Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
I love cobblestones.
You know, those really old streets which instead of having tarmac on the roads are covered with those bumpy stones. These ones!
It's probably because I love anything to do with history particularly old houses. The older, the better in my opinion. There is something so cool about knowing that you're a part of a greater history than your own. I love it.
I know that cobblestones aren't for everyone. Especially those that have to drive over them. Let's just say that they were not built for giant tyres to roll over them. Cobblestones will forever be one of those things you either love or hate. Like muesli! I am a big fan of muesli. I'm eating a bowl of it now as I type this. It's the Swiss kind and I love it with cold milk and honey.
Speaking of honey and cobblestones (see how everything links up in the end!), today's recipe is for a cobbler. My strawberry rhubarb version is one of the best desserts for Summer that I can think of. All you do is mix together fresh strawberries, fresh rhubarb and other things like sugar and cornflour to make the filling. That goes into a baking dish while we make the honey butter scones.
It's a simple dough sweetened only with honey. I like to cut them smaller than most because when it comes to laying them over the filling to make the cobblestone like topping, I think they look so much prettier. The cobbler bakes until bubbling and golden before the top is brushed with honey butter when it comes out. That honey butter is my new obsession. Serve any leftover butter with scones or crispy toast. So good! Think of the cobbler like a crumble but with buttery scones on top. When it's hot, it is perfect served with cold vanilla ice cream. It's one of my favourite Summer desserts and I really hope you give it a go in the upcoming season.
A Simple List of Ingredients:
For the Strawberry Rhubarb Filling:
1. Strawberries
2. Rhubarb
3. Vanilla Essence
4. Orange Zest
5. Sea Salt
6. Soft Light Brown Sugar
7. Cornflour
For the Honey Butter Scones:
1. Plain Flour
2. Baking Powder
3. Butter
4. Water
5. Plain Yoghurt
6. Honey
7. Demerara Sugar
For the Honey Butter:
1. Butter
2. Honey
Bismillah, let's begin!
Let's start by getting the oven on to 190C so that it's nice and hot for when we need it. Then, we'll mix together the easiest strawberry rhubarb filling. Take 1kg Strawberries - I used 2 and 1/2 of those 400g boxes you get from the supermarket.
Hull the strawberries by removing their green leaves. Then, slice each one into quarters.
Add them to a large mixing bowl.
Next, rhubarb. I used 3 stalks of Rhubarb.
Slice up the rhubarb as you would a cucumber and add to the strawberries.
Once chopped, the rhubarb weighed 250g.
Then, add in 2 teaspoons Vanilla Essence.
Zest in 1 Orange.
The orange zest gives the filling so much flavour. You could also do lemon zest if you had no oranges.
Then, add in a Pinch of Sea Salt.
And, 180g Soft Light Brown Sugar.
Finally, I highly recommend adding in 4 tablespoons Cornflour. I didn't add it in and regretted it. Without the cornflour to thicken up the fruit juices, the filling will be really liquid.
Grab a spatula and mix everything well together.
Looks delicious already!
Tip the fruit mixture into a baking dish. For this recipe, I used a deep one measuring 33 x 20cm (8 x 13 inches).
Set the filling aside until while you make the scones.
The scones start with 320g Plain Flour.
To help them rise, baking powder.
Add in 1 and 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder.
Give the two a stir.
Cube up 230g cold Butter. The colder it is, the better.
Add the cold, cubed butter to the bowl.
Toss the butter in the flour then use your fingertips to break up the butter and rub it into the flour. It should look a little like crumbs.
For the liquid, whisk together 60ml Water and 60ml Plain Yoghurt.
Then, grab some honey.
Squeeze in 60ml Honey.
Whisk everything to combine.
Gradually pour in the liquid.
Kneading and mixing with your hands as you go.
Adding in the liquid as you go. You may not need all of it. Any extra can be used to brush over the scones before baking.
I find it's easier to mix with your hands but you can use an electric mixer too.
Once you have a ball of dough and a clean bowl, the scones are ready to roll and cut.
Put the dough on a floured surface.
Roll the dough, turning it as you go and adding more flour if things get sticky.
It should be rolled to a thickness of roughly 2cm (3/4 inch) thick.
To cut the scones, I used a mini cutter measuring 5cm (2 inch). You can cut them as big or as little as you like.
Cut the scones as close together as you can. It's not good to re-roll the dough too much so you want to make as many as you can.
Use a thin spatula or palette knife to move the scones.
These scones are going to make the cutest cobbles.
Grab the fruit filling.
And, begin placing the scones onto the fruit filling.
It doesn't matter if they overlap a little.
I managed to fit 28 little scones in my dish. Any extra I just baked separately and served with leftover honey butter.
Then, take the leftover yoghurt honey mixture from earlier. If you have none, just use milk.
Brush the liquid over the scones.
This will give our scones a lovely golden brown colour once baked.
Lastly, sprinkle Demerara Sugar over the scones to give the best crunch. Bake the cobbler at 190C for 35-40 minutes until the filling is bubbling and the scones are golden.
Like I said before, any leftover dough can be re-rolled to make more scones. Just bake them separately on a tray for 10 minutes at 190C. They'll go really well with any leftover honey butter.
