Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler Pie with Brown Sugar Ice Cream

Divine summer on a plate!  My whole body is smiling after baking and devouring this French-inspired American dessert.  Finding the recipe was one of those serendipitous travel moments when I was kicking around Brooklyn and passed Sweet Melissa Patisserie.  In the window were obligatory, lovely, although not particularly fresh-looking, cakes, tarts, cookies, and rolls, but what really caused me to put my brakes on were the numerous articles posted about awards won by this baker and her shop.  OK, they had my attention–I was reeled in by the autographed cookbook of her luscious desserts.

Needless to say The Sweet Melissa Baking Book by Melissa Murphy came home with me.  It seems bound to be another book I bake my way through.  Since it’s strawberry & rhubarb season in Oregon, that’s where I started.  Although I thought her technique sounded a bit fussy (do I really need to freeze my flour?), I followed it precisely and it was absolutely perfect–the buttery crust, unaulteratede fruit, lemony cobbler dough and rich ice cream were an amazing combination.  Homey yet elegant.  Here it is–if you’re a baker, or a sweet lover (love that double meaning!), check out this book.

PIECRUST

One 9-inch pastry crust.  Melissa uses Julia Child’s half butter and half shortening, which I also prefer.

COBBLER TOPPING

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

2 tablespoons sugar plus 1 1/2 teaspoons for sprinkling

1/2 teaspoonfreshly grated lemon zest

2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch pieces 1/2 cup heavy cream, chilled

1 tablespoon milk or cream for glazing

sTRAWBERRY RHUBARB FILLING

2 cups rinsed, hulled and sliced fresh strawberries (1/4 inch slices)

2 cups cleaned and sliced fresh rhubarb (1/2 inch slices)

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

TO PREPARE PIECRUST

Roll out the dough into a round 12 inches wide and 1/4 inch thick.  Gently fit into a 9-inch pie plate.  Fold the edges underr and crimp.  Refridgerate until firm, about 30 minutes.

TO MAKE COBBLER TOPPING

1.  In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and 2 tablespoons sugar and zest.  Using a pastry blender, cut in the butter until it resembles a coarse meal.  Little by little, stir in heavy cream until the doughstarts to hold together (a bit more cream may be used if need be).

2.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface.  Pat together to form a round that is 1/2 inch thick.  Using a lightly floured 21/2 inch round biscuit cutter, cut dough into 7 or 8 biscuits.

3.  Place the biscuits on a cookie sheet and refridgerate , loosely covered with plastic wrap, until ready to use.

BEFORE YOU MAKE THE FILLING

Position a rack in the bottom third of your oven.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment.

TO MAKE FILLING

1.  In a medium bowl, combine the strawberries, rhubarb, lemon juice, sugar and cornstarch and mix gently.

2.  Pour the fruit mixture into the unbaked pie shell

TO COMPLETE THE PIE

1.  Place the cobbler biscuits evenly on top of the fruit.  Brush with cream and sprinkle with the extra 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar.

2.  Place the pie plate on the lined cookie sheet.  Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the juices are bubbling and thick.  (To check the doneness of the biscuits, carefully lift one to see that the bottom looks like a steamed dumpling and not raw dough.)  Remove to a wire rack to cool to warm or room temperature before serving.

Fresh fruit pies are best eaten the day they are baked.

BROWN SUGAR VANILLA ICE CREAM

You will need a small ice cream maker for this.  You can make the cream mixture a day or two before actually freezing it.  The skim milk powder makes it extra creamy.  Two vanillas and brown sugar add to the richness.

makes 1 quart ice cream

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup skim milk

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup dry skim milk powder

5 large egg yolks

1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped, reserving seeds and pod

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1.  Fill a large pot with about 3 inces of water and bring to a simmer.  Set a large bowl over the top and check that the bottom of the bowl does not toucvh the water.  Remove the bowl and use to combine ice cream ingredients.

2.  In the bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, milk, brown sugar, salt, skim milk powder, egg yolks, vanilla bean and seeds and vanilla until completely combined.

3.  Place the bowl on top of the simmering (not boiling) pot.  Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture has thickened to nappante (thick enough to coat the back of a spoon), 5 to 10 minutes or approximately 180-185 degrees on a candy thermometer.

4.  Cool the custard in an ice bath.  Strain the mixture into a reuseable container.  Refridgerate for at least 4 hours or 1-3 days.

5.  Pour into an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s directions (usually 30 minutes)

6.  Transfer to a resealable container and freeze 4 hours.

Ice cream keeps in an airtight container up to 3 weeks.