mix, mix… stir, stir

I am on a bit of a rhubarb kick, so I was very happy to make this week’s Tuesdays With Dorie selection picked by Amanda from Sprinkles on a Cupcake. When ever I make a cobbler, or crisp for that matter, I am surprised at how easy and delicious they are. I am not sure why they don’t remain front and center in my dessert mind. I guess my love for cakes and chocolate work just seems to push the humble cobbler aside, but once again I am reminded that cobblers are fantastic and I should be making them more often.

photo by David Peterman

I thought it would be nice to have picnic cobblers by making them in individual muffin paper molds. I was very pleased with how well it worked, though it was necessary to use two paper molds for each cobbler otherwise a lot of liquid seeped out. The bottoms were a bit sticky, but I think it is a nice presentation none-the-less. I found I needed to fill the cups almost full as the topping doesn’t rise a great deal and because of the small containers I cut the fruit smaller than Dorie instructs. Dorie’s recipe fills about eight of the tall brown paper muffin cups.

I think there is a great fear of rhubarb and sugar is the coping mechanism;generally so much sugar that all the wonderful characteristics of the rhubarb are completely obliterated. No so with this cobbler. The rhubarb was allowed to shine in all its tartness and glory. The cherries added a wonderful contrast in flavor and texture that was easy to distinguish thanks to the restrained use of sweetener. The addition of whole wheat flour to the topping added a nice depth of flavor and the touch of ginger was a perfect accent to both the filling and topping.

Beyond the individual portioning I made very few changes to the recipe. I used whole wheat pastry flour rather than standard whole wheat flour because that is what I had on hand, and the softer flour seemed like a good way to ensure a tender topping. I also dipped into my stash of ginger sugar to sprinkle on the topping before baking them. Ginger sugar is as complicated as saving the sugar at the bottom of a bag of crystallized ginger. It is great stuff, don’t toss it out!

I agree with Dorie’s comment that the cobbler is best served warm. The fruit is fine at room temperature or even chilled, but the biscuits really need to be a little warm to be truly satisfying. One other great thing about cobbler is it makes a darn fine breakfast. What? It’s fruit and a biscuit.

As with all the Tuesday with Dorie recipes, you can find this in Dorie Greenspan’s book Baking: From My Home to Yours.