Rhubarb Gin and Tonic

Notes:

• The solids left after you press out the syrup are basically rhubarb jam, so instead of throwing it away, I filled some oatmeal bars with it! I used my favorite recipe for date-fig oatmeal squares and used this instead of the date filling.
  

Verdict: I thought it was OK but I don't know that I'd go out of my way to make it again. Honestly, I preferred it without alcohol = the syrup with just soda water/sparkling water, especially a cherry or orange flavored one.

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RECIPE: Rhubarb Gin and Tonic (Smitten Kitchen)

Rhubarb Crisp Bars

I made this Smitten Kitchen recipe with all rhubarb and no strawberries because I do not like cooked strawberries. I only got a picture of it before baking, haha.

Notes:

• I did not use the extra 2 tbsp flour because I was not using strawberries (rhubarb is a lot less juicy).
• I did use the cornstarch.
  

Verdict: They were a little hard to get out of the pan, but they did taste nice and were not soggy. I would definitely consider making these again if I wanted my rhubarb in bar form.

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RECIPE: Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp Bars (Smitten Kitchen)

Vanilla Cardamom Stewed Rhubarb

I've been looking for ways to eat the rhubarb I grow for a while, and this was on my list of things to try for a long time because it mixed it with vanilla and cardamom (these three things together taste wonderful to me). I was trimming my rhubarb plants and decided to use the stalks to make this. I ate it with yogurt.

Verdict: I really enjoyed this! It was tart and tangy, and just sweet enough. Easy to make. I would definitely make it again.

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RECIPE: Vanilla Cardamom Stewed Rhubarb (Fare Isle)

Rhubarb Crumble Pie

It's been a while since I'd made any sort of pie, and I had a less than ideal strawberry rhubarb pie yesterday. I wanted to wash that memory away with a better pie. (I am still convinced strawberries should never go anywhere near a cooked pie -- why ruin perfectly good in-season strawberries? I'm really grossed out by cooked strawberries in general though. The texture is too much like rotten strawberries.)

I've made rhubarb pies a couple of times in the past, each one a little different. This time, I finally had my own home-grown rhubarb! However, the challenge this time was that I only had enough butter on hand for a single crust pie and the one I liked that I made before had two crusts, and I didn't want to run to the store, so I needed to look for something else. I stumbled upon Sarah Kate Gillingham's recipe for rhubarb crumble pie on The Kitchn and rather liked the idea of a crumb top. I share her opinion on pies with rhubarb -- you don't need to add anything crazy to them to make them taste good. Rhubarb is sour, yes, but also really quite nice on its own.

"Don't wait for strawberries. It's May and it's time to celebrate. Make pie now."

Notes and substitutions:

• I used rhubarb that I grew and cut from my own garden, and 1 3/4 lb ended up being 8-9 large stalks about 1 inch thick and ~15 inches long.
• I REALLY like the flavor of this pie crust. Normally I just replace any rolled pie dough in a recipe with Smitten Kitchen's because it's my go-to and I know I like it, but I am really glad I gave this one a try. I also liked how easy it was to work with and roll. Absolutely no problems with breaking or cracking.
• I chilled the pie shell in the freezer for about 20 minutes instead of in the fridge for 30 minutes because I hadn't realized that it needed to be chilled until I got to that step into the directions. Hooray not reading the recipe all the way through before starting!
• I used coconut oil instead of butter in the topping because I used all the butter I had for the crust. It worked fine and it tasted better than I expected it to. The texture probably would have been a little better and more varied if I'd used butter, but the coconut oil thankfully was still solid enough to do the job. If you go this route, try to get one that doesn't have a strong coconut taste, and work it into the mixture with a wooden spoon instead of your fingers because the heat from your hands is enough to melt it completely. It may work even better if you chilled the coconut oil in the fridge or freezer first (I did not have that foresight).
• It ended up pretty juicy on the inside, but the bottom crust was cooked and not soggy on the outside. Next time I will not mix together the filling ingredients until immediately before putting it in the shell and see if that helps. I also might have measured the corn starch incorrectly and ended up with too little, so make sure you measure it accurately. It definitely got hot enough in the oven to activate the corn starch because the filling did thicken some and didn't taste like uncooked cornstarch.

Verdict: I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this and I'd make it again. If I made it again I might try to sprinkle in some vanilla and cardamom next time to see what happens because I love how it tastes with rhubarb.

