• Rhubarb Mint Margaritas

    June 18, 2019
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    You know when you have a lot on your mind, and you forget that you have things to bake/ cook/ write about and suddenly it’s Monday? No? Just me? Okay well yeah that happened to me which is why today’s post is a margarita recipe. I think we all deserve a drink. I did, however, make a strawberry rhubarb pie on Saturday with the freshest strawberries I’ve ever had, but I won’t be posting it here because I still can’t get the thickness of the filling right. Bakers who make Strawberry Rhubarb pie, do you use tapioca, cornstarch, or something else entirely? This time around, I went with tapioca and it was still so runny! I cut out a slice before it was cool which definitely didn’t help, but still. ANYWAY.

    This week, I was supposed to be taking a Chocolate Cake Decorating class in Brooklyn under the direction of one of my absolute faves, Erin McDowell. To my dismay, I received a call Monday morning that due to a water main issue, the class was cancelled. Guess I have to make my own chocolate cake to make up for it!! This is one of two cake decorating classes I’ll be taking this year because I’m insane. The other is at Bon Appetit (!!!!) with Claire Saffitz of the Test Kitchen and it was well worth the money I paid tbh. Like I said last week, this is the year of stepping up my layer cake game, and I’m not messing around!!

    Anyone who knows the Lewis family knows that we love a good margarita. And because I’m me, I like to try different flavor combinations here and there. So, just because I don’t have a strawberry rhubarb pie recipe for you, doesn’t mean I can’t still talk about rhubarb. As you can see, this isn’t just any margarita recipe. RHUBARB. MARGARITAS. I hope it excites you as much as it excites me. This drink is a little sour, a little sweet, and so refreshing, not to mention its literally the most gorgeous color. Am I going to have to add a Drinks section on my recipes page?? This is the first drink recipe on Sweet D!! Look at us doing big things.

    Okay before we get started, here are 5 things to be happy about today:
    ONE. The smell of ripe strawberries.
    TWO. Taking a day off in the middle of the week without any real plans.
    THREE. Giving your room a good clean on a Sunday afternoon.
    FOUR. Drinking enough water in a day.
    FIVE. Gummy vitamins for adults.

    Let’s drink!! {Adapted from here and here!}

    Rhubarb Mint Margaritas

    A little sweet, a little tart, with a gorgeous hot pink color, this is the perfect summer drink for your next barbecue!!
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 15 mins
    Cook Time 15 mins
    Total Time 30 mins
    Course Drinks
    Servings 8

    Ingredients
      

    Rhubarb Mint Simple Syrup Ingredients

    • 2 cups rhubarb chopped
    • ¼ cup fresh mint leaves
    • 1 cup water
    • 1 cup white sugar

    Rhubarb Mint Margarita Ingredients

    • 1 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
    • 1 cup white tequila
    • 1 cup Cointreau
    • 1 cup Rhubarb Mint Syrup
    • flaky salt for the rim
    • mint leaves for garnish

    Instructions
     

    Rhubarb Mint Simple Syrup Steps

    • To a saucepan, add rhubarb, mint, sugar, and water, and cook over medium high heat for about 15 minutes, until the sugar is dissolved and the rhubarb is beginning to soften.
    • Strain the syrup through a mesh sieve into a mason jar or other heat-safe container, and allow to chill before using.

    Rhubarb Mint Margarita Steps

    • In a large mason jar or cocktail shaker, combine the lime juice, tequila, cointreau, and rhubarb simple syrup and shake until well mixed.
    • Take a wedge of lime and run it around the rim of your glass, then press into a plate of flaky salt. Add ice and serve a generous portion into each glass. Garnish with more mint and enjoy!!
    Keyword drinks, margarita, rhubarb, tequila

    Looking for more rhubarb content? Look here, here, and here!

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  • Roasted Rhubarb Sandwich Scones with Vanilla Bean Glaze

    June 4, 2019

    TODAY’S THE DAY!! At long last, I bring you our first rhubarb recipe of the season. I know you’re all just as excited as I am right???? Even if you’re not, once you see what’s in store you won’t be able to resist and that’s a fact. Let’s set the scene, shall we? It all started sometime last year, I was perusing my Instagram explore page as one does, and I came across this recipe. Except, as often happens, it was saved and then promptly forgotten about and it was soon buried under all the other recipes I save on a daily basis.

