Rhubarb. My new favorite.
I just can’t hold this one back anymore. I decided months ago that I wanted to make rhubarb shortcakes for Delancey’s dessert menu. I had a decent recipe for rhubarb compote from my old job, but I knew I could make it better. Me and Molly compared our favorite compote recipes and came up with an ingredients list that was pretty killer. Think vanilla bean. Sugar. Orange liquor. Butter. You toss all these things together and let them sit and get all juicy.
Then you roast them until they soft and bright.
And this is where the magic happens. Strain out the liquid from the rhubarb and set the chunks aside. Then reduce that liquid into a nice syrup. This concentrates the flavor to the point of extreme rhubarb deliciousness. As my friend Meredith at Delancey said “It’s more rhubarb-y than rhubarb.” And that my friends, is what I’m talking about.
We serve it with flakey shortcakes and mascarpone cream.
At home I eat it with buttermilk souffle cakes. The world is your base to put rhubarb on.
RHUBARB COMPOTE:
4 lb rhubarb, diced
2 cups sugar
1 vanilla bean
½ cup grand marnier
4oz butter
– Slice open the vanilla bean and scrape the seeds into the sugar to break up clumps.
– Combine all ingredients, including vanilla bean pod, in a baking pan. Stir well and let sit for 30 minutes.
– Divide into 2 batches and cover pans with aluminum foil. Bake at 325 for 30-40 minutes. You want to cook it long enough for the fruit to still hold it’s shape, but to start to break up as you stir it. At this point remove one pan from the oven and set aside to cool.
– Continue cooking the other pan for 10-15 more minutes, until the fruit turns a brighter shade of red and breaks down more easily. Remove the 2nd pan from the oven and set aside to cool.
– Strain out liquid from both pans into a saucepan. Place rhubarb chunks into a large bowl and set aside.
– Boil rhubarb juice over high heat until it is reduced to a syrup. Be careful not to burn.
– Mix syrup back into rhubarb chunks.
– Is best eaten at room temperature, but store in fridge.
I made that! 
hi brandi,
i have really never baked w/rhubarb…& now i will give this a whirl! do you have a fav shortcake recipe to share?
also, just read molly’s waffle winner…guess you must have had a blast judging!
Oh my… That looks positively delicious! I love the addition of the orange liqueur! Ahem, I do write a blog called bananas for bourbon, after all. 😉 I love the idea of serving it over some simple shortcakes. Thanks for sharing!
This has been my favorite Delancey dessert yet – it’s SO good! Care to share your shortcake recipe? 🙂 Best shortcake I’ve ever had. Mmmmm…time for another trip to Delancey!
Hi Brandi:
So glad you posted this. We’ll try it next week, with a German Cheesecake maybe. We made the Key Lime Pie too; we didn’t give it time to set, but the taste was great. And the Buttermilk Cake? would love to see that posted some day.
-Gina
I’m so glad I found this post. Rhubarb season will be upon us in mid May, and I really don’t want to make a million crisps. I wonder how long the syrup would keep, for using on meat and other stuff.
[…] off, as much as I would like to take full credit for this fabulous recipe, I can’t. I found it at I made that!, one of my favorite places to search (on the rare occasion I feel like baking). I did modify it […]
[…] pretty much followed this recipe, from the amazing Brandi, except I changed a lot of […]
I made my first batch of this today, and the house is perfumed with rhubarb. I say I made my first batch because I let my rhubarb cook for too long, and then stirred it a bit too much, so it is reverting to mush – delicious, perfumed rhubarb mush. So, I will try again in a week or so whenever the rhubarb plant has recovered.
I wonder how long this rhubarb mess of mine will keep safely in the fridge? Any guidelines?
Just made this with St. Germain (instead of Grand Marnier). A-ma-zing — thank you!
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