RECIPE: Rhubarb Crumble Pie

Rhubarb Custard Bars

I made the Rhubarb Bars on Chocolate With Grace. My thoughts and experiences and changes are below.

Crust
+ generous pinch of kosher salt
+ 2 tbsp cold water (Verdict: probably unnecessary but the mix was quite dry otherwise and I was afraid it wouldn't bind. I think this might have contributed to why it took ~23 minutes to brown, but I also think it helped pack it down to make nice solid crust to help keep them together)

Filling
Tossed flour with rhubarb instead of mixing it into the eggs so I wouldn't get lumps/pockets of flour and also so the rhubarb wouldn't all float to the top (but the floating part isn't really a problem because there's not enough custard for it to float in). Seemed to work OK.
- 2/3 cup sugar (I would take out an entire cup next time because it was still pretty sweet with 1 1/3 cups sugar, possibly even down to 3/4 cup total given that the filling is not terribly thick)
+ 1 tsp vanilla
+ 1/2 tsp ground cardamom (I would add even a little more next time but probably not an entire teaspoon)

Other notes
Baked 30 minutes and they were no longer jiggly, but looked a little syrupy under the top crust when cold. Tasted fine though and were solid enough to stay in squares when cut and eggs are cooked enough so as to not be dangerous.

They were sitting in a pool of syrup after cutting and being stacked in the fridge all day. Still delicious, but kind of messy and after a day or so they started to get soft enough to fall apart.

RECIPE: Rhubarb Custard Bars

Almond Rhubarb Picnic Bars

I made these for a dinner party I hosted at my house. I was daydreaming about the nectarine bars Sarah made for my first tea party, as well as looking for a good use for some of the fresh rhubarb growing in my garden, and I had never tried almond and rhubarb together but it sounded delicious.

I made them exactly as instructed and they turned out great. Our guest loved them too! I'd definitely make them again.

RECIPE: Almond Rhubarb Picnic Bars

Scandiwegian Spring Cake

My husband and I have hosted a birthday party for one of our friends at our house for several years now, and I always make him a cake. Last year I made him a carrot cake, and this year he wanted something different and let me choose. This year, I decided to make him a vanilla and cardamom cake with rhubarb filling and cream cheese frosting.

The name comes from a Stephen Fry documentary where he visits all 50 states in the United States. For the episode featuring Minnesota, he explains that winters are quite cold and snowy there, and calls the many enclosed walkways between buildings "a bit of Scandiwegian ingenuity" (during the mass migration of Europeans to the United States in the 1800s, many Norwegians and other Scandinavian immigrants settled in the area that is now Minnesota). I thought this name was really cute and used it to describe this cake because it has a number of flavors common in Scandinavian baked goods.

Notes:

• Since the 6 inch cake layers were really thick, I split them to make the cake 4 layers. I filled each gap with rhubarb filling because I had a lot. I think I ended up with not quite enough frosting.
• You will likely have extra rhubarb filling. It tastes nice on yogurt or ice cream.
• I think it would taste better with a lighter textured cake (this ended up dense and a little tough and this was possibly my fault for cramming all of this into two 6 inch pans), a thicker rhubarb filling (adding a little more pectin would probably fix that issue), and a lighter frosting because it set up quite hard when refrigerated.
• This is the petal tip I used for piping (Wilton #104). The ruffle effect definitely takes some practice to make it look neat (I am not proud of my icing job, for the record) but it turned out OK for a first try.

Verdict: I personally think I could have done better in terms of execution, especially with the piping, but I would definitely try making this again with the aforementioned tweaks because I loved this flavor combination. One of the band members declared it the best cake he has ever had in his life, so it couldn't have been too awful.