    Cut to two weeks ago, I am once again glued to my Instagram, and what do I see? The very same picture, except now I come to realize that the recipe is from one of my absolute FAVORITE blogs, A Cozy Kitchen! It was meant to be, and I simply had to try them out this time.

    This weekend I watched my sisters while my parents were away, and apart from getting up ungodly early on Saturday to take them to their SATs, I had a lot of free time to mess around with recipes I’d been saving. Obviously I started with this one, and oh boy did we start the weekend off right. The sweet-but-sour roasted rhubarb is such a surprise when sandwiched between a buttery scone dough, and the vanilla bean glaze is DECADENT. The recipe was so perfect that I changed very little, my only wish is that it made three times as many so I could eat these for breakfast forever.

    And how did the rest of the weekend go you ask? Well, I was determined to finally conquer my fear of grocery store seafood counters (is that a thing?), so I found a New York Times recipe for Seared Scallop Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes that seemed perfect. HA. The moment I began to sear my scallops, the ENTIRE house soon filled with smoke. I’m talking fire alarms on both floors, and a smokey haze within 5 minutes. Thank god I had my sisters on hand to open every window in the house and turn on every fan, but I cannot tell what happened! Some comments said don’t use a cast iron skillet, others said you should only use a cast iron skillet (????). I always thought that olive oil smokes easily on high heat, but the recipe requested it!

    Will I try it again? Who’s to say. Just know that if I do, it’s on the grill stovetop outside because I’m sure as hell not going through THAT mess a second time, I’m pretty sure the house will smell like scallops for weeks.

    But anyway, now that that’s settled, here are 5 things to be happy about today:
    ONE. Comfortable silence.
    TWO. Being the only person awake and having the house to yourself for a while.
    THREE. Treating yourself to a face mask.
    FOUR. A house full of plants.
    FIVE. Turning up the air conditioner so that you can keep using a blanket, even in the summer.

    Let’s bake!!

    Print Recipe

    Roasted Rhubarb Sandwich Scones with Vanilla Bean Glaze

    The perfect combination of rich vanilla and tart rhubarb, these scones prove that there's more to rhubarb than strawberry rhubarb pie!
    Prep Time30 mins
    Cook Time25 mins
    Inactive Time20 mins
    Total Time1 hr 15 mins
    Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
    Keyword: breakfast, dessert, glaze, rhubarb, scone, vanilla bean
    Servings: 6 scones

    Ingredients

    Roasted Rhubarb

    • 2 cups diced rhubarb
    • ¼ cup white sugar
    • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
    • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
    • zest of ½ a lemon

    Scone Dough

    • 3 cups all-purpose flour
    • 3 Tbsp white sugar
    • 1 tsp baking soda
    • ½ tsp kosher salt
    • 4 Tbsp unsalted butter cold
    • 1 cup buttermilk plus more for brushing on top

    Vanilla Bean Glaze

    • 2½ cups powdered sugar
    • 5 to 6 Tbsp heavy cream
    • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
    • pinch of salt

    Instructions

    Roasted Rhubarb Steps

    • Preheat your oven to 425°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, toss together the rhubarb, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla bean, and lemon zest until all the rhubarb is coated.
    • Pour onto the prepared pan and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the rhubarb is soft and juicy. Set aside to cool.

    Scone Dough Steps

    • In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Using a box grater, grate the cold butter onto a cutting board or plate and add to the flour mixture. Freeze for 5 minutes.
    • Remove the bowl from the freezer and toss the butter pieces with the flour so that they're spread uniformly. Press the butter into the flour with your fingers until it's mixed throughout.
    • Create a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the buttermilk. Mix with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until the dough begins to hold together, then dump onto a lightly floured surface. Knead gently until the dough is fully uniform (about 4 or 5 times, it's important not to overwork this or it will get tough).
    • Press or roll the dough into a ¼" thick rectangle, with one long end closest to you (so it folds hot dog style rather than hamburger style if you know what I mean). Spoon the rhubarb filling onto the front half of the dough, then carefully fold the other half of the dough over the rhubarb filling. Trim the edges so that they're neat and even.
    • Using a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut the dough into 6 or 7 large scones and transfer them to your prepared sheet pan. Place the entire pan in the freezer for 15 minutes, while your oven preheats to 400°F.
    • Remove the tray from the freezer, brush the scones with some extra buttermilk and sprinkle with demarara sugar (optional). Bake the scones for 12 to 15 minutes, until the tops are golden brown and risen. Allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before glazing.

