Desserts

Is there any better way to end a meal than with a yummy dessert? And is there any better way to end the week than with six yummy dessert recipes, including Strawberry Pie and Rhubarb Ice Cream With a Caramel Swirl. Enjoy!

RHUBARB CRISP

This is from Mark Bittman in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Mark wrote, "When you think of rhubarb you probably think of strawberry-rhubarb pie, a quintessential spring dessert, especially if it’s made by someone who makes good pies. I usually manage around one pie crust annually, so I need alternatives. Thus, when the spring’s first rhubarb shows up, I adjust the execution and produce a crisp. If rhubarb is young and fresh, you can trim it in seconds. If it has fibrous outer strings, peel them off as you would those of celery. Toss the rhubarb with orange or lemon juice and zest, and only a little sugar. (You can also substitute strawberries for some of the rhubarb if you want the classic combination.) Blend the ingredients for the crisp topping in a food processor, crumble the topping over the rhubarb mixture, and bake — it is nearly effortless and as good or better than a pie."

Yield: 6 to 8 servings; Time: 1 hour.

This was featured in "Rhubarb Crisp That Stands Up to Pie" and can be viewe online here.

Ingredients

6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces, plus more for greasing pan

2 1/2 to 3 pounds rhubarb, trimmed, tough strings removed, and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces (about 5 to 6 cups)

1/4 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon orange or lemon juice

1 teaspoon orange or lemon zest

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, or to taste

Pinch salt

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup pecans

Preparation

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease an 8- or 9-inch square baking or gratin dish with a little butter. Toss rhubarb with white sugar, orange or lemon juice and zest, and spread in baking dish.

Put the 6 tablespoons butter in a food processor along with brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt, and pulse for about 20 or 30 seconds, until it looks like small peas and just begins to clump together. Add oats and pecans and pulse just a few times to combine.

Crumble the topping over rhubarb and bake until golden and beginning to brown, 45 to 50 minutes.

RHUBARB ICE CREAM WITH A CARAMEL SWIRL

This is from Melissa Clark, also in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Melissa wrote, “This ice cream is chock-full of sweet bits, but with enough satiny frozen custard to savor between the chunks. To keep the rhubarb from freezing into tooth-breaking fruity ice cubes, stew it with plenty of sugar, which keeps the fruit soft. The technique works with any summer fruit, though it’s especially nice with rhubarb, or gooseberries for that matter, both of which need a lot of sugar to tame their squint-inducing acid content. But you can substitute strawberries, apricots, cherries, peaches or plums as the summer fruit season progresses, adjusting the sugar depending upon the sweetness of the fruit.”

Yield: One scant quart

This was featured in “Rhubarb, It Turns Out, Can Be a Sweetie”, and can be viewed online here.

Ingredients

1 and 1/2 cups whole milk

1 and 3/4 cup plus 6 tablespoons granulated sugar

Pinch fine sea salt

1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

4 large egg yolks, lightly beaten

1 and 1/2 cups sour cream

3/4 pound rhubarb, cut into 1/2-inch dice

1/2 cup heavy cream

Preparation

In a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat, whisk together the milk, 3/4 cup sugar, the salt, the vanilla bean seeds and its pod. Simmer gently until sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and steep 30 minutes. Discard the vanilla pod and return mixture to a bare simmer.

Place the yolks in a large bowl. Slowly whisk in hot milk mixture. Scrape the custard back into the pot and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Whisk in sour cream. Chill at least 3 hours or overnight.

In a saucepan, combine the rhubarb with 1 cup sugar. Simmer until rhubarb is just tender and has begun releasing its juices, but has not started to fall apart, 4 to 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer rhubarb to a bowl. Continue to simmer the juices until syrupy, 5 to 10 minutes more. Pour the syrup over the rhubarb. Cool completely.

In a clean, dry and preferably nonstick skillet, sprinkle 2 tablespoons sugar over medium heat. When it begins to melt and lightly color, sprinkle in 2 more tablespoons and start swirling pan to help evenly distribute sugar. Add the final 2 tablespoons and cook, swirling pan until all the sugar has melted. Let cook, swirling occasionally, until the sugar syrup caramelizes and turns dark brown. Pour in the heavy cream and 2 tablespoons water (stand back; it may splatter). Simmer, stirring with a heatproof rubber spatula until smooth. Cool completely.

