Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Strawberry rhubarb pie is made with fresh rhubarb and strawberries, along with sugar, a little flour, and a pie shell.

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 cups diced rhubarb
• 1 1/2 to 2 cups fresh strawberries, cleaned and sliced
• 1 to 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 2 tablespoons flour
• pastry for 8 or 9-inch 2-crust pie

Preparation:

Combine rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, and flour in pastry lined pie plate. Cover with pastry and seal edges; flute edge all around and vent top. Bake at 400° for 30 to 40 minutes, until fruit is tender and crust is browned.

Rhubarb Betty

Delicious rhubarb dessert recipe. More rhubarb recipes below.

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

• 6 cups chopped rhubarb, about 3 pounds of rhubarb stalks
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 2 1/2 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon rind or orange rind
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 cups soft white bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation:

In a large bowl, combine rhubarb, sugar, tapioca, lemon rind, and salt; set aside. Mix bread crumbs with melted butter and drizzle with vanilla; toss well. Fill a lightly buttered 1 1/2 to 2-quart casserole with alternating layers of rhubarb mixture and bread crumb mixture, with rhubarb layer on bottom and finishing with a bread crumb layer. Cover and bake at 400° for 25 minutes. Remove cover and bake an additonal 10 minutes, or until top is browned.
Serve warm with cream or ice cream.

Rhubarb Crunch

Serve this rhubarb dessert warm, topped with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup oats
• 1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 4 cups chopped rhubarb
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• whipped topping or ice cream

Preparation:

Combine flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and melted butter; blend well. Pat half of the crumb mixture into a lightly buttered 9-inch square baking pan. Top crust with chopped rhubarb. In a saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch; slowly add water, stirring until smooth and well blended. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. Stir in vanilla. Pour sauce over rhubarb and sprinkle with remaining crumbs. Bake at 350° for 40 minutes, or until rhubarb is tender. Serve with whipped topping or vanilla ice cream. Rhubarb crunch serves 6 to 8.

Banana Tarte Tatin

This banana tarte tatin recipe is an easy dessert to make on short notice. Ripe bananas are always in season and frozen puff pastry can be found in most major grocery stores. Pull the puff pastry out to thaw while you slice bananas and simmer the rum sauce. Best of all, this recipe is very forgiving. If you simply have no time to make homemade French rum sauce, use store-bought caramel sauce kicked up with a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry
• 2 tablespoons butter
• ½ cup rum sauce
• 3 bananas, cut crosswise into ½-inch slices

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Working on a clean surface, roll the pastry dough into an 11-inch circle and chill.

Melt the butter in a 10-inch ovenproof skillet. Add the rum sauce and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and arrange the banana slices in a single layer in the hot rum sauce. Drape the pastry over the bananas, fitting the overhang up the sides of the skillet. Bake in the preheated oven for 22-25 minutes, until the pastry turns golden brown. Cool the tarte tatin in the skillet for 30 minutes before inverting it onto a serving platter.

This banana tarte tatin recipe makes 8 servings.

Chocolate Eclairs

The traditional éclair uses vanilla pastry cream as a filling and rich, almost ganache-like chocolate glaze. Make this recipe with basic choux pastry dough.

Prep Time: 2 hours

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• Basic choux pastry dough
• Vanilla pastry cream
• 4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Preparation:

Make vanilla pastry cream according to directions and chill.

Preheat oven to 425F and lightly grease 1 baking sheet. Spoon the prepared basic choux pastry dough into a pastry bag fitted with a wide, plain tip and pipe 8 5-inch lengths onto the baking sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes, until the éclairs puff up and turn golden brown. Remove them from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes before filling.

Make the chocolate glaze while the éclairs are baking and cooling. Place the chopped chocolate in a heat safe bowl and set aside. Heat the heavy cream just to boiling over low-medium heat and remove from the heat immediately. Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate and stir until it forms a thin, smooth consistency. Set the chocolate glaze aside at room temperature for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

To assemble the éclairs:

Fit a pastry bag with a medium-sized plain tip and fill it with vanilla pastry cream. Insert the tip of the bag into the end of an éclair and pipe about 2 1/2 tablespoons of pastry cream into it. Gently spread 1 tablespoon of chocolate glaze onto or carefully dip the top of each filled éclair into the glaze before serving.