    Vanilla Bean Glaze Steps

    • In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, heavy cream, vanilla bean paste, and pinch of salt. Feel free to adjust as you see fit, adding more powdered sugar or heavy cream as necessary. The glaze should be thicker than a normal glaze, just barely pourable so that when you spoon it over a slightly warm scone, it spreads as it melts.

    Notes

    If you don’t have vanilla bean paste, do not fret! Regular vanilla can be substituted just as easily here, as can a whole scraped vanilla bean. Additionally, if rhubarb isn’t your thing, this recipe could just as easily be done with strawberries or blueberries, just adjust the sugar level and baking time as necessary. YUM! xoxoxoxoxo

    Looking for more rhubarb recipes?? Look no further than here, here, and here! Happy baking!

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  • Rhubarb Snacking Cake

    June 5, 2018

    HELLO! I bet you thought I was done with the rhubarb recipes, huh? Well, I’m sorry to report that since I have a combination of no self control and no concept of how much rhubarb is too much rhubarb, I bought about 12 stalks too many and they are currently taking up more of the fridge than is convenient. So, until such time as I find recipes for all of it, the winners will undoubtedly find their way here. Today’s recipe is a slightly adapted version of this one from The New York Times. That recipe uses the name “quick bread”, but in my opinion, this turned out with more of a cakey texture, hence my renaming it to a snack cake. In addition to the name change, I switched out lemon zest for the orange zest (I know that might be weird, but I don’t love the rhubarb and orange combo), and sprinkled the top with some turbinado sugar for a nice crispy lid.

    The result is a wonderful mix of bright lemon, caramelized sugar, and tart rhubarb, which bakes into little pockets with an almost jam-like texture. It is delicious on its own with a nice cup of tea, served warm with some butter or a light confectioner’s sugar glaze, but could also benefit from a heaping scoop of vanilla ice cream or a quick toasting. ALSO, this recipe can actually serve as a base for any number of other fruits, including blueberries, strawberries, or peaches.

    Now I’d like to tell you that by this time next week I’ll be off my rhubarb kick, but I’m afraid to make that promise so I guess we’re just going to have to see. I hope you stick with me while I ride this out. Now let’s get to it!

     

    Ingredients
    (adapted from The New York Times “Rhubarb Quick Bread”)

    8 tablespoons (1 stick) salted butter, melted and cooled slightly, plus more for greasing the loaf pan
    1 cup granulated sugar
    1 tbs lemon zest (if you’re really tied to the orange zest, it can be substituted here)
    1/3 cup whole-milk yogurt (this makes for SUCH a moist cake)
    2 large eggs
    1¾ cup all-purpose flour, plus more for coating the loaf pan
    1 tsp baking powder
    ½ tsp baking soda
    ½ tsp kosher salt
    1¾ cups diced rhubarb (about 4 large stalks)
    1 tbs turbinado sugar, for topping

     

    Steps

    1. Begin by preheating your oven to 350ºF. Generously butter and flour your loaf pan. Set aside.

    2. In the larger of two bowls (you don’t even need a mixer for this one!), mix together the melted butter, sugar, lemon zest, and yogurt until smooth. Whisk in the eggs one at a time until combined. In the second bowl, combine your flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

    3. At this point, thoroughly wash your rhubarb and cut into roughly ½-inch pieces. Add the flour mixture and 1½ cups of the diced rhubarb (saving the last ¼ cup for the top) to the butter mixture and mix until just combined.

    4. Spread the batter evenly into your loaf pan and artfully top with the remaining rhubarb and a sprinkling of the turbinado sugar.

    5. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until the edges are crisp and golden, and a cake tester comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan. And, technically you’re supposed to cool it completely then before slicing, but I was so impatient and it was 10pm and I cut it almost immediately. While I wouldn’t ~really~ recommend doing this because the cake tends to crumble, I have to say nothing really beats the taste of cake still warm from the oven. I’ll leave the choice up to you!

    Enjoy!!

    xoxoxoxoxoxoD

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