This easy-to-make strawberry rhubarb cobbler has orange scented biscuits on top and can be made with just one bowl!
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My obsession with strawberry and rhubarb is clearly evident on this blog. I’ve made the classic strawberry rhubarb pie. I’ve made strawberry rhubarb galette. I’ve even made strawberry rhubarb simple syrup to make your own sparkling soda. But the combination of the two ingredients is such a classic that this strawberry rhubarb cobbler was bound to happen eventually in my kitchen. I gave it my own twist with an orange-scented biscuit topping which just brings it to the next level, but if you don’t like orange don’t worry. I have notes in the recipe on how to do a regular biscuit topping instead.
What is rhubarb
If you’re not familiar with rhubarb, then get ready for a lovely discovery! Despite being used often in pie and paired with berry, rhubarb is a vegetable and not a fruit. It’s a long thin vegetable shaped similar to celery and is perennial, meaning it comes back year after year. It is also related to buckwheat. Here in the United States, rhubarb is typically red, but in other countries, like France, you’ll find green rhubarb. Though most folks reach for the brightest red rhubarb they can find, green varieties of rhubarb are just as sweet and can be mellower in flavor than their red counterparts.
Rhubarb is tart and sour, and rarely is eaten raw. The leaves are also toxic, having a high amount of oxalic acid. Most rhubarb you find at the store has the leaves cut off, but if you grow it yourself or you find rhubarb with leaves still attached, be sure to trim them off (don’t stress if you eat a little of them though, you gotta eat a LOT of rhubarb leaves to get sick). Rhubarb can be quite stringy, like celery, but once cooked, it tends to dissolve and soften a lot, mellowing the flavor as well as the texture. Typically, it’s cut into chunks, to help break it down and reduce the natural stringiness. Though it’s often used a lot in baked goods, paired with sweet strawberries, can also pair it with other berries, like I do with my rhubarb berry slab pie and my blueberry rhubarb pie or with citrus like my rhubarb Meyer Lemon bundt cake. It also plays well in savory dishes, like my rhubarb chutney.
Rhubarb season in the United States usually starts in April and goes through late June or early July, though you can occasionally find hothouse rhubarb all year round and rhubarb season can vary depending on each crop. Some parts of the United States, like the Pacific Northwest get a second harvest in June and July as well. If fresh rhubarb isn’t available, frozen rhubarb can sometimes be found in the freezer section as well. Keep in mind that frozen rhubarb sheds more water (like most frozen fruit and vegetables) so when I use frozen rhubarb, I usually add in an additional 1 tablespoon of tapioca or cornstarch.
You can find even more rhubarb recipes over at the California Grown blog, where they feature a few of my rhubarb recipes as well as rhubarb recipes from other food bloggers from around the country.
How do you make this cobbler?
This cobbler is easy to make and only requires one bowl! Cut the rhubarb into 1-inch chunks and place them in a medium-sized bowl. Trim off the leaves from the strawberries and cut them in half if they are large, adding them to the bowl as well. Peel and grate an apple into the bowl, then add in some sugar, tapioca starch (or cornstarch) and a dash of raspberry vinegar (or lemon juice). Toss together and then scrape the ingredients into a 3-quart ceramic or glass baking dish.
Make the biscuit topping by placing flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and the zest of one orange in the same bowl that you had the filling in, no need to wash it! Cut up some butter and smash it with your fingers until they are broken down into small bits. Drizzle the juice from the orange and milk over the biscuit and toss until a dough forms. Drop the dough over the filling in heaping chunks about 2 inches wide. Brush top of the biscuits with some milk, sprinkle the top with sugar, and bake until the cobbler filling is bubbly and the biscuits are golden brown on top.
Why there an apple in this filling?
The addition of the apple is an unusual part of this recipe, but the apple serves two purposes. First the apple is sweet, which helps minimize the need for more sugar in the filling. And second the apple is naturally filled with pectin, which is a fruit protein that gels and thickens the filling. This means you don’t need to use as much thickener like tapioca or cornstarch in the filling. Don’t worry about the flavor of the apple though, as it melds into the background of the filling, with the more assertive strawberry and rhubarb flavor coming forward. You won’t even know it’s in there!
