Classic Rhubarb Crisp with Buttery Crumble Topping

 

Warm weather is the perfect time for cool and refreshing desserts and if you enjoy rhubarb as much as I do, here is an easy and delicious dessert to put together.  I usually like to try at least one new rhubarb recipe when my rhubarb is ready for picking.  Seeing an instagram friend's @2020kcmd post was the initial inspiration for making rhubarb crisp. If you have a friend or neighbor that asks if you want some rhubarb, take it and make this! 

The rhubarb crisp recipe I chose was originally shared by a dear friend who sadly passed away not long ago, Barbara from Moveable Feasts.  She loved rhubarb as I do and shared many great recipes, including this one, which comes from Mark Bittman.  The crumble topping, however, comes from my blogging friend and fellow garden lover of over 20 years, Monique at La Table de Nana.  She shared an apple crisp with crumble topping from this French site.  It is a delicious, buttery, crunchy topping that holds up beautifully to the moisture in the rhubarb.  

This is a lightly sweetened, pure rhubarb dessert with orange or lemon zest and juice added for a bit of citrus brightness. The sweet crumble topping adds the rest of the sweetness to the dessert.   

A large scoop or two of vanilla ice cream gives the whole dish a creaminess that is irresistible!  Enjoy! 

Classic Rhubarb Crisp

Printable Recipe

Serves 6 to 8

6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces, plus more for greasing pan
2-1/2 to 3 pounds rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces (about 5 to 6 cups)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon orange or lemon zest
1 tablespoon orange or lemon juice

Topping:

1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup rolled oats (not quick oats)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter, cut into cubes

In a bowl, mix all of the topping ingredients with a fork until well combined and refrigerate for while making the rhubarb filling.

Preheat the oven to 375 F. degrees. Butter a 8 or 9 inch baking dish (I used a 11 x 7 inch glass baking dish). Toss rhubarb with white sugar, orange or lemon zest and just pour out into the baking dish, leveling it as best as possible.

Sprinkle crumble topping over rhubarb as evenly as possible. You may have extra, which can be refrigerated for a future crumble topping dessert.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until top is golden and beginning to brown and rhubarb is bubbling. Remove from oven and allow to cool. This is best eaten while slightly warm but may be made in the morning and refrigerated. Take out of refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature before serving or warm slightly in a 350 for about 20 minutes.

Serve with a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream.

Lemon Semifreddo with Berries and Amaretto

Two weeks ago, we hosted our Gourmet Group.  We take our turn hosting in the summer when we can dine outside on our patio.  Fingers, toes and eyes are always crossed that the weather will cooperate.  It did!  Not only did the weather cooperate, it was the weekend of the full 'Blue Moon' so I named our gourmet "Once in a Blue Moon Gourmet" on the invitations.

Our Gourmet Group of five couples is a wonderful opportunity to try new recipes and, yes, we've had some misses but quite a few hits also over the years.  We only meet every two months or so and each couple only hosts once a year. Each couple is assigned one recipe to prepare and finish and plate at the hosts' home - usually an appetizer, soup, salad or dessert.

It's fun to receive the invitations in the mail and see your assigned recipe and either praise or curse the hosts :)  Seriously, as we've been doing this for quite a few years, we try not to over burden anyone in the group.  It needs to be fun and relaxed! Even though we drink less and go to bed earlier than we did a couple of decades ago, we still have fun together keeping the tradition going.

The inspiration for this dessert that I assigned to one of the couples came from Moveable Feasts, a blog I admire and follow.  Barbara has wonderful taste in food and recipes.  Even though the original recipe is made with Meyer lemons, it tastes equally delicious with regular lemons, which are much easier to find here in the Midwest.

We all raved about the dessert the night of our gourmet, and, when we were invited to dinner to a friend's home this past weekend, I jumped at the chance to make the Lemon Semifreddo myself to share with them.  I made two - one to bring to our friends' home and one for my husband and I to share with our family when they come for dinner soon.

The most involved portion of the recipe is making the custard for the semifreddo.  This requires stirring egg yolks, lemon juice, lemon zest and sugar over simmering water for about 10-15 minutes.  The rest is all done with a stand or hand mixer.  Even though the dessert may take 30-45 minutes of time, the reward is that it can, and should, be made a day ahead, and even can be made up to 3 days ahead.  This means no last minute work other than prepping some berries, plating and serving, then waiting for the Ooohs and Ahhhs. 

I hope you have a chance to try this while the weather is still warm!  It made a refreshing finish to our gourmet group dinner.  One day, I hope to share some of the other recipe 'winners' of the night! 

Lemon Semifreddo with Berries and Amaretto

Adapted from Epicurious
Printable Recipe

Serves 6-8

1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted
1 3/4 cups chilled heavy whipping cream
1 1/4 cups sugar
7 large egg yolks
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (from about 3 large lemons)
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 cups mixed fresh berries (such as raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, and quartered hulled strawberries)

2-3 Tablespoons Amaretto Liqueur

My Notes:  I halved this recipe and then made 1 plus 1/2 recipe.  This made enough for two 9x5x3 pans.  The original recipe calls for the berries to be mixed with sugar.  Instead of sugar, we used Amaretto which added a wonderful flavor to compliment the toasted almonds on the semifreddo.  We also used regular lemons rather than Meyer lemons and it was delicious using regular lemons. Also, if you have a stand mixer, such as a KitchenAid, you can whip the cream first using the metal bowl and transfer the whipped cream to a regular bowl to refrigerate.  Then, wash and reuse the metal bowl over the pan of simmering water to make the custard.  Then, it's simple to place the bowl back on the mixer to whip the custard.  

Preheat oven to 350F.

