My grandmother, my father’s mother, kept a huge vegetable garden along the side of the house on the farm, with all the produce needed to feed a growing family of 13 – corn, green beans, tomatoes, potatoes. There was also always a bunch of rhubarb growing in this garden, which showed up on the dinner table in a myriad forms – in sauce form, like applesauce; baked into desserts; yeah…probably mostly those forms. Strawberry rhubarb pie is still one of my uncle’s favorite treats.
I have never personally had a lot of experience with rhubarb – we never grew it or encountered it much, and I’ve never been totally sure what to do with it. But when I walked past some adorable children at the farmer’s market recently selling neatly bundled stalks of rhubarb, I couldn’t pass it up. The next stand over had some beautiful-looking blueberries, and a plot was hatched.
I had never heard of any combination besides strawberry rhubarb, but some cursory internet research revealed that others have ventured into the realm of combining rhubarb with other berries, so I stocked up on rhubarb and blueberries and headed back to my kitchen.
My first thought was blueberry-rhubarb crumble, because the last thing I helped make with rhubarb was the most delicious crumble of my life. But it had been a while since I made any cupcakes (as evidenced by the sad, sad gap in blog posts) so I settled on a sort of upside-down cobbler, with the cobbler part on the bottom and the fruit filling on the top. I wasn’t sure how it would go, but it turned out to be surprisingly delightful!
So here you have it: blueberry-rhubarb (or bluebarb, if you will) cobbler cupcakes. I think my garden-savvy grandmother would approve. Enjoy!
The original
Strawberry rhubarb pie – two flaky crusts filled with a delicious, sweet but slightly tangy filling. The epitome of summer.
The Reinterpretation
Blueberry rhubarb cobbler cupcakes – blueberry-rhubarb filling atop slightly sweet, biscuity cobbler dough with a crunchy crisp topping.
Ingredients
Cobbler Dough
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 Tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup sour cream
Fruit Filling
3 cups fresh blueberries
2 cups diced rhubarb
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
Crisp Topping
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
4 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 cup cold butter, cut into small pieces
Instructions
1. Combine dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt) for cobbler dough in a large bowl.
Dry ingredients
2. Add butter; using your fingertips, combine until only small lumps remain.
Plopping in the butter is extremely satisfying
After mixing in the butter!
3. Mix in sour cream.
4. Knead until biscuit-like dough forms. Set aside.
Sticky, springy, delicious biscuit dough
5. In another large bowl, combine blueberries, rhubarb, sugar and flour for fruit filling. Allow to meld for several minutes while you prepare the crisp topping.
Yum.
6. In a small bowl, combine oats, brown sugar, flour, and pumpkin pie spice for crisp topping; once again using your fingertips, mix in the butter until crumbly.
Crumbly crisp topping
7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a cupcake tin (or two if you have them!) with cupcake liners.
8. Divide cobbler dough among cupcake wells, squishing it down to cover the bottom. (It should fill about 24 wells – it will expand a lot!)
Layer 1
9. Cover the cobbler dough with fruit filling, filling nearly to the top of the wells.
Layer 2
10. Sprinkle the crisp topping over the top of the fruit filling.
Layer 3!
11. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until the fruit is soft and juicy and the cobbler is beginning to brown around the edges.
Delicious cobblery goodness
12. Allow to cool on wire racks; devour, preferably on a porch with a cool drink while celebrating these last days of summer.
My Grandmother's Pantry 