Why it’s so good!
Every bite of this strawberry rhubarb cobbler is full of tart rhubarb, sweet strawberries and buttery biscuit. Plus a secret ingredient that tastes amazing but you might not be able to define.
- Syrupy fruits
- Soft yet crunchy topping
- So incredibly quick to make
- Very simple ingredients
- Adaptable to many fruits, fresh or frozen
- So delicious
A little like strawberry shortcake but the fruit is cooked, the flavours of strawberry and rhubarb are so lovely together. In this cobbler, a little balsamic plays into that sweet and tangy flavour profile and gives this cobbler a little something extra special.
You’ll savour every last mouth-watering bite of this cobbler. Serve it up with ice cream in summer or even crème anglaise in winter and you’ll never want to make a pie again. You could also try this raspberry peach cobbler and this mixed berry crumble too.
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What is a cobbler?
Similar to a crisp or crumble, a cobbler is a little like a pie but without the crust, so it’s much easier to make. A thick layer of fruit is topped with buttery, biscuity topping that is soft on the inside but crisp on the outside.
Cobblers are great all year round. They’re the perfect combination of fresh fruits with cosy, comforting goodness and this strawberry rhubarb cobbler is no different.
Ingredients you’ll need
So many of the ingredients in this strawberry rhubarb cobbler are obvious and you’ll most likely have them already – flour, sugar, brown sugar, egg, baking powder and butter.
Jump to the recipe for full ingredients and instructions.
- Strawberries and rhubarb: These are the stars of the show. Sweet and tangy when combined, they are perfect company. This recipe is based on fresh strawberries and rhubarb but you can use frozen with the addition of extra cornflour (cornstarch). You could also sub in some blackberries or raspberries to change things up.
- Orange zest: This is another tangy addition and the citrus flavour goes so well with both of the main ingredients.
- Balsamic vinegar: So you’ve heard about the wonderful combination of strawberries and balsamic and this cobbler confirms it. The sweet and tangy vinegar matches the characteristics of the strawberries and rhubarb while adding a little something special.
- Cornflour / cornstarch: This is used to thicken up the juices that are released as the fruit cooks.
- Demerara / turbinado sugar: This is scattered over the topping at the end to give it a crunchy sweet topping.
- Cream: This is used in the cobbler topping and you’re looking for thickened cream or heavy cream or whipping cream.
How to make strawberry rhubarb cobbler
All you need is a nice pie dish and a food processor to mix the topping in. The fruit mixture is all combined right in the pie dish so there’s no extra washing up and no flavour gets left behind anywhere.
Jump to the recipe for full ingredients and instructions.
1. Combine the strawberry rhubarb mixture
Start by trimming any leaves off the rhubarb and discard the leaves (they’re poisonous to eat). Chop the rhubarb into small chunks and the strawberries into matching sized pieces. Mix them right in the pie dish with orange zest, sugar, cornflour, vanilla and balsamic vinegar
2. The biscuit-like cobbler crust
Add flour, sugar, baking powder and butter to the bowl of a food processor.
Blitz until sand-like then add the cream and blitz again until clumping.
3. Assemble and bake
Add the cobbler topping chunks, then brush egg wash over the top.
Add a sprinkling of demerara sugar to give a crunchy topping, then bake until golden and crisp and the edges look thick and jammy.
Pro tips and tricks
- Don’t have a food processor? No worries. Use cold grated butter instead and work it in with a pastry cutter or with your fingertips.
- Don’t overwork the dough: You want to make sure there are still very small pieces of butter in there as they will melt while baking creating pockets of steam which, in turn. makes the topping fluffier.
- Leave some gaps between the dough: I love seeing the fruit poking through here and there and especially around the sides where you’ll see all the syrup bubbling up.
- Let it cool a bit: Just for a few minutes as the syrup and fruit will be molten hot.
FAQ’s
Sweet strawberries and tart rhubarb are a winning combination since they both balance and enhance each others flavours.
No. The leaves of rhubarb are poisonous to ingest so discard those and don’t try snacking on them.
More fruity desserts you’ll love
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Did you try this strawberry rhubarb cobbler recipe? Show it some love in the comments below.
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Ingredients
THE FRUIT FILLING
- 3 cups roughly chopped strawberries
- 3 cups rhubarb chopped into 2cm pieces (trimmed and discard leaves)
- 1 medium orange, zest only
- ¾ cup white granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornflour (US cornstarch) (notes 1)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (optional) (notes 1)
COBBLER TOPPING
- 195 g plain flour (all purpose flour) (1 ½ cups / 6.9oz)
- ⅓ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 85 g unsalted butter, cubed and chilled (¾ stick / 3oz)
- ½ cup thickened cream (heavy cream)
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 3 teaspoons demerara sugar (turbinado sugar)
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Equipment
- 9 inch pie dish or similar baking dish
- food processor or pastry blender
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan forced) / 350°F.
- Combine the strawberries, rhubarb, orange zest, sugar, cornflour, vanilla and balsamic vinegar in a large pie dish and mix well. Set aside.
- Add the flour, sugar and baking powder to the bowl of a food processor and blitz to mix. No food processor? See notes.
- Add the butter and process until there are only small pieces of butter left (about the size of a grain of barley).
- Add the cream and process until it becomes the texture of wet, chunky sand. Flatten out chunks of dough into rounds then place all over the top of the fruit.
- Brush the tops of the dough with beaten egg, then scatter over the demerara sugar.
- Bake for around 50-60 minutes or until the top looks golden brown and crunchy and the juice is bubbling at the sides, looking thick and jammy.
- Let it sit for 7-10 minutes before serving – this will give time for the molten, jammy sauce to cool slightly and thicken.
- Try serving with creme anglaise, whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
- Please take a moment to leave a comment & rating. It's appreciated and so helpful.
Notes
- Tablespoons: I use a standard Australian 20ml tablespoon (equal to 4 teaspoons). Check yours before measuring.
- For best results, you should always weigh ingredients where a weight is the first measurement given. Kitchen scales are relatively cheap but if you can’t weigh the ingredients, use the spoon and level method (don’t scoop).
- All ovens vary – test for doneness 5-8 minutes before the recipe suggests.
- Discard any rhubarb leaves – they are poisonous to eat.
- If you don’t have a food processor, you can mix the cobbler topping in a bowl. Use cold grated butter, and gently work it in with a pastry cutter or your finger tips, being careful not to melt it.
- You could use all strawberries but I don’t recommend increasing the rhubarb.
- You could use frozen strawberries and rhubarb but increase the cornflour by ½ a tablespoon.
- Nutrition details are approximate only – scroll below the recipe to find the full nutritional information.
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2 Comments on “Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler”
I do love crumbles and crisps for the perfect ratio of the filling to the topping, but I’ve never made a cobbler, though. This one looks add sounds wonderful, and the combination of rhubarb and strawberries is one of the main summer highlights to me!
Cobbler is the most like a pie, without the fuss of making a pie crust. Thanks Ben.