Pour the custard base into an ice cream machine and churn. Add rhubarb compote for the last minute of churning.

Scrape a quarter of the caramel into the bottom of a freezer-proof quart container. Top with a quarter of the ice cream. Repeat layering until all of the caramel and ice cream has been used, ending with the ice cream. Freeze until firm for at least 2 hours and up to 1 week.

STRAWBERRY PIE

This yummy recipe was posted in the You Asked For It column in the Tampa Bay Times (formerly the St. Petersburg Times). It was sent in by Doris Wanamaker and is listed as “easy.” I’m listing it as yummy.

To view this on the Times website, click here.

4 to 5 heaping cups whole fresh strawberries (about 2 16-ounce containers)

1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon butter

1 graham cracker crust

Whipped cream or topping for serving

Pour strawberries in a medium saucepan and mash lightly. Add cornstarch and sugar. Over medium heat, cook until thick, about 20 to 30 minutes. Stir often to prevent burning. Once thickened, add butter and stir until melted. Pour into pie crust; cool, and refrigerate until serving. Serve with Cool Whip or whipped cream.

STRAWBERRY RHUBARB CRISP

This is from The Food Network’s Ina Garten. I don’t know if you’ve ever watched her show, but I love it! Granted, as a vegetarian, I know I won’t try everything she makes, but I still love watching her show.

Total Time: 1 hr 25 minutes; Active: 25 minutes; Yield: 6 servings; Level: Easy

To view this online, go to http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/strawberry-rhubarb-crisp-recipe-1973658.

Ingredients

4 cups fresh rhubarb, 1-inch diced (4 to 5 stalks)

4 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and halved, if large

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange zest

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup quick-cooking (not instant) oatmeal, such as McCann's

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, diced

Vanilla ice cream, for serving

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the fruit, toss the rhubarb, strawberries, 3/4 cup of the granulated sugar and the orange zest together in a large bowl. In a measuring cup, dissolve the cornstarch in the orange juice and then mix it into the fruit. Pour the mixture into an 8-by-11-inch baking dish and place it on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.

For the topping, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, the remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar, the brown sugar, salt and oatmeal. With the mixer on low speed, add the butter and mix until the dry ingredients are moist and the mixture is in crumbles. Sprinkle the topping over the fruit, covering it completely, and bake for 1 hour, until the fruit is bubbling and the topping is golden brown. Serve warm with ice cream.

BLUEBERRY SAUCE

This recipe and the next one (Ginger-Blueberry Parfait) are from an article on Prevention, titled “11 Recipes with Fresh Blueberries.” Click here to see the article and all twelve recipes.

This sauce would go well over ice cream. Yum!

SERVINGS: 4 – 6

1 pt fresh blueberries (2 C)

1/4 C + 1 Tbsp confectioners' sugar

1/4 C water

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

2 Tbsp butter

Put blueberries, sugar, water, and cinnamon in medium saucepan.

Cover and cook over medium heat until blueberries have broken down a bit and mixture becomes soupy, about 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and swirl in butter. Serve warm or at room temperature over waffles, pancakes, ice cream, or pound cake.

NUTRITION (per serving) 140 cal, 1 g pro, 22 g carb, 2 g fiber, 6 g fat, 3.5 g sat fat, 50 mg sodium

GINGER-BLUEBERRY PARFAIT

SERVINGS: 4

1 C blueberries

1 tsp grated peeled fresh ginger

4 Tbsp maple syrup, divided

1 Hass avocado, peeled, pitted, and chopped

1 C part-skim ricotta cheese

4 sprigs fresh mint

Combine the blueberries, ginger, and 1 Tbsp of the maple syrup in a small bowl until well mixed. Let stand for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a food processor, combine the avocado, ricotta, and the remaining 3 Tbsp maple syrup. Puree the mixture.

Layer the blueberry mixture with the ricotta mixture alternately in 4 parfait glasses or dessert dishes, ending with the berries. Garnish with the mint sprigs.

NUTRITION (per serving) 217 cal, 8 g pro, 25 g carb, 10 g fat, 4 g sat fat,3 g fiber, 83 mg sodium