Has it really been 3 months since my last post???? I missed you blog-osphere, and I hope that I can stick around and visit for a while. I have all sorts of reasons for my absence, but I’ll nip this conversation in bud right now. My life is less than perfect right now, so I will leave it at that… ***breathe***
With strawberry season in full swing, I was inspired to get off my rear and work on this week’s Tuesdays With Dorie recipe for Strawberry Rhubarb Double Crisp. Two things intrigued me about this recipe – 1) the idea of a warm strawberry dessert and 2) exploring the ginger-strawberry flavor combination. I didn’t go hunting for rhubarb, so I substituted with a chopped granny smith apple tossed with a healthy squeeze of lemon.
With only the hubs and myself at home, it only made sense to scale this recipe down. The full recipe will serve 9, but a quarter of the recipe made a perfect dessert for two.
Dorie Greenspan’s recipe calls for a typical crisp topping but with a little spicy surprise added to the mix — finely chopped crystallized ginger. Some of the crisp topping is layered at the bottom of the baking dish.
The chopped apple (or rhubarb) is added, then a quickly cooked strawberry mixture is poured over. With the apple substitution and the super sweetness of the in-season berries, I reduced the amount of sugar called for in the strawberry concoction by half.
The remaining crisp topping is sprinkled on top, and this beauty of a dessert is popped in the oven. This smaller portion took only 20 minutes to bake. I love how the topping became crispy with a beautiful golden brown color.
A scoop of homemade vanilla bean ice cream was the perfect accompaniament for this beautiful and delicious rustic dessert.
Cooking the strawberries really intensified its flavor, and I’m glad that I scaled back the sugar. The berries and the apples were sweet, but not in that toothy-sugary way. The ginger was a fantastic surprise, it provided a spicy undertone that helped balance the sweetness of the fruit.
I now want to hunt down some rhubarb and try the recipe as it was originally intended…
Thank you Sarah of Teapots and Cakestands for a terrific selection this week! Sarah has the complete recipe on her blog.