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RECIPE:

Scandiwegian Spring Cake
adapted from My Name is Yeh (cake), Will Cook For Friends (filling), unknown (frosting)
Makes 1 6 inch round cake, serves 8

Cardamom vanilla cake
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground cardamom
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup neutral flavored oil, such as canola
1 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup boiling water

Rhubarb filling
½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar, or more to taste
½ tbsp (about 7 g) powdered fruit pectin
7 oz (about 1¾ cups chopped, 200g) fresh or frozen rhubarb, cut into ½ inch pieces
¼ cup water
1 tsp (5 ml) fresh squeezed lemon juice, plus more to taste
1-2 drops red food coloring (optional, if your rhubarb is not very red and you want the filling to have a pinkish tint)

Cream cheese frosting
4 oz (½ cup, 1 stick) unsalted butter
8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 lb powdered sugar (about ½ bag)
Milk, to thin if needed

Prepare cake: Set oven temperature to 350°F. Grease two 6 inch round springform pans with butter, line the bottoms with parchment paper rounds, and grease the parchment paper. Place all dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cardamom) in a large bowl and whisk gently to combine. Set aside. Place eggs, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla in another slightly smaller bowl and whisk until well combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and whisk them together. Stir in the boiling water. The resulting batter will be very thin. Divide batter evenly between the two prepared pans. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the tops of the cakes have browned slightly and a bamboo skewer or other tester poked into the center of the cake comes out with no batter or crumbs clinging to it. When done, remove from oven and let stand for about 10 minutes to cool slightly, then remove cakes from pans to a lightly greased cooling rack to cool completely. While cakes bake and cool, prepare filling and frosting.

Prepare filling: Place sugar and pectin in a nonstick or stainless steel or other non-reactive saucepan and whisk to combine. Add remaining ingredients to the pan and heat on the stove to a rolling boil over high heat. Cook until pectin has activated and rhubarb pieces have broken down to where no whole pieces remain, about 7-8 minutes. At this point, you can adjust the taste by adding more sugar and/or more lemon juice. When you are satisfied with the flavor, remove pan from heat. If you want a very smooth filling, use an immersion blender or transfer the mixture to a standard blender and blend until smooth. Let cool to room temperature. You will likely end up with extra filling; it can be stored in a clean jar or other airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. It can also be frozen.

Prepare frosting: Cream butter and cream cheese together in the bowl of a stand mixer or with a hand mixer. Add vanilla and beat until incorporated. Mix in powdered sugar in several additions.

Assemble the cake: Level the two cake layers so they will stack neatly. Prepare a decorating bag fitted with a petal tip and fill with about 3/4 of the cream cheese frosting. Place one of the cake layers on your plate or rotating stand (if you have one). Pipe a thick line of frosting just inside the top edge all the way around. Spoon rhubarb filling inside to fill the circle of frosting. Place the other cake layer on top of this. Spread on a thin layer of frosting to just cover and stick together the entire cake (crumb coat) and transfer to the refrigerator to chill for 5-10 minutes to let it harden. To pipe the ruffles, place the wide end of the petal tip against the side of the cake at the bottom and pipe around the outside of the cake, rotating the plate as you go, working your way up from the bottom. Decorate top as desired.

Rhubarb Tart with Cardamom Meringues

I forget where I read it, but when I was looking for ways to use cardamom after finding out it was in Indian food and buying some for my spice rack, I read somewhere (from someone who had read The Flavor Bible) that rhubarb, cardamom, and vanilla are a really good combination. It has stuck with me and I now have my own copy of The Flavor Bible (thanks thrift store).

Fast forward to planning what to make for a tea party and coming across this recipe by Will Cook for Friends for individual rhubarb tarts with torched meringues on top. The photos were inspiring to me. They looked so pretty, I had to try making it. But I don't have a kitchen torch and don't know anyone else that does...so how to get cooked meringues on the top without baking them on at the end? I decided to make meringue cookies to decorate the top of the tart instead, flavoring them with -- you guessed it -- vanilla and cardamom.

The rhubarb filling tasted great, with a nice balance of sweet and tart. Though I was worried it might not be thick enough to hold, the filling stayed in the shell even after I cut it. The meringues didn't turn out as pretty as I was hoping, but they tasted fine! Some more practice will probably help me figure those out. The thing I remember most: don't store them in an airtight container. It will trap moisture in and make them sticky. Or maybe I didn't dry them out enough. But I didn't want them to turn brown.

Verdict: I think with some tweaking and practice, this could be really good. It was kind of a lot of work though so I don't know how often I'd make it. I have considered making just the tart and buying a container of vanilla meringue cookies to decorate it with since I know where to get them.

