strawberry rhubarb financiers

Happy spring to you! Well, to those of you in the Northern Hemisphere, I don't want to be hemispherist. Happy Fall if you live on the southern half of the planet.  If you live at the equator, which seasons do you go with? Is it Spring, Fall? Neither? Both? I know that there are less dramatic seasonal changes on the equator, but still. What season is it?

Anyway, it's spring!  In this particular chunk of the Northern Hemisphere, cherry blossoms are blossoming in a comforting way, that signals that winter's grip on us has loosened and it won't last forever. And when spring comes, so does rhubarb. Seeing it growing in the garden fills is so hopeful; I love the alien little ball of anemic, pale and slightly slimy leaves, poking through the dirt. 

Financiers are little French almond teacakes. They are pretty casual and unfussy as far as French pattiserie goes. If you happen to be in Paris, or anywhere else with a Maison Kayser, I strongly recommend a bag of their pistachio financiers.  They are so buttery, so pistachio-y. I have tried, but never quite managed, to replicate their glorious pistachiosity. If you aren't currently in Paris, New York or Tokyo (boo) then you can make them at home. They are really easy to make, and they can easily convert to being gluten free with a flour swap, or use hazelnuts or pistachios in place of almonds if you prefer. These ones are are crispy on the outside, soft and buttery on the inside and with lovely little strawberry rhubarb centres. 

More financiers: apple & hazelnut, raspberry & caramelized white chocolate

strawberry rhubarb compote: 

• 3 cups rhubarb, chopped

• 2 cups strawberries, quartered

• 1/3 cup sugar (or a bit more, to taste)

• 1 tsp vanilla

Cook all ingredients together over medium low heat, until rhubarb is falling apart. Strain liquid off the compote and set aside for another use, like a tasty spring cocktail. The compote and syrup can be stored in fridge for around a week, or in the freezer for a couple months. 

strawberry rhubarb financiers: 

adapted from cannelle et vanille

• 120 grams egg whites

• 125 grams sugar

• 55 grams all purpose flour or white rice flour

• 25 grams almond meal

• 30 grams hazelnuts, toasted and ground into meal

• 1 tsp vanilla

• 150 grams butter, melted and cooled (browning the butter will add extra nuttiness!)

• 1/2 cup strawberry rhubarb compote

Combine sugar, flour, nut meals and vanilla in a mixing bowl. Add egg whites and stir to combine. Stir in butter, cover bowl with plastic wrap and age in the fridge overnight. 

Generously grease financier tins or muffin tins. Fill with batter; only about 1/2 inch high if you are using muffin tins, up to the brim if you are using financier tins. Put 2 tsp of compote in the centre of each financier. 

Bake at 375°F for about ten minutes, until the centres are set and the edges are browned. Cool and then run a knife around the edge of the tins and gently remove the financiers.

strawberry raspberry rhubarb slab pie

Slab pie is highly transportable. I made this one to take on a camping trip and it stood up to the journey beautifully. I made it two days before the trip and wrapped it, still in the pan, in several layers of plastic wrap. Then I stuck it in bag and put a bunch of other food on top (only light things like potato chips to avoid crushing) and hauled it off to our campsite. It survived being wedged between tents and coolers in the back of a car. I think that sitting around for a couple days actually improved it and helped the filling set up so that you can easily slice pieces that hold together. I highly recommend it for any summery, sitting-on-a-blanket-on-the-grass type activities you have planned for August. All you need is a knife to cut slices, plates and forks are optional. 

The pastry I used is from a Bon Appetit recipe and it's a bit different that other pie doughs. It has almond flour and a couple egg yolks in it, which I hadn't seen before. I have made it a bunch of times with various different fillings since the sour cherry pie recipe came out two years ago in Bon Appetit, and it has never failed. It always comes out perfectly flaky and it never gets tough. I know every pie dough recipe everywhere makes claims to be the magical, never tough, perfect, easy dough. But this is really it. Just try to mess it up, I bet you can't. 

Equipment note: I used a quarter bun pan, or a 9" x 13" jelly roll pan. These pans have a 1" high side and they are just the right size to hold a standard pie crust and filling. 

crust:

adapted from Bon Appetit

• ⅓ cup almond flour
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 big pinch salt
• 2½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup chilled butter, cut into pieces (my butter was not chilled, doesn't seem to matter too much)
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1/4 cup cold water

Combine almond flour, granulated sugar, salt, all-purpose flour and butter in a food processor and pulse until mixture is just combined and has a sandy texture. Combine egg yolks and water and drizzle them over the flour mixture. Pulse until just combined. Add a few drops more water if the dough isn't coming together. 

