It is rhubarb season! I look forward to this time of year every year when rhubarb is ready to be picked and stores stock up rhubarb for a short period of time.
However, grab some rhubarb quick before it is gone because it’s a whole year before you will see it on the shelves again.
I decided to switch things up a bit and instead of the classic strawberry rhubarb pie or classic strawberry shortcake, why not combine the two? This strawberry rhubarb shortcake bake is the perfect dish to prep and just pop in the oven. You can make it easily in advance then when you are ready, bake it for 40 minutes and you have the best dessert. With the perfect amount of sour from rhubarb and the perfect amount of sweet from the strawberries.
To give a little bit of background on rhubarb if you don’t know what it is, it is a a pink stalk that almost looks like celery. It can be eaten on its own but will be really sour like a cranberry or a Granny Smith Apple so most of the time people cook it down. When combined with a sweeter fruit like strawberries, it makes a perfect sweet sour combination that will have you wondering why you didn’t know about this sooner. I pair strawberries and rhubarb together every year to either make a pie, galette or even some syrup for pancakes and it is my favorite balance of sour and sweet out there.
Rhubarb is technically a vegetable but can pass as a fruit since I’m America it is most commonly used as one covered in sugar and used in a pie. So in 1947 New York actually declared rhubarb as a fruit as well. This was mainly for restaurants tax purposes and getting it cheaper than if it were declared a vegetable. Either way I love it so much and look forward to rhubarb season every year.
I’m not sure if I would say that rhubarb is one of my favorite things to eat or if the lack of it always being on the shelves makes it so I love it that much more.
Rhubarb is only in season from April to June, meaning you will only find it at the store then. If you do see it, make sure you grab some and save it for later. I like to get a few stalks of this pink celery and store it in my freezer until I’m ready to use it because once it’s gone from the stores, it’s gone for a year.
All you have to do is chop it up and put it in a sealed container in the freezer and it will be good to cover with sugar and bake up to a two months later.
Anyways, enough about the rhubarb more about the shortcake bake.
If you are like me, then you love strawberry shortcake like I do. I knew I wanted to try and make some sort of strawberry rhubarb shortcake since it would add a bit of sour dimension. To make things more interesting I wanted to try and bake the biscuits right on top of the mixture in the oven. I’ve seen this done before with chicken pot pie so o figured this wouldn’t be too different. The only thing to look out for is that the biscuits are cooked all the way and not left doughy. I originally tried baking this at 375 degrees for 35 minutes but it needed another 10-15 minutes for the biscuits to cook all the way through. After that this came out perfect and the biscuits flaky and golden brown. I highly recommend making this and just scooping it into a bowl to serve with a little bit of whipped cream or some vanilla ice cream.
To finish off this recipe I make a classic yet always easy biscuit but with a sweet touch by sprinkling them with a heavy cream and sugar mixture right before popping them in the oven. Even though they are sitting on a pile of syrupy sugared strawberries and rhubarb, these bad boys puff up in the oven and get that golden flaky crust you always dream of when eating strawberry shortcake.
Strawberry Rhubarb Shortcake Bake
Ingredients
Strawberry Rhubarb Compote
- 4 cups sliced strawberries, about 2 cartons
- 2 cups rhubarb, chopped, about 4-6 stalks
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup fresh orange juice
- 1 large orange, zested
- 1 tbsp arrowroot powder
Biscuits
- 3 cups flour
- 2 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 sticks butter, cold and unsalted (12 tbsp)
- 1 cup half and half
- heavy cream for brushing
- Optional: turbino sugar for sprinkling (granulated sugar works as well)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Start by mixing all of the ingredients for the strawberry and rhubarb compote in a medium sized bowl. Then let it sit for about 10 minutes so the sugar melts and the strawberries and rhubarb are nice and syrupy.
- Pour the strawberry rhubarb mixture into a 9×13 pan or any baking dish that is large enough. Set aside.
- To make the biscuits. In a large bowl or a food processor, mix the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Next add the cold butter and mix using a pastry blender or pulsing in the food processor until you get a fine crumb. It should look like sand. Add in the half and half and mix until the dough starts to form, then turn it out on a cold floured work surface.
- Knead until the dough comes together. Only about 3-5 turns as you don’t want to over knead the dough and have your biscuits turn out tough and dense. Shape the dough into a square half the size of the baking dish. Then slice so that you get 9-12 biscuits.
- Arrange the biscuits on top of the strawberry rhubarb mixture in the pan. I like to make mine into a checkered pattern.
- Brush the biscuits with some heavy whipping cream then sprinkle with sugar. This helps the tops of the biscuits get nice and golden brown.
- Bake until the biscuits are cooked all the way through, their tops are golden brown and the strawberry rhubarb mixture is bubbling. About 35-45 minutes. It took mine 45 minutes.
- To serve, scoop warm into a bowl and top with some homemade whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
Nutrition
