Food styling in San Luis Obispo, CA Bacci Photography

Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler with lemon streusel topping, Tahitian vanilla bean, and topped with sweet cream.

Yesterday, a family friend gave us beautiful homegrown rhubarb. This gave me the opportunity to spend my morning combining my two passions, photography and food. There is no perfect afternoon dessert for a sunny day on the California Central Coast in May, then some strawberry rhubarb cobbler.

Strawberry rhubarb filling:

3 lbs. fresh rhubarb, diced

1 lb. Fresh strawberries, sliced

6 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups granulated sugar, set aside 1/2 cup to use later

1/2 of a Tahitian vanilla bean, split lengthwise

Lemon streusel topping:

2 cups flour

2 cups rolled oats

Zest from one lemon

Juice from one lemon

Half teaspoon salt

3/4 cup sugar

2 Sticks of butter, cut into small cubes

Tahitian vanilla bean sweet cream:

1 pint Cream

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 Tahitian vanilla bean split lengthwise

Method:

Wash rhubarb, dice into small pieces, and place into a large mixing bowl.

Add 1 1/2 cups of sugar and 1/2 tsp. salt to rhubarb, mix together, and set aside for one hour to macerate.

Food photography in San Luis Obispo, CA Bacci Photography

Meanwhile zest and juice one lemon and hold for later use. Keep the zest and juice separate, you will be using the juice in the filling and the zest in the streusel topping.

Split 1 vanilla bean in half lengthwise using a pairing knife then scrape the seeds out of the inside of the pod and hold for later use.

Slice strawberries and set aside.

To start preparing the streusel topping place 2 cups of flour, 2 cups of rolled oats, Lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, sugar and butter into a large mixing bowl.

Rub the ingredients together in your hands to break up the butter mix. You will know you are done when you can take squeeze a handful of the topping it in your hand and it stays clumped together.

Alternatively, you can mix these ingredients together using a stand up mixer using the paddle attachment on low speed.

Preheat oven to 350°F

After an hour has passed drain the liquid from your rhubarb and discard.

Variation: For a saucier final product, retain the liquid and add an additional tablespoon of corn starch.

Add your sliced strawberries, remaining 1/2 cup sugar and the scraping from the interior of 1/2 of your vanilla bean. Stir and mix will. Add the filling to a large 13x9 inch Pyrex baking dish. And top with your streusel topping. Bake on a sheet pan for 50 to 60 minutes.