Sprinkle the 1/2 cup of sliced almonds on a small baking sheet and toast in the oven for about 5-7 minutes, watching carefully in the last few minutes so they do not burn.  Set aside to cool.

Line a 9x5x3-inch metal loaf pan with plastic wrap, leaving generous overhang. Sprinkle toasted almonds evenly over bottom of pan.

Using an electric mixer, beat whipping cream in large bowl until soft peaks form. Refrigerate whipped cream while making custard.

Whisk 1-1/4 cups sugar, egg yolks, lemon juice, lemon peel, and salt in large metal bowl to blend. Set bowl over large saucepan of simmering water and whisk constantly until yolk mixture is thick and fluffy and instant-read thermometer inserted into mixture registers 170°F.  This took 10-15 minutes on my

Remove bowl from over simmering water. Using an electric mixer, beat mixture until cool, thick, and doubled in volume, about 6 minutes. Fold in chilled whipped cream. Transfer mixture to prepared loaf pan and smooth top. Tap loaf pan lightly on work surface to remove air pockets. Fold plastic wrap overhang over top to cover. Freeze semifreddo until firm, at least 8 hours or overnight.

DO AHEAD: Semifreddo can be made 3 days ahead. Keep frozen.

Gently mix all berries and 2-3 tablespoons of Amaretto liqueur in a large bowl.

Unfold plastic wrap from top of semifreddo and invert dessert onto platter; remove plastic wrap. Dip heavy large knife into hot water; cut semifreddo crosswise into 1-inch or so slices.

Transfer to plates; spoon berries alongside and serve.

Almond Cake with Fresh Berries

I'm still here :)

My husband and I recently hosted one of our most enjoyable entertaining events of the summer - our gourmet group.  The long-held format is the host and hostess create the menu and assign one recipe to each couple to make and bring to the host's home.  The hosts are responsible for the main course and usually a side dish, plus all of the wine and beverages for the evening.  We always host in the summer in order to enjoy al fresco dining on our patio and summery views of the garden that I work so hard to primp for this event. Normally, I would have a few pictures of my table setting outside but sadly, the weather did not cooperate for us this year and the dinner had to be served indoors. Harrumph!

Today, I'm sharing the dessert that I chose for the event.  It's Jacques Pépin's Almond Cake with Fresh Berries.  I was given his cookbook Fast Food My Way recently by my son-in-law. This cake is delicious, summery and so easy to make (in the food processor!).  

Just before serving, the cake is drizzled with a spiked simple syrup.  I used rum but cognac would also taste delicious. Then, a layer of thinned apricot preserves is brushed on. I applied both to each slice individually so that the remaining cake wouldn't get too soggy.

What I didn't have time to show is the dollop of Grand Marnier-spiked whipped cream on the side. The original recipe calls for Creme Fraiche as the garnish. 

Our main course was grilled rainbow trout with lemon parsley butter which I've shared here.  Grilling fish for 10 people required 3 batches of 4 fish each on the grill (we used two cast iron grates) so we slightly undercooked the first 2 batches and held them in a 200 degree oven until the last batch was completed. It received rave reviews from our friends.  I hope to share a couple other highlights of the meal soon. 

Among many other things here is a sample of the other things that has been keeping me busy for far this summer...

A few of my blue and purple clematis, now in full bloom...

 I hope you are all enjoying the beautiful month of July!

Almond Cake with Fresh Berries

Adapted From Jacques Pépin's Fast Food My Way and also found here.
Printable Recipe

SERVINGS: 6 to 8

Cake

4 ounces almond paste (3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon tightly packed; see Note*)
3/4 cup sugar
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1/4 cup milk
Dash of salt
1 cup cake flour (4 ounces) - I used King Arthur's Unbleached Cake Flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Toppings and Garnishes

1 1/2 tablespoons rum (or spirit of choice)
2 tablespoons superfine sugar

2 tablespoons apricot jam

Fresh berries
Mint leaves
Crème fraîche or Whipped Cream (flavored with rum or Grand Marnier), for serving

Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter an 8-by-2-inch round cake pan*. Line the pan with parchment paper and butter the paper. In a food processor, combine the almond paste, sugar, butter and vanilla and process for 10 seconds. Add the eggs, milk and salt and process for 5 seconds. Add the cake flour and baking powder and process until the batter is smooth, 5 to 10 seconds. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake until lightly browned and firm, about 40 minutes. Let cool.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix the rum with the sugar and 1 1/2 tablespoons of water; stir to dissolve the sugar. I heated it on the stove top to help dissolve the sugar. In another small bowl, whisk the apricot jam with 1/2 tablespoon of water to make a glaze.

After the baked cake has cooled for about 5-10 minutes, unmold the cake upside down on a baking rack. You will have a nice, flat top this way. When cool, transfer the cake to a serving platter. Brush with the spiked syrup just before serving and then brush the cake with the apricot glaze. Scatter the berries over and around the cake. Garnish with the mint leaves and serve the cake in wedges with spiked whipped cream or crème fraîche.

*My Notes:

• I used a 7" spring form pan so my cake was higher than using an 8" pan - which I liked. However, it took longer to bake.  If a toothpick comes out clean, the cake is done.  I buttered the pan and then also sprayed with Baker's Joy.

• You can make this cake early in the day. Or make several cakes, wrap, well and freeze. Defrost, still in their wrappings, in the refrigerator. 

• Almond paste is available at most supermarkets in 8-ounce cans or tubes. (Look for Solo Brand in a can –it costs less than the tubes.) I bought the 8 ounce Solo Brand Almond Paste in a can and make 2 individual cakes - processing one recipe at a time in the food processor.  

• I tripled the spiked syrup and and doubled the amount of jam glaze