Pipe Dream #332: To Have KobenStyle – Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble

I made this crumble for the wrong reason.

I didn’t make it because strawberries and rhubarb are a match made in heaven. And they match each other like they planned outfits the day before.

I didn’t make it because this opposites-on-the-color-wheel-gradient-sunset fruit was in season.

I didn’t make it in order to express my disbelief at the antics/thoughts of the strange man at The Wedge who sidled up to me, eyes slightly bugging out as he surveyed my rhubarb selection and said, “What are you going to do with that? Have you ever thought of grilling rhubarb like a vegetable? Just charring it up and eating it plain?”  What I said: “No I’m going to make a strawberry rhubarb crumble.” What I thought: “Hahahaha noooo I have absolutely never thought of that or wanted to think of that. Who would ever eat charred bitter strings when they could make a delightfully sweet-tart strawberry rhubarb crumble, strange man.” I think he was trying to be friendly in a hippie vegan co-op sort of way.

No. I made this because the idea of a red and crumble landscape in my “slightly used” Dansk Kobenstyle baker consumed my mind for a few weeks. I was like, “This will taste good fine fine fine, but this will look so good.” It is a stylish, trendy, seasonal inauguration of the dish, and there is nothing more perfect.

Except it might have been more perfect if I had increased the amount of fruit/crumble and/or made the crumble more crunchy/nutty. So those are all variables for you to think about.

Stylin,’

L

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble

Adapted from smitten kitchen

For the topping:
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup white and/or brown sugar + 1 tablespoon extra
zest of 1 1/2 lemons
1 1/2 sticks butter, melted

For the filling:
2 1/4 cups rhubarb, chopped into 1-inch pieces
1 1/2 quarts strawberries, hulled and halved (or two 6 oz bags frozen strawberries)
juice of 1 1/2 lemons
3/4 cup sugar
5-6 tablespoons cornstarch (I forgot to add this)
Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 375°F. Prepare topping: In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugars and lemon zest and add the melted butter. Mix until small and large clumps form. Refrigerate until needed.

Prepare filling: Toss rhubarb, strawberries, lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch and a pinch of salt in a shallow baking dish. A 9×9 square dish or pie plate would work best, but I used a 9×13. Less crumble to spread around.

Remove topping from refrigerator and cover fruit thickly and evenly with topping. Place baking dish  on a baking sheet and bake until crumble topping is golden brown in places and fruit is bubbling beneath, about 40 to 50 minutes. Check at 30 minutes.

Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

Carrot Cake, A Reprise: Carrot Almond Flour Muffins

Thus follows the second installment of my carrot cake muffin experience this spring. I thought it wasn’t quite as good as the carrot cake banana muffins, but you can do so many great substitutions in this recipe. It can easily be gluten-free or vegan if you have any dietary restrictions.

And let’s be honest with one another: cream cheese frosting is like the WD-40 of the baking world. It makes anything work.

Carrot banana on the right, carrot almond on the left.

Also pictured: a dairy free cinnamon walnut crumble muffin with delightful berry filling. We were having a little birthday brunner gathering on the patio (this is, brunch dinner). It might also have been called a brunchluck (brunch potluck), because other people brought delicious food items.

Brunching like bosses,

L

Healthy Carrot Muffins with a GF Option

Adapted from Minimalist Baker

1 egg

1 ripe banana, mashed

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 cup plain almond milk, unsweetened

1/2 heaping cup (packed) grated carrot

1/3 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons almond meal

1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp flour (sub in more almond meal if you want this to be GF)

1/8 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 375. Prepare muffin tin with liners or lightly grease them.

Whisk together egg, mashed banana, maple syrup in a medium bowl. Whisk in the brown sugar, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Stir in the almond milk, followed by the grated carrots, followed by the oats, almond meal and flour.

Divide evenly among 6 muffin tins, filling them all the way up to the top, and top with chopped pecans.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let set in the pan for 15 minutes. Then flip on their sides still in the pan to let cool completely.

Pipe Dream #331: To Trickle Down Truth – Carrot Cake Banana Muffins with Fluffy Cream Cheese Frosting

The only other carrot cake recipe on my blog is this one, and it is so good that I thought I would never need another. It is also so huge that after that cake, I didn’t make carrot cake for four years until now.

This spring, I was having a massive craving for carrot cake. Like big time real deal. And I tried to like, not make it, which resulted in me trying every which way to deal with this craving. It led to some highly dissatisfying experiences including:

• Vegan carrot cake from Whole Foods (like, why even. the frosting was probably silken tofu. i’m shuddering remembering this.)
• Carrot cake protein powder pancakes (i scraped these into the sink, they were so bad.)
• Eating plain carrots (this was fine, but it didn’t make me want to shout or anything.)

Eventually, I was able to pull from my “bucket of spiritual truths that trickle down into everyday things” and realized that no carrot cake substitute will fill the hole that I feel for carrot cake, and all your striving to fill that carrot-cake shaped hole with other things is going to be ineffective, dissatisfying and likely damaging.

And it was a good place to process to, because then I just made the carrot cake and stopped wandering into grocery stores buying horrific cake slices, and now I’m good for a few more  years. And here’s what I made.

There are actually carrot cake muffin recipes pictured above, so dial in for a second go later. The one at the bottom of this post is the better of the two. It’s carrot banana cake, so it’s a little bit low fat and a lot bit moist.

Plus, I topped them with this cream cheese silk. It’s like that boiled flour frosting that is so incredible, except I swapped in cream cheese for the butter. It’s a ridiculously creamy, not too sweet version of cream cheese frosting, and I know you’ll love it. A great option if you don’t have powdered sugar lying around.

Best of everything,

Lauren

Carrot Cake Banana Muffins with Fluffy Cream Cheese Frosting

Muffins adapted from Ambitious Kitchen

Frosting is an LH Original

For the muffins:

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons white whole wheat flour
1/8 cup quick oats
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 medium ripe banana, mashed
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup shredded carrots
3 tablespoons almond milk
2 tablespoons chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray six muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray or line with liners.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, quick oats, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together mashed banana, brown sugar, egg and vanilla until well combined.

Add in the olive oil and almond milk, then fold in carrots. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Gently fold in the pecans.

Divide into the six muffin cups and bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean with a few crumbs attached. Don’t overbake. Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool for a few mintues before removing from tin to cool fully.

For the frosting:

12 oz full-fat cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Whisk the flour, sugar, and salt together in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisking constantly, slowly add the milk. Bring the mixture to a simmer, still whisking, and boil until the mixture thickens dramatically. Boil for a minute or so, then remove from the heat. Scrape the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer and beat with the paddle attachment on high speed until cool. You can also put it in the fridge for a while to facilitate cooling. Stil mixing on high speed, drop in the softened cream cheese, about an ounce at a time, and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy. Spread or pipe onto cooled muffins.