This chocolate éclairs recipe makes 8 servings.

Fig Tart Recipe

Traditionally, this fig tart is a summer recipe. With a little ingenuity, though, you can soak dried figs and use them year-round for a delicious dessert. The caramelized fig filling is warmed up with a splash of port wine and enlivened with a bit of blackberry jam. A little dollop of Chantilly cream served with the dessert makes the ideal treat.

Prep Time: 2 hours, 20 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

Pastry:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 14 tablespoons cold butter
• 6 tablespoons cold water

Fruit Filling:

• 8 ounce package dried figs
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons port
• 3 tablespoons blackberry jam

Preparation:

In a small bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, and salt. Using a pastry cutter, large-tined fork, or a food processor on pulse setting, cut the chilled butter into the flour until it resembles coarse sand with a few pea-sized pieces of butter still visible. Sprinkle the cold water onto the mixture and toss gently a few times, just until it forms a ball that holds together.

Separate the dough into two balls, flatten slightly into thick disk shapes, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for several hours before working with it.

Roll and trim the dough to make 2 circles large enough to fit a 10-inch round or fluted cake pan. Fit 1 circle into the bottom and up the sides of the pan.

In a medium size saucepan, cover the figs with water and bring them to a simmer. Remove the pan form the heat and allow the figs to soak for 20 minutes. Drain the water from the pan and allow the figs to drain on a clean kitchen towel for 5 minutes and then pat them dry.

Preheat an oven to 375F. Melt the butter in the pan over medium-high heat and stir in the figs and 1 tablespoon sugar. Cook the figs, stirring frequently, until they begin to caramelize. Add the port and blackberry jam to the mixture. Cook the fruit, stirring frequently, for an additional 4 to 5 minutes. The fig filling is ready when it has thickened, but not dried out.

Spread the fig filling into the prepared pastry and top it with the second pastry circle. Press the edges together to seal the tart and bake it for 40 minutes, until it turns golden brown and pulls away from the sides of the pan.

Allow the tart to cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Gently loosen the sides of the tart and invert in onto a plate. Place a serving plate on the bottom of the upside-down tart and invert it onto the plate. Serve warm or store at room temperature, covered tightly, for up to 3 days.

This fig tart recipe makes 8 to 10 servings.

Almond Tart Recipe

This almond tart recipe makes a caramelized, delicately crunchy dessert. If you want to serve the tart as individual treat, simply pour the filling into tartlet pans. A little dollop of Chantilly cream served with the dessert makes the ideal treat.

Prep Time: 2 hours, 5 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

Pastry:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 7 tablespoons cold butter
• 3 tablespoons cold water

Almond Filling:

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup less 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 tablespoon almond liquor
• 1 cup sliced almonds

Preparation:

In a small bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, and salt. Using a pastry cutter, large-tined fork, or a food processor on pulse setting, cut the chilled butter into the flour until it resembles coarse sand with a few pea-sized pieces of butter still visible. Sprinkle the cold water onto the mixture and toss gently a few times, just until it forms a ball that holds together.

Separate the dough into two balls, flatten slightly into thick disk shapes, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for several hours before working with it.

Preheat an oven to 375F. Roll and trim the dough to make a circle large enough to fit a 10-inch fluted tart pan. Fit the circle into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Line the line the dough with pie weights or dried beans and bake it for 15 minutes. Remove the pie weights and bake the shell for an additional 5 minutes. Set aside the pastry shell, still in the tart pan, to cool.

In a medium saucepan set over low-medium heat, stir together the cream and sugar until the sugar has completely dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the salt, vanilla extract, almond extract, and almond liquor. Once the flavorings are incorporated, stir in the sliced almonds combined.

Pour the warm almond filling into the prepared pastry and bake it for 30 to 35 minutes, until it turns golden brown and the filling is set.

Allow the tart to cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Serve at room temperature, or chill in the refrigerator before serving.

Variation:

To make individual tartlets, pour the filling into miniature tart pans and bake at 375 for 14-20 minutes. The tartlets are done when they are golden brown and the filling is set.

This almond tart recipe makes 8 to 10 servings.