Speaking of, let's make it! Take 70g Butter.
Melt it in the microwave or a small saucepan. Stir in 70ml Honey and our butter is ready. By the way, this goes really well spooned over hot, crispy toast.
Once the cobber is baked, we can get it out of the tin. Isn't it beautiful?
All those buttery scones sitting on top of the berry filling. This is going to be delicious.
Whilst the cobbler is still hot, grab the honey butter.
And, brush it over the top of the scones.
You can serve the cobbler cold but I much prefer it hot especially with cold Cornish ice cream, vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Spoon the cobbler into bowls. Remember, your fruit filling won't be as liquid as mine because you'll have added in the cornflour.
Serve with ice cream and more fresh strawberries for literally one of my favourite Summer desserts. The combination of the sweet berry sauce, slightly sour rhubarb, buttery scones and cold ice cream cannot be matched. I hope you love it as much as I do!
Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler with Honey Butter Scones.
Prep Time: About 35 minutes.
Bake Time: About 35-40 minutes.
Serves: About 9 people.
Ingredients
For the Strawberry Rhubarb Filling
1 kg Strawberries, hulled and quartered (2 and 1/2 of those 400g boxes)
3 stalks Rhubarb, chopped (when chopped, it weighed 250g)
2 teaspoons Vanilla Essence
Zest of 1 Orange
Pinch of Sea Salt
180g Soft Light Brown Sugar
4 tablespoons Cornflour
For the Honey Butter Scones
320g Plain Flour
1 and 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder
230g Butter, cold and cubed
60ml Water
60ml Plain Yoghurt
60ml Honey
Demerara Sugar, to sprinkle on top
For the Honey Butter
70g Butter, melted
70ml Honey
Prepare the oven and baking dish:
Pre-heat the oven to 190C. Take a 33 x 20cm (13 x 8 inch) baking dish which is deep.
Prepare the strawberry and rhubarb filling:
Into a large mixing bowl, place the strawberries, rhubarb, vanilla essence, orange zest, sea salt, brown sugar and cornflour. Mix well and tip into the baking dish. Set aside until needed.
Make the honey butter scones:
Into a large mixing bowl, stir together the plain flour and baking powder. Add the cold butter. Rub the two together with your fingertips until the mixture resembles crumbs and the butter is in small pieces.
In a small measuring jug, whisk together the water, plain yoghurt and honey. Gradually add to the dry ingredients, mixing with your hands until you have a dough. You may not need all the liquid. Leftover liquid can be used later to brush the scones before baking.
Roll the dough out on a floured surface to roughly 2cm (3/4 inch) thick. Cut the dough into small rounds using a 5cm (2 inch) cutter.
Assemble the cobbler:
Place the scone rounds on top of the strawberry filling. I managed to fit on 28 scones. It doesn't matter if they overlap. Brush them with the leftover yoghurt honey mixture or milk. Sprinkle with demerara sugar.
Bake the cobbler:
Bake the cobbler at 190C for 35-40 minutes until the filling is bubbling and the scones are golden brown.
Make the honey butter:
Mix the melted butter and honey together.
Serve:
Brush the top of the cobbler with the honey butter. Spoon the cobbler into bowls and serve with Cornish or vanilla ice cream, more honey butter and fresh strawberries.
Recipe Notes
Pre-heat the oven to 190C. Take a 33 x 20cm (13 x 8 inch) baking dish which is deep.
Prepare the strawberry and rhubarb filling:
Into a large mixing bowl, place the strawberries, rhubarb, vanilla essence, orange zest, sea salt, brown sugar and cornflour. Mix well and tip into the baking dish. Set aside until needed.
Make the honey butter scones:
Into a large mixing bowl, stir together the plain flour and baking powder. Add the cold butter. Rub the two together with your fingertips until the mixture resembles crumbs and the butter is in small pieces.
In a small measuring jug, whisk together the water, plain yoghurt and honey. Gradually add to the dry ingredients, mixing with your hands until you have a dough. You may not need all the liquid. Leftover liquid can be used later to brush the scones before baking.
Roll the dough out on a floured surface to roughly 2cm (3/4 inch) thick. Cut the dough into small rounds using a 5cm (2 inch) cutter.
Assemble the cobbler:
Place the scone rounds on top of the strawberry filling. I managed to fit on 28 scones. It doesn't matter if they overlap. Brush them with the leftover yoghurt honey mixture or milk. Sprinkle with demerara sugar.
Bake the cobbler:
Bake the cobbler at 190C for 35-40 minutes until the filling is bubbling and the scones are golden brown.
Make the honey butter:
Mix the melted butter and honey together.
Serve:
Brush the top of the cobbler with the honey butter. Spoon the cobbler into bowls and serve with Cornish or vanilla ice cream, more honey butter and fresh strawberries.
Recipe Notes
- Leftover scone dough? Roll and cut as above. Brush with milk. Bake at 190C for 10 minutes or until golden. Serve with any leftover honey butter.
- Leftover honey butter? It is amazing spooned over crispy, hot toast.
{adapted from half baked harvest}
Keep me in your duas please, and enjoy your cobbler!
Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!