'Rustic Fruit Desserts' - Cookbook Spotlight

by Sara Bonisteel, Posted Jun 1st 2009 @ 2:00PM

"Rustic Fruit Desserts: Crumbles, Buckles, Cobblers, Pandowdies and More"
By Cory Schreiber and Julie Richardson
Photography by Sara Remington
Ten Speed Press -- 2009
Buy it on Amazon

James Beard Award-winning chef Cory Schreiber and Julie Richardson of Baker & Spice in Portland, Ore., team up for this delicious ode to seasonal fruit baking.

Divided into the seasons, "Rustic Fruit Desserts" offers a juicy array of cobblers, grunts ("similar to a cobbler but ... cooked on top of the stove"), crisps, betties, pandowdies and other delights. And the stars of the fruit world are all here: rhubarb, cherries, apples, pears, raspberries, nectarines, apricots and even relative newcomers like pluots.

See what we tested and whether the book's worth buying after the jump.

Quality of Pictures: Tasty. Remington's photographs are extreme, tantalizing closeups of baking and the finished works.

Takeaway Tips: Splurge on a scale to get accurate measurements, and weigh fruit after after you prep it (which means you should be buying a bit more fruit than the recipe calls for). Use your freezer and double the recipes for pastry and dough as they will keep for up to three months.

We Tested: Blueberry Cobbler with Cornmeal Biscuit and Rhubarb Compote (Stewed)
"Rustic Fruit Desserts" offers rhubarb compote two ways, but we decided to bypass the raw method for the stewed. Easy to follow instructions and a short ingredient list (rhubarb, orange juice, sugar and cardamom) yielded a tart treat in less than 15 minutes.

But it was in the realm of the baked good where this cookbook shines. In the blueberry cobbler recipe, cornmeal and heavy cream transform the run-of-the-mill biscuit into a dense, moist and slightly sweet accompaniment to the blueberry. We liked the biscuit so much we actually made them again -- alone -- to serve up with the leftover rhubarb compote.

Worth the Investment: This is a welcome addition to the cookbook shelf for lovers of fresh fruit desserts.

Filed Under: Cookbook Spotlight, Books