A Humbling Strawberry Rhubarb Reminder

I was checking Twitter mentions last week, and saw that a viewer by the name of

nguyen4 had posted a strawberry rhubarb pie photo on Instagram (left), and credited me for the recipe. At first, I thought they were mistaken, as I didn’t recognize the pie as one of my creations, but then I realized that was because they’d made it so much better looking than mine. I hate/love when that happens. 

Anyway, once I got over this blow to my ego, I decided to repost this in case you missed it the first time, or just needed a little reminder as to what a fantastic spring pie this really is. Enjoy!

To read the original post and get the ingredient amounts, click here.

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Rhubarb ripple cheesecake

Ive been playing with the idea of a rhubarb cheesecake for a few years now, and finally settled for this simple rhubarb ripple cheesecake (or should I call it "Marbled rhubarb cheesecake"?). I use the base from my lingonberry cheesecake (but feel free to use the regular Digestive-base), the filling from my Manhattan cheesecake and a simple addition of poached rhubarb (with some candied ginger added for a zing). We loved it. The creamy simple cheese filling, the tart rhubarb and moreish base work together like a dream..

Rhubarb ripple cheesecake
(Siiruviiruline rabarbri-toorjuustukook)
Serves 8


Beautiful poached rhubarb

Base:
100 g unsalted butter, softened
85 g caster sugar (about 100 ml)
1 large egg
180 g plain flour (300 ml)
0.5 tsp baking powder
a pinch of salt

Poached rhubarb:
250 to 300 g slender pink rhubarb stalks
2 Tbsp demerara sugar
3 Tbsp candied ginger pieces

Cream cheese topping:
600 g full-fat cream cheese, softened
125 g caster sugar (150 ml)
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla sugar or extract

First, poach the rhubarb. Wash the rhubarb stalks and cut into 1 cm chunks (I never peel the young rhubarb stalks, as the colour is mostly in the skin). Place into a small saucepan with sugar and 2 Tbsp of water. Simmer on a medium heat for 5-10 minutes, until rhubarb is completely soft. Stir in the candied ginger and put aside.

For the base, cream the butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, thoroughly beating each time. Add the dry ingredients and stir until combined. Press the mixture onto the base and sides of a 26 cm springform tin lined with parchment paper. Place into the fridge to wait while you prepare the cheesecake mixture.

For the cheesecake topping, mix all ingredients thoroughly (you may use a whisk for a fluffier result).

To assemble the cake, pour the cream cheese mixture over the cake base. Spoon the rhubarb mixture here and there over the top, then use a knife to stir the rhubarb mixture into the cheese mixture, to get a marbled effect.

Bake in a preheated 180 C oven for 40-45 minutes, until the filling is set and the cake base cooked.

Remove from the oven and let cool completely before serving.

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Rhubarb drink

This is somehting I plan to try when the rhubarb is sufficiently grown for harvesting:

1 kg rhubarb stalks
1,8 ltr water
450 ml sugar
Juice of one big lemon

Cut the rhubarb into small pieces and cook in the water for 15 minutes. Don’t stir it. Strain and throw away the rhubarb pulp.

Add the sugar and lemon juice to the rhubarb juice and bring to the boil. Cool and bottle. Keep refrigerated. Serve cold and thin with water as desired.

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Rhubarb and rye bread soup

Couple of years ago, when I blogged about Estonian rye bread soup, the idea of a sweet bread soup seemed very unusual to most of my (non-Estonian) readers. But trust me - the rye bread soup is cheap (usually using stale rye bread) and cheerful, and very tasty. Heres a seasonal version of the soup, using pale pink rhubarb stalks. Whereas the rye bread soup isnt particularly sugary-sweet anyway, this late spring/early summer version is even lighter and with a slight and welcome tang.

Rhubarb and rye bread soup
(Leivasupp rabarbriga)
Serves six to eight



400 g rhubarb, cleaned
200 g rye bread
1 litre water
100 g caster sugar
a cinnamon stick
some vanilla extract

To serve:
sour cream or yoghurt (optional)

Break the rye bread into chunks, place into a pan with 1 litre of cold water. Leave to soften for a few hours.
Bring slowly into the boil.
Cut the rhubarb into thick slices, add to the pan with sugar and cinnamon stick. Simmer the soup for 15-20 minutes, or until the bread and rhubarb are soft and mushy.
Season with vanilla.
Cool before serving.

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