Rhubarb Brown Sugar Crumble

I will always have a sweet tooth. Yet I'm finding the desserts I gravitate toward have changed over the years -- where I used to always go for the sweetest of the sweet (chocolate cheesecake, pecan pie, etc.) I now find my cravings leaning toward the tart and refreshing. Anything with citrus (particularly lemon), sour cherries, and rhubarb.

That's not to say this Rhubarb Brown Sugar Crumble isn't sweet -- it has two cups of sugar between the streusel topping and the fruit filling -- but it also has a nice tang and tartness. I also tend to cut back on the amount of sugar in recipes nowadays -- and I did the same thing here. I've reprinted the recipe straight as it is from Fine Cooking magazine, but I reduced the amount of sugar by a quarter-cup in both the filling and the streusel. If you're not a fan of tart/sour, keep the amounts as-is.

I've written about fruit crisps and crumbles before -- likely because they're one of the desserts I make most. You've got that great combination of tender cooked fruit, crispy, buttery oatmeal topping, and likely some ice cream or whipped cream served alongside. So much easier than a pie, and I think more interesting, texturally.

Could these desserts be any more decadent?

Last week my colleague Erin was kind enough to bring some of the peanut butter chocolate cake she'd baked to the office to share. A sour cream chocolate cake to start, covered in peanut butter frosting, and then glazed with peanut butter-chocolate ganache. My God, was it good, and sinfully rich (recipe here, if I've piqued your interest).

Courtesy Editor at Large

It got me thinking about some of the amazing desserts I've tried over the years -- some made my friends and/or family, others made by yours truly. My friend Olga is an incredible baker, and her baklava is to die for. Perhaps I will see if she'd be willing to share her secret recipe in an upcoming post. She also once made a lemon mascarpone cheesecake that was published in the LCBO's Food and Drink magazine. That recipe is available here and if you have company coming over it not only tastes delicious but it looks impressive. The trick, I recall Olga telling me at the time as I swooned over the silky texture of the cake, is to beat the cream cheese for a long time. Patience is most definitely rewarded in this case.

I think my love of baking comes from my mom, who was always baking when my sister and I were kids. From apple pies to pecan pies, squares of all varieties (my favourites were the turtle bars and mint chocolate squares), cookies, homemade sheet cakes for our birthdays (chocolate cake and chocolate icing more often than not, although she switched to mocha icing at one point, which was also delish). But my favourite 'Mom' dessert is also probably one of the simplest -- fruit crumble. A base of mixed berries, or apples, sometimes peaches in the height of summer, covered with a layer of butter oats and flour, spiked with cinnamon and nutmeg, baked in the over until the fruit is bubbling and the topping crisp and golden. With a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side it's the most comforting of comfort foods. Rustic, and uncomplicated.

I've made some interesting desserts over the years -- last year I made a Marsala wine-spiked mocha semifreddo that was quite delicious and surprisingly light-feeling, given the amount of cream involved. I also made a chocolate amaretti cake that had a crust ever so light and crisp, giving way to a moist, dense filling. Part cookie, part cake, and entirely scrumptious.

With friends coming over for dinner on Saturday I'm thinking it's time to attempt another challenging dessert. But what? A few recipes have caught my eye, including:

1) Chocolate Caramel Tart (from the latest edition of Saveur) - this is Saveur's cover recipe this month and it looks mouth-wateringly good. It's taken from the menu of Brooklyn's Marlow & Sons, one of the restaurants featured in the issue.

2) Coffee-Chocolate Layer Cake with Mascarpone Frosting (from Bon Appetit) - I see two problems with making this spectacularly rich-looking cake. 1) My friends aren't coffee drinkers. 2) There's no way the frosting would survive long enough to end up on the cake. Me. A spoon. End of story.

3) Tropical Carrot Cake with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting (also from Bon Appetit) - I admit it, I'm a sucker for cream cheese frosting. Was there ever a time that carrot cake was eaten without it? I don't even want to imagine it.

4) Strawberry Mascarpone Tart with Port Glaze (from Gourmet) - Are you sensing a cream cheese theme here? Yes, I think I'm leaning in that direction. Although spring is here and part of me is looking for light options, I can have fruit salad any day of the week. That said, there's fruit in this dish, so it's not all bad, right?

At this point I'm still undecided - make one of these lovelies, or go another direction entirely. What are your thoughts? Do you have an out-of-this-world dessert recipe you'd like to share? If so comment below or drop me a note at suzannekathrynellis@gmail.com.

Salut!

Suzanne

Lime Coconut Rum Pie

I've made dozens of desserts, including countless cookies, over the years, but if I had to point to the one I'm proudest of, it's the Lime Coconut Rum Pie I made for my parents when they were visiting for dinner one evening.



Taken from the Summer 2007 issue of Food and Drink, a fabulous free resource for home cooks, the recipe is similar to a Key Lime Pie only ever so slightly more decadent with the addition of dark rum to the whipped topping.

I made it back in 2007, when the issue came out, and I haven't tried it since -- in part because I don't know that any follow-up attempt would match up to my original effort. The buttery graham crumb base, the smooth, tart lime filling, the rum-spiked cream, and even the oven-toasted flaked coconut on top -- all the flavours melded together perfectly and the texture was light and creamy. There were so many opportunities for things to go wrong, but nothing did.

With spring on the way, my cravings are shifting from savoury and salty to fresh, sweet, and bright, which is why citrus flavours immediately pop to mind. I'm thinking this is the year to have another go at this sublime lime dessert. Who knows, maybe it'll even be better the second time around!

Lime Coconut Rum Pie

Crust
1 cup (250 mL) graham crumbs
1/2 cup (125 mL) ground almonds, toasted
3 tbsp (45 mL) sugar
1/3 cup (75 mL) butter, melted

Filling
1 cup (250 mL) sugar
5 tbsp (75 mL) cornstarch
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup (125 mL) milk
4 large egg yolks
1 tbsp (15 mL) unsalted butter
Finely grated zest of two limes
1/2 cup fresh lime juice

Topping
1 cup (250 mL) whipping cream
2 tbsp (25 mL) dark rum
1 tbsp (15 mL) sugar
2 tbsp (25 mL) flaked coconut, toasted
Lime for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350F (180C).

Place the crumbs, almonds and sugar in a bowl. Stir in the melted butter and mix until well blended. Tip the mixture into a buttered nine-inch (23 cm) pie dish and press evenly over the bottom and sides. Bake the pie shell for 10 minutes, then let cool.

In a heavy saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Gradually whisk in 1 cup (250 mL) water and the milk, whisking until cornstarch is dissolved. Place the pan over medium heat and cook, whisking until the mixture comes to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat.

In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and then gradually whisk in about 1 cup (250 mL) of the milk mixture. Whisk this milk and yolk mixture back into the pan and then return the pan to the heat. Simmer, whisking often, for 3 minutes. The mixture will be very thick.

Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the butter. Add the lime zest and the juice and whisk into the mixture until butter is melted. Pour the lime-egg mixture into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, pressing onto the surface of the mixture, and let cool slightly. Spread the mixture into the baked pie shell, smoothing the top. Cover the filling with plastic wrap pressed onto the surface and refrigerate for 4 hours.

Pour the whipping cream into a bowl and add the rum and sugar. Whip the cream until stiff and spoon onto the pie, swirl and sprinkle with toasted coconut. Garnish with lime zest if desired.

Courtesy Food and Drink, Summer 2007, LCBO


This dessert is fantastic if you're having family and/or friends over, and it's especially good in the warmer months -- which thankfully aren't that far away!

Salut!

Suzanne

Comments? Email suzannekathrynellis@gmail.com