Dump the dough out onto a large sheet of plastic wrap and squish it into a rectangle. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and chill for at least two hours. 

filling:

adapted from Martha Stewart

• 5 cups rhubarb, cut into 1/2 inch chunks 
• 1 cup chopped strawberries
• 1 cup raspberries 
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. 

assembly: 

Cut chilled dough into two pieces, one slightly larger than the other, about 2/3 for one piece and 1/3 for the other. Roll out the larger piece into a rectangle slightly larger than your pan so that dough hangs over the edge when you lay the dough sheet over the pan. Roll out the smaller piece the same size as the pan. Cut vents into the dough with a knife or cut little circles out with a piping tip. 

Spread the fruit filling over the dough in the pan and cover it with the top sheet of dough. Fold over the overhang and press the dough together to seal. 

Brush the top of the pie with heavy cream and sprinkle generously with sanding sugar if you like. Bake at 375°F for about an hour. If the crust browns too quickly tent it with foil. 

Let cool for at least two hours before serving. 

Photos by Tyrel Hiebert

strawberry rhubarb crumble ice cream

I don't have an ice cream machine and I feel conflicted about them. I like making ice cream and a machine certainly makes the process easier, and give a slightly smoother, creamier result. I have waffled back and forth over buying one. But they are terrible space hogs and they are pretty one-task. I have plenty of space hog kitchen tools (stand mixer, food processor) and even lots of one task items (vegetable spiralizer, pasta roller, ravioli molds). But I'm just not sure I would use an ice cream maker more than a couple times a year. But it's summer and it's hot and this perfect idea of a summer ice cream kept rolling around my brain; strawberry rhubarb crumble ice cream. All the components, the gooey fruit, the crispy crumbs, packed into the ice cream. 

Thankfully, you don't actually need an ice cream machine to make ice cream. David Lebovitz has a great post about making ice cream without a machine, and I have been used his technique a few times. It's so labour intensive that every time I do it, it puts me right off making ice cream for a long time. But it also satisfies my occasional urge to make ice cream without having to buy a bulky new kitchen tool. I'm pretty sure all the whisking must be cardiovascularly effective too, so making this is effectively like going to the gym. Good job!

strawberry rhubarb compote:

• 1 cup rhubarb, chopped
• 1 cup strawberries, chopped 
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tbs water 

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat until fruit is falling apart. Set aside to cool. 

crumbs: 

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup cold butter

Combine ingredients in a food processor. Process into a rubble. Tip the crumbs out onto a baking sheet lined with parchment. Bake at 350 until golden brown, 10-15 minutes.  Set aside to cool.

vanilla ice cream: 

adapted from David Lebovitz 

• 1 cup whole milk
• A pinch of salt
• 3/4 cup (150g) sugar
• 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
• 2 cups cream
• 5 large egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Combine milk, salt, and sugar in a medium saucepan; heat on medium. Scrape a teaspoon along the inside of the vanilla bean; add seeds and bean pod to the pot.  Take the pot of the heat and infuse for one hour, covered. 

Make an ice bath by filling a large bowl with ice and water and place a medium bowl in the ice bath. Set a strainer on top and add the cream to this bowl. Stir the egg yolks together in a small bowl. Heat the milk in a sauce pan and pour a very small amount into the yolks, stirring constantly. Repeat this, adding about half the hot milk to the yolks. Return the yolks/milk into the saucepan and cook on medium until it thickens. Scrap the bottom of the pan well and stir constantly to prevent scolding or lumps. Strain the thickened custard into the cream. Stir to combine the cream and custard. Chill for several hours or overnight. 

If you are using an ice cream machine, freeze the custard following your machine's instructions. 

To freeze your ice cream with no machine, pour the custard into a wide, shallow pan and place in the freezer. Set a timer for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the pan and whisk vigorously. Make sure to scrape down the sides where the first ice crystals will begin to form. 

Repeat this process every 30 minutes until the ice cream is very thick and whisking becomes very difficult. This will take ages, depending on how cold your freezer is, probably several hours. 

Stir the cooled crumbs through the ice cream. Swirl the rhubarb compote through the cream. I like to keep distinct blobs of rhubarb strawberry goo in a vanilla ice cream matrix, so I stir it in minimally. Return to the freezer until the ice cream is firm, at least a couple hours.