Rhubarb Shortcakes
The time came (and really went) to harvest my third backyard rhubarb plant. With the first, I made Rhubarb Tarte Tatin from Nigella Lawson. It was OK. With the second, I made a Rhubarb Crisp from some online recipe. This was barely OK because it wasn’t at all crisp on top–the juices of the baking rhubarb completely overwhelmed any possibility of a browned topping. For the last plant, then, I turned to Cook’s Illustrated. They only have 2 rhubarb recipes in over ten years of magazines, but the success rate of their recipes promised more success. The one I wanted to try was the Rhubarb Fool, which is cooked rhubarb layered with sweetened whipped cream in parfait glasses. I couldn’t give up the idea of a pastry, though, so I combined the recipe with the Cornmeal Shortcakes (one of the easy recipes) from Sunday Suppers at Lucques. The resulting Rhubarb Shortcakes were lovely and delicious. I mix the shortcakes by hand, rather than in a food processor. It’s messier, but simpler.
Cornmeal Shortcakes from Sunday Suppers at Lucques
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. stone-ground cornmeal
1 Tbl. plus 1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 c. granulated sugar
4 Tbl. cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1 c. plus 1 Tbl. heavy cream
Preheat over to 425. Whisk first five dry ingredients together in medium/large bowl. Add butter, then with hands or a pastry blender, cut into dry ingredients until there is no lump larger than a pea. Make a well in the middle, add 1 c. cream and fold quickly with rubber spatula just until dough comes together. Knead in bowl a very few times to get dough in ball, then transfer to cutting surface, pat into inch-thick disk, and make four cuts to form eight wedges. Brush tops with remaining cream, sprinkle with sugar and bake about 15 minutes until light golden brown.
Rhubarb topping, from Rhubarb Fool, Cook’s Illustrated 5/2001
2 1/4 pounds fresh rhubarb , trimmed of ends and cut into 6-inch lengths
1/3 cup orange juice
1 cup granulated sugar plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
pinch table salt
2 cups heavy cream (cold)
1. Soak rhubarb in 1 gallon cold water for 20 minutes. Drain, pat dry with paper towels, and cut rhubarb crosswise into slices 1/2-inch thick.
2. Bring orange juice, 3/4 cup sugar, and salt to boil in medium nonreactive saucepan over medium-high heat. Add rhubarb and return to boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring only 2 or 3 times (frequent stirring causes rhubarb to become mushy), until rhubarb begins to break down and is tender, 7 to 10 minutes. Transfer rhubarb to nonreactive bowl, cool to room temperature, then cover with plastic and refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour or up to 24.
3. Beat cream and remaining sugar in bowl of standing mixer on low speed until small bubbles form, about 45 seconds. Increase speed to medium; continue beating until beaters leave a trail, about 45 seconds longer. Increase speed to high; continue beating until cream is smooth, thick, and nearly doubled in volume and forms soft peaks, about 30 seconds.
To assemble shortcakes, split each shortcake in half horizontally, spoon about 1/4 cup rhubarb over the bottom, then spoon about 1/4 cup whipped cream. Top with other shortcake half. Serves 8.