in a small heavy saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until a jammy consistency, 10-15 minutes. Add the vanilla, remove from heat and cool completely.
Whip the cream, vanilla seeds and sugar until soft peaks form. To assemble: place a meringue on a serving place, top with a generous spoonful of whipped cream and finish with another generous spoonful of rhubarb compote. Sprinkle with the toasted almonds and serve immediately.

Serves 6

Rhubarb and vanilla crumble

If you read this post the fact that I burned my tongue eating this crumble will come as no surprise. :D

I made the crumble before the tartlets, and my curiosity for the rhubarb flavor would not be stopped by a piping hot bowl of dessert, right?

Just so you know it, it was all worth it. :D

Rhubarb and vanilla crumble
from Simple Essentials Fruit

850g rhubarb, trimmed and chopped
¾ cup + 1 tablespoon (162g) demerara sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped with the back of a knife

Topping:
1 cup + 1 tablespoon (150g) all purpose flour
1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon (78g) caster sugar
100g unsalted butter, cold and chopped

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Combine the rhubarb, sugar and vanilla bean and seeds in a bowl. Transfer to a 6-cup (1.5l) capacity ovenproof dish. To make the topping, combine the flour, sugar and butter in a bowl and rub with your fingertips until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Pile the mixture on top of the fruit and bake for 50 minutes or until the topping is golden and the fruit is soft.

Serves 4 – I made 1/3 of the recipe above and used a 2 ½ cup (600ml) capacity bowl

Rhubarb tarts

A dear friend of mine once blogged about “good envy” – is there such thing? I mean, can we associate envy with a positive adjective, even if it’s to show admiration for someone/something?

An example: during all these years into blogging I’ve been “envying” my lovely friends from Europe and USA for having lots of rhubarb around; now I could finally find it here in São Paulo (thank you, Ana!) and it is absolutely delicious! :D

A non-food related example: I “envy” the Argentineans for their wonderful movies, far superior than ours – and they have Darín, too. ♥

What do you think? Can I call that feeling “good envy”? Any suggestions? :D

Rhubarb tarts
from Good to the Grain

Rhubarb compote:
2 pounds (900g) rhubarb stalks
1 ¼ cups (218g) dark brown sugar, packed

Dough:
1 cup (135g) corn flour
1 cup (140g) all purpose flour
½ cup (82g) fine cornmeal
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons (74g) caster sugar
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup (1 stick/113g) unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1.25cm (½ inch) pieces
¼ cup (60ml) + 2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 egg yolks

Start by making the compote: rinse the rhubarb stalks and trim off the very ends. Unless the stalks are very slender, cut them in half lengthwise. Cut the rhubarb on the diagonal into a little less than 2cm (¾ inch) chunks. You’ll have about 6 cups of rhubarb; set 2 cups aside and put the remaining 4 cups in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan (with about 4 liter/5 quart capacity).
Add the brown sugar to the saucepan, give the mixture a few stirs, cover, and turn the heat to medium-low (it’s important to begin slowly so the rhubarb warms up and begins to release its liquid). Cook the rhubarb for about 15 minutes, covered, until the mixture is saucy. Remove the cover and increase the heat to medium. Cook for 15-17 minutes, stirring continuously, until the rhubarb is completely broken down and thick enough that a spoon leaves a trail at the bottom of the pan.
Add the remaining rhubarb to the saucepan and stir to combine. Immediately pour the compote out onto a large plate or baking dish to cool.
The compote will keep in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Now, the dough: sift the dry ingredients into the bowl of an electric mixer, pouring back into the bowl any bits of grain or other ingredients that may remain in the sifter.
Add the butter and using the paddle attachment mix on low speed and mix to break up the butter. Increase the speed to medium and mix until the butter is as coarse as cornmeal. Add the heavy cream and the egg yolks and mix just until combined – the mixture will appear crumbly, but when squeezed between your fingers it will become one mass.
Now, shape the tarts: divide the dough into 10 equal pieces. Lightly flour a work surface, grab one piece of dough and using the heel of your hand flatten it into a 13cm (5in) circle.
Spoon ¼ cup of the rhubarb compote into the center of the circle of dough. Fold the edge of the dough toward the filing and up, to create a ruffled edge. Slice a metal spatula underneath the tart and transfer to a baking sheet. Continue with the remaining dough, then place the tarts in the freezer to rest until firm, at least 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F and line two baking sheets with baking paper. Place the tarts onto the prepared pans and bake for about 35 minutes or until the tarts are brown and the filling is bubbling and thick.
Tarts can be eaten warm or at room temperature; they can be kept for up to 2 days if tightly wrapped in plastic.

Makes 10 – I made 1/3 of the recipe above, got 3 tarts and ¼ cup of the compote left