Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Rhubarb Treats- Steph's Rhubarb-Filled Yogurt Cupcakes, Rhubarb Mini Pie Turnovers, Rhubarb Galette, and Prudy's Rhubarb Struesel Coffee Cake

We have had company and as you can see, an overabundance of rhubarb. I have spent the last few days making rhubarb everything. Keep in mind that there are varieties of rhubarb that are not deep red and that is the kind I have available. Some of these pictures may not look so good, but they taste good, I promise~! First, we have the Rhubarb-Filled Yogurt Cupcakes from Steph over at A Whisk and A Spoon.Go HERE to see her beautiful photos. She won Cupcake Hero back in April with these tasty things, and boy, are they delicious. The funny part is that they use a Rhubarb filling that I grew up eating as a breakfast dish. It is the only way we ever ate rhubarb when I was small and so it was so fun to use it as a cupcake filling! Her blog is lovely, so go check it out and make these cupcakes- You will not be sorry! Here is the lovely hole I dug in the cupcake, and then filling it with the green rhubarb filling. It tastes better than it looks! I promise!


Next are the mini pie turnovers and galette. I took a shortcut on these and used refrigerated pie crusts. The filling was marvelous. I made some with 5-inch circles, which I filled with 1/4 cup filling and then 2-inch circles, which I fit a heaping Tbls filling in and then put another circle on top. We used the leftover cream filling from the peach cake last week to dip them in-- Perfection! I used the other part of this pie filling to make a galette.


Now, on to Prudy's coffeecake. It was soo good! And I am a happy camper when I can call anything this tasty breakfast. I added some oats to the struesel topping and it seriously was gone within 30 minutes. It can also be made with any other fruit, check out her original post HERE.

Prudy's Rhubarb Streusel Coffee Cake slightly adapted from Prudence Pennywise
1/2 cup salted butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups chopped rhubarb, or other fruit
For Streusel:
1/3 cup heaping brown sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 tablespoon butter
1/3 cups oats
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, buttermilk and vanilla. Stir in flour and soda, stirring just until blended. Add rhubarb and pour into greased 9 by 13. Combine all streusel ingredients and sprinkle over the top. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until springy in the center.

Rhubarb-Filled Yogurt Cupcakes from Steph at A Whisk and A Spoon- makes 12 large cupcakes
-Start by making and chilling the rhubarb compote (process below).
-Bake and cool the yogurt cupcakes (recipe below).-If your pistachios have papery skins on them, blanche them for a minute in boiling water. Drain them, and once cool enough to handle, slip off the skins. Chop them roughly.
-Make the lemon butter icing.
-To fill the cooled cupcakes, use a small knife or round cookie cutter to cut a plug out of the center of each (going in from the top). Save the top bit of each plug. Fill each cavity with rhubarb compote. Cover with the top bit so the filling is not exposed.
-Top with the icing and sprinkle on the chopped pistachios.
Rhubarb Compote Note: This is more of a process than a recipe, and can be adjusted depending upon the amount of rhubarb you have and how sweet you would like it to be. I’d use at least 12 stalks, and any leftover compote is great on oatmeal or with yogurt.-Trim off the tops and bottoms of each stalk of rhubarb. Use a pairing knife to peel away any strings. Cut into 1-inch pieces.
-Weigh the cut rhubarb. Measure out sugar equal to 1/4 to 1/3 of the weight of the rhubarb, depending on how sweet you’d like it. If you don’t have a scale, you can eyeball or use cup measurements.
-Put rhubarb pieces and sugar into a heavy-bottomed pot. Add a small splash of water (just to keep the rhubarb from burning) and place over medium heat. Stir frequently to keep from sticking to the bottom.
-Simmer for several minutes until the rhubarb releases its juice and the sugar is dissolved. The rhubarb will soften and break down and the liquid should be reduced (although if you have an excessive amount, you can tip it out). All this will probably take about 10 minutes, unless you are working with a very large quantity.
-Transfer to a container and chill. This will keep for a week or two.
Yogurt Cupcakes- makes 12 large cupcakes- heavily modified from The 1997 Joy of Cooking
2 c sifted all-purpose flour
1 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
5 T salted butter, room temperature
1 c sugar
1 egg
2 egg whites
1 t vanilla
1 c plain yogurt (full or nonfat), cool room temperature (I used Greek Yogurt)
-Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C and spray and flour twelve cavities of a muffin tin (or line with paper cups).
-Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
-Beat the butter in a large mixing bowl until creamy. Gradually add the sugar and beat until light in color and texture.
-Whisk together the egg, egg whites and vanilla. Gradually beat into the butter/sugar mixture until thoroughly combined.
-Add the dry ingredients and yogurt in three parts, alternating and beating smooth after each addition.
-Divide the batter in the tin, and cook for about 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the tins for a few minutes and then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
Lemon Butter Icing- makes enough to generously frost 12cupcakes adapted from Everyday by Bill Granger
8 T unsalted butter, room temperature
10 oz powdered sugar, sifted
1 Tbls lemon zest (finely grated)
1 Tbls lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
-Beat the butter until very soft and white. Beat in the powdered sugar, lemon zest and juice. (You can adjust consistency with either extra powdered sugar or lemon juice.)

