Thursday, September 9, 2010

Strawberry-Rosewater Cobbler with Lemon Poppyseed Pastry

Well, goodbye summer, amiright? You know it's fall when it's fifteen degrees cooler in the shade than the sun and it smells like bonfires. I love the fall. There is something really kind of alluring about it. I don't think any other change is seasons is as electric, it's like you can feel it inherently in your bones. Yeah, when spring comes around it's totally great, but it's a slog and it's always so muddy and slippery and dreary till May or so...and once it gets nice it's practically already summer anyway. But fall lends such a drastic and exciting change, so much more than any other time of year.
Okay. Now that I've waxed poetic about fall, I'm going to write about my favorite summertime dessert, something I like to trot out once or twice a year, mostly because it is my favoritest dessert ever in the history of everness: strawberry rosewater cobbler.

My old roommate, Mel, was moving out and I wanted to bake her a farewell pastry. When faced with requirements, the only one she gave was, "Well, I love pie." So of course I didn't bake a pie, 'cause I already knew what I was gonna make: Vegan Strawberry-Rosewater Cobbler with Lemon Poppyseed Pastry, from the best vegan cookbook ever. Oh my goodness it is so delicious. I would say it's the perfect summer pastry, because it requires three pounds of fresh strawberries, but it's better for me just to say don't even bother making this in the winter, because it will be insanely expensive then but cheap as hell in season.
Something about the strawberry-rosewater combo (Whole Foods sells rosewater in the baking isle) is sublime with the lemon poppyseed crust, especially when it's still warm and you serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Mmmm boy.
Strawberry-Rosewater Cobbler with Lemon Poppyseed Crust
FOR THE FILLING
3 lbs. strawberries, cut into quarters
1/2 C. sugar
2 T. tapioca flour
1 T. water
2 T. rose water

Toss together ingredients and set aside.

FOR THE PASTRY
1/2 C soymilk
1 T. lemon juice
1 T. lemon zest
1 t. vanilla extract
1 C. all-purpose flour
3 T. sugar
2 t. poppy seeds
1 1/2 t. baking powder
pinch salt
1/4 C. canola oil

Preheat the oven to 375 and take out an 8-inch square baking dish. Combine soy milk, lemon juice/zest, and vanilla. Separately, stir together flour, 2 T. of the sugar, poppy seeds, baking powder, and salt. Stir with fork, dribbling in oil till mixture is crumbly. Add the soy milk mixture and mix just till dough holds together.
Knead the dough once or twice in the bowl and set on a floured surface. If it's sticky, add more flour. Flatten the dough into the shape and size of the baking dish. Make seven or eight strips of dough about an inch wide. 

Pour the filling into the baking dish and cover with a lattice crust (to be covered in a picture tutorial at a later date, folks. Till then be jealous of mine). Sprinkle top with remaining sugar and bake for 35 minutes, till cobbler is bubbly and crust is golden. 

This cobbler is messy with lots of juice, so I like to serve it in a little puddle, cutting the lattice and then spooning the filling onto a plate before topping it with a piece of the lattice and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. This time around I tried almond ice cream. It was pretty good, but the best vegan ice cream I've tried to date is the coconut ice cream. Almost six bucks for a pint, but totes worth it for something like this.



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