Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler with Strawberry Buttermilk Ice Cream

Some foods are simply meant to go together: peanut butter and jelly, bread and butter, lemon and fish- you can't think of one without the other. In my mind strawberry and rhubarb are two foods that together create a sublime flavor. Fortunately, in many climates they both come into season at about the same time, providing a perfect way to celebrate spring. Both Mr. B and my father go nuts for any combination of strawberry and rhubarb so over the years I have tried many variations of pie, crisp, and cobbler.

This spring, a beautiful rhubarb cobbler featured at Smitten Kitchen caught my eye, and I was intrigued by her use of egg yolks in the cobbler biscuits. The reasoning behind using egg yolks was that they provide a dry source of protein and fat to enrich the dough. Curious and with a large box of strawberries at my disposal, I decided to give it a try.

Ice cream appeared to be the perfect accompaniment for the cobbler. I had a bottle of beautiful buttermilk on hand and this recipe for strawberry buttermilk ice cream from Joy the Baker looked too good to pass up. So we baked and churned and the house was filled with the irresistible aroma of warm berry and tart rhubarb. Once the cobbler was out of the oven and the ice cream hardened we feasted on the luscious spring flavors. I was not crazy about the ice cream on its own as I found the texture created by the use of cornstarch in the mixture odd. However, when combined with the cobbler I did not notice the cornstarch at all and loved the two together. Brightly tart rhubarb highlighted a viscous sweetness from the strawberries while cool ice cream provided the finishing touch to an excellent dessert.

Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler (Printable Recipe)
Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen and Claudia Fleming via New York Magazine
Serves 8-10

Ingredients:

Biscuit Dough
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
3 1/2 tablespoons sugar (I used cane sugar)
1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 hard-boiled egg yolks
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream, divided

Strawberry Rhubarb Filling
1 pound rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 3 cups)
3 cups strawberries, washed, stemmed, and sliced into large pieces
1 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, pulp scraped
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon turbinado sugar

Directions:

Make the Biscuits
Place flour, sugar, baking powder, egg yolks, and salt in the bowl of a large food processor. Pulse the mixture a few times to combine the ingredients. Next add in the butter and pulse in short bursts until the butter is cut up into the dry ingredients and the mixture looks like coarse sand. Add 2/3 cup of cream into the mix, and pulse it just until the dough forms a ball. Remove the dough from the food processor, and transfer it to a lightly floured countertop. Shape the dough into a ball, and then gently press down to flatten it out slightly. Roll out the dough to about 1" thickness and use a 2" biscuit cutter or decorative cookie cutter to cut the dough into biscuits. Transfer the biscuits onto a plate, cover with plastic wrap, and place in the fridge for 20 minutes or until you are ready to top the cobbler.

Make the Cobbler
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Using a shallow but large casserole dish (2 1/2 - 3 quarts) mix the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, vanilla, and cornstarch together. Let the mixture sit for 15-20 minutes, which will bring out the juices in the fruit.

Remove biscuits from the fridge, and arrange across the top of the cobbler. Use the remaining 1 tablespoon of cream to brush the tops of the biscuits. Sprinkle the biscuits with the turbinado sugar. Place cobbler in oven and bake until you see the mixture thicken and steadily bubble and the tops of the biscuits are browned. This will take 45 - 60 minutes depending on the amount of liquid in your fruit. Let cobbler cool slightly and then serve with ice cream or slightly sweetened whipped cream.