How to store this cobbler.
Cobbler is best eaten the day it’s made. But you can store leftovers in the fridge for up to 4 days. Keep in mind the longer you keep the cobbler in the fridge, the staler the biscuit topping can get.
You can reheat the cobbler by placing it in an oven proof dish and heating it up in a 300°F toaster oven or regular oven for 10 to 15 minutes. Or use a microwave to heat it up, doing 30 seconds bursts of cooking time, until warmed up. Keep in mind heating it up in the microwave will warm up the filling but might make the biscuit topping a little rubbery. I prefer the oven or toaster oven method if I have time, though I often use the microwave when I’m feeling lazy.
If you like this strawberry rhubarb cobbler, check out these other strawberry recipes:
- Strawberry Rhubarb Buckle with Cheesecake Topping
- Chocolate and Strawberry Scones
- Easy Strawberry Cake
- Oatmeal Dried Strawberry Cookies (with a chocolate heart)
- Sparkling Strawberry Lemonade
- Neapolitan Brownies
- Strawberry Oatmeal Bars
- Grilled Strawberry and Chocolate Sandwiches
One-Bowl Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler with Orange-Scented Biscuits
Ingredients
Filling
- 1 pound rhubarb 5 large stalks (roughly 1-inch thick and 12 – 14 inches tall)
- 1 pound strawberries
- 1 medium-sized apple
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 3 tablespoons tapioca starch or cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon raspberry vinegar see note below on substitutions
Biscuit Topping
- 2 cups all-purpose flour 280 g
- 1/4 cup white sugar 50 g
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- Zest from 1 medium-sized orange
- 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice roughly from one medium orange (see note after recipe)
- 1/2 cup milk any kind, maybe a little more or less (see note after recipe)
To finish
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 2 tablespoon white sugar
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 375°F. Make the filling by cutting the rhubarb into 1-inch chunks and adding them to a medium-sized bowl. Destem and hull the strawberries and cut them in half if they are large, adding them to the bowl. Peel and core the apple, then grate it into the bowl.
Add the sugar, tapioca starch (or cornstarch) and the raspberry vinegar (see note after recipe for substitions). Toss to coat the fruit, then scrape the filling and any accumulated juices into a 3-quart ceramic or glass baking dish (typically 9 x 13 x 2-inches).
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Make the biscuit topping by placing the flour, sugar, baking powder, kosher salt and orange zest in the same bowl that you made the filling. No need to clean it. Cut the butter into 1/2-inch chunks and sprinkle it over the dry ingredients.
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Using your fingers, smash the butter into small pieces, about the size of a pea.
Squeeze the juice of the orange into a glass measuring cup. You should have roughly 1/4 cup but you could have a little more or less. Add milk to the measuring cup until you have 3/4 cup of liquid (roughly 1/2 cup milk and 1/4 cup orange juice).
Drizzle the liquid over the dry ingredients, tossing the mixture with a fork. Keep doing this, until all the liquid is incorporated and a dough forms.
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Using a large spoon, drop dough balls, roughly 2-inches in diameter, over the top of the cobbler filling. Cover the entire top of the cobbler, leaving about 1-ich of space between the dough balls.
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Brush the top of the biscuits with the milk, then sprinkle the top of the biscuits with sugar. Bake in the oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling in the middle of the cobbler and the biscuits are golden brown on top. Let cool for at least 20 minutes before serving or let it cool completely to room temperature.
Serve by itself or with vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream.
Notes
Note 2: Oranges come in various sizes. Use a small to medium orange for this recipe. Depending on how large it is, you will get 3 tablespoon up to 1/3 cup of orange juice. Just fill the remaining measuring cup with milk. Don’t use more than 1/3 cup of orange juice though, as the milk is key in keeping the biscuit tender.
Note 3: If you don’t want to orange-scented biscuits, just omit the orange zest and the orange juice. Use 3/4 cup of milk as the liquid.
Nutrition
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