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RECIPE:

Rhubarb Tart with Cardamom Meringues
adapted from Smitten Kitchen (tart shell), Will Cook for Friends (filling), Eating Well (meringue cookies)
Makes 1 9-inch tart; serves 8-12

Shell
1 1/2 cups (195 g) unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup (65 g) powdered sugar
1/4 tsp salt
9 tbsp (4 1/2 oz) very cold or frozen unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Filling
½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar, or more to taste
½ tbsp (about 7 g) powdered fruit pectin
7 oz (about 1¾ cups chopped, 200g) fresh or frozen rhubarb, cut into ½ inch pieces
¼ cup water
1 tsp (5 ml) fresh squeezed lemon juice, plus more to taste
1-2 drops red food coloring (optional, if your rhubarb is not very red and you want the filling to have a pinkish tint)

Meringues
3 egg whites, from 3 large eggs, at room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp corn starch
1/8 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Garnishes
Fresh raspberries
Pistachio nuts, coarsely chopped
Fresh mint leaves

Mix and shape the tart dough: Place flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to combine. Sprinkle the butter pieces on top of the dry ingredients, and pulse to cut in the butter until the pieces range in size from oatmeal flakes to peas. Add the egg in several additions, pulsing after each one, until just incorporated. From there, process the dough in longer (~10 second) pulses until the mixture begins to form clumps. The food processor noise will sound different once this begins to happen. Transfer dough to a large cutting board or other flat work surface and if necessary, gently knead the dough just enough to finish incorporating any dry ingredients. Press the tart dough evenly across the bottom and up the sides of a greased 9 inch tart pan with removable bottom, making sure that you apply enough pressure so the pieces of dough stick together but still maintain their crumbly texture. Place the tart crust in the freezer and allow to chill for at least 30 minutes, but longer is better.

Prepare the filling and meringues while the tart crust freezes. If your egg whites for the meringues are still cold, prepare them and let them stand at room temperature while you make the rhubarb filling.

Prepare the filling: Place sugar and pectin in a nonstick or stainless steel or other non-reactive saucepan and whisk to combine. Add remaining ingredients to the pan and heat on the stove to a rolling boil over high heat. Cook until pectin has activated and rhubarb pieces have broken down to where no whole pieces remain, about 7-8 minutes. At this point, you can adjust the taste by adding more sugar and/or more lemon juice. When you are satisfied with the flavor, remove pan from heat. If you want a very smooth filling, use an immersion blender or transfer the mixture to a standard blender and blend until smooth. Let cool to room temperature. You will likely end up with extra filling; it can be stored in a clean jar or other airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. It can also be frozen.

Make the meringue cookies: Preheat oven to 300°F (150°C). Place oven racks in the 2nd and 3rd positions from the bottom. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Whisk together sugar, cornstarch, and cardamom in a small bowl and set aside. Place egg whites, vanilla, and cream of tartar in a very clean medium sized bowl; it should be free of grease. Using an electric mixer, beat egg white mixture until it forms soft peaks when the beaters are removed (tips will curl over) when the beaters are removed. Add the sugar mixture in several additions, beating on high speed, until the egg white mixture forms stiff peaks (tips will stand straight up when beaters are removed). Using a spoon, transfer the mixture to a piping bag fitted with a star tip, or if you don't have a piping bag or decorating tips, a gallon zipper bag with the corner snipped off will work. Twist the top end closed, making sure to trap as little air inside as possible, and hold it shut with your hand. Pipe the meringue mixture onto the parchment paper lined pans in small mounds about 1 inch in diameter, 1 inch high, and about 1 inch apart. Place both pans in the oven at the same time and bake for 10-15 minutes. Turn off the oven and leave the meringues in it for another 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven, put pan on a wire cooling rack, and let cool completely. While they are cooling, bake the tart shell.

Bake the tart shell: Preheat the oven to 375°F. Cut a piece of aluminum foil from the roll that is slightly longer than your tart pan, and grease the shiny side with butter. Press the foil, buttered side down, tightly against the contours of the crust. Place the tart pan on a cookie sheet, put it in the oven on the second rack from the bottom, and bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and peel off the foil carefully. If the crust got puffy, use the back of a spoon to gently press it back down. Return it to the oven for approximately 10 more minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and firm. Transfer the tart pan to a cooling rack and let cool to room temperature.

Assembly: When crust has cooled completely, fill it with the rhubarb filling so that it is level with the edge of the crust. Arrange meringues, raspberries, and mint leaves on top. Sprinkle with chopped pistachios. It is best served immediately but can be stored in the refrigerator for several hours before serving. Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for several days.