Strawberry Rhubarb Breakfast Cobbler with Cornmeal Biscuits and Honeyed Cream
Source: Joy Wilson, Joy the Baker
Recipe Type: Breakfast | Seasons: Spring
This recipe was demonstrated for CUESA’s Market to Table program on April 1, 2017. Reprinted from Over Easy: Sweet and Savory Recipes for Leisurely Days by Joy Wilson (Clarkson Potter, 2017).
Makes 6-9 servings
INGREDIENTS
Biscuits
1½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out dough
⅓ cup yellow cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
7 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut up into small chunks, plus 1 tablespoon for melting
¾ cup cold buttermilk
Fruit Filling
4 cups chopped rhubarb (1-inch pieces)
3 cups chopped strawberries (large pieces)
½ cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Pinch salt
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon fresh orange zest
Squeeze of juice from ½ orange
Honeyed Cream
1½ cups heavy whipping cream
3 tablespoons honey
Splash vanilla extract
Pinch salt
PREPARATION
Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 375°F.
To make the biscuits: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. Add the 7 tablespoons of cold butter chunks to the dry ingredients and use your fingers or a pastry cutter to work the butter into the flour mixture until some of the butter is the size of oat flakes, some the size of small peas, and all of the dry ingredients are lightly coated in fat.
Create a small well in the center of the mixture and add the buttermilk. Use a fork to fluff the mixture together, being sure to moisten every bit of dough with buttermilk. Add a tablespoon or two more if your mixture feels dry. Stir the mixture into a shaggy dough, then dump out onto a lightly floured surface. Gently work the dough with your hands into a 2-inch-thick disk. Use a lightly floured rolling pin to roll the dough out until it’s an inch thick. Use a 2½-inch round biscuit cutter to cut into rounds, gathering and re- rolling the scraps to make 9 biscuits. Set aside.
In a 9-inch square pan, toss together the rhubarb and strawberries, sugar, cornstarch, salt, nutmeg, orange zest and orange juice until everything is thoroughly combined. Bake the fruit mixture for 20 minutes, until it’s just beginning to bubble. Remove from the oven and place the biscuits on top of the warm fruit. Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter and brush the tops of the biscuits with it. Return the biscuits and fruit to the oven and bake for 15 minutes, until the fruit has broken down and is bubbling, and the biscuits have risen and are golden.
While the biscuits bake, combine the cream, honey, vanilla, and salt in a medium bowl. Beat with an electric hand mixer until the cream forms small peaks.
Remove the cobbler from the oven and allow it to cool for 20-30 minutes before serving, so it’s just warm when you dish it into bowls and top it with the honeyed cream.
Photo courtesy of Joy the Baker.