Rhubarb Mini Pie Turnovers inspired by a recipe on The Food Channel website
4 cups chopped rhubarb
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
pinch cardamom
1/4 tsp nutmeg
zest of 1/2 orange
juice of 1/2 orange
2 15-inch refrigerated pie crusts
1 egg, beaten
Combine rhubarb and next 6 ingredients in a large bowl. Let sit for 1/2 hour.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Cut 4 5-inch circles and 4 2-inch circles out of your refrigerated pie crusts.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place 1 circle on parchment, fill with scant 1/4 cup rhubarb filling and fold over the dough until it meets the other side. With fingers, make sure the crust is closed, by pressing it together and fluting it. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
To make small rounds, place 1 Tbls filling on 2-inch circle and cover with another 2-inch round. Close with fingers.
Make an egg wash and brush mini turnovers with egg wash, using a pastry brush. Sprinkle with decorating sugar if desired. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes, or until rhubarb is soft and crust is golden.
The leftover filling from this recipe can be used to make a galette
Cream from Peaches and Cream Chiffon Cake- Woman's Day Magazine
2 Tbsp confectioners' sugar
1 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
1/2 cup heavy cream
Stir confectioners' sugar into yogurt in a medium bowl. In a small bowl, beat cream until stiff peaks form; fold into yogurt mixture and refrigerate.

Rhubarb Galette
use leftover rhubarb filling from above recipe and 1 refrigerated pie crust (unless you want to make you own dough)
Line a baking sheet with parchment
Roll out pie dough
sprinkle graham cracker crumbs on dough, leaving a 2-inch border
Spoon rhubarb filling into middle, on top of graham cracker crumbs
Fold the sides of the pie crust up, covering part of the filling
Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar
Bake in a 425 degree oven for 25 minutes, or until crust is golden
serve with ice cream or cream (above)

6 comments:

Prudy said...

Oh my gosh, Mary Ann, you are a rhubarb machine, cranking out all those delicious recipes. You must have had a blst making all that. I wish I had an overabundance of rhubarb-in truth I can't hardly find it at the stores.
Everything looks delicious but I choose the turnovers with the coarse sugar. Yummmy.

Marie Rayner said...

Mary Ann, I love rhubarb in any shape, any colour!!! I keep telling Todd we must get some rhubarb crowns to plant in our garden. The ones that are here now are well past it. Your creations all look so delicious! I can't pick one that I would like more than the other!!! I think I would like the cupcakes most of all so may give those a try this weekend, but then again I do love coffee cake! Choices, Choices!

Maria said...

Talk about being in rhubarb heaven!! Everything looks fabulous!

Jersey Girl Cooks said...

It's a great rhubarb fest! I will have to look in the stores...I never seem to see rhubarb.

steph- whisk/spoon said...

wow--that is a rhubarb-fest! everything look's great, and i'm drolling over the struesel cake! thanks for trying the yogurt cupcakes!!

Susie Homemaker said...

I am SOOO making those mini-pies. They look great!