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This looks wonderful Luisa! It's starting to get chilly here in Sydney (not compared with Berlin, but still) - I think this is just what I've been looking for to make my mornings that little bit toastier. Thanks!

Ps - I've made your zucchini pancakes three times now - they're so good - I think I'm addicted!

Very.. very interesting pud with the lovely croutons. It makes me feel summer upon us soon :)

I love how rhubarb goes such a deep red colour. This looks like a great warming dessert.

I'm so glad your trip to New York inspired you. Sometimes you simply need a change to find your direction again. I'd never heard of a fruit Betty and even if my natural inclination would be for streusel, you've still won my heart with this recipe. Actually, I'm much more into raspberries than strawberries so your combination appeals to me. As for reading, I'm ploughing my way through a lot of work related stuff at the moment but it's so nice to plunge into a novel or a fat biography in the U-Bahn. Somehow if I can't read, I don't feel right.

Luisa,

This - and your last post - are wonderful. You sound settled and happy - a rather perfect combination. The final picture in your last post took my breath away. Sometimes it takes a trip to make the place you come back to really feel like "home."

I've never had a chance to get sick of the rhubarb/strawberry combination because when my rhubarb comes up in the country, the local strawberries are two months behind. When I get there next weekend (I have to spend this weekend in the City entertaining friends from Atlanta), the rhubarb will be ready in all its glory, and this Betty will be Saturday night's dessert.

Marion Cunningham's first revision of FF is my go-to basic cookbook. My copy is dog-eared, and the copy I inherited from my mother is literally falling apart.

I just finished Spoon Fed - reading it like you, straight through. I was surprised that KS feels the Raised Waffles need to be made in a regular, not Belgian, waffle maker. My new regular waffle iron arrived yesterday and is waiting until Sunday to be broken in.

Good luck with your writing.

I just posted about the white wine-vanilla bean roasted rhubarb---it's excellent with cornbread and vanilla ice cream. And I LOVE the red raspberry-rhubarb combination. I make it in a pie and it's always a smashing hit. Much better than rhubarb-strawberry, I think. On my agenda for Some Day Soon is a sour cherry-rhubarb crisp. Perhaps it will morph into a Betty...

Two books at once! The best!

I've never heard of a "Betty" before. This recipe is awesome!

Oh, I can totally relate to feeling bereft of inspiration and words. I mostly just pack it in and don't write for a while when that happens. But I don't have a book on the horizon either!

So I'm glad you've found that inspiration again and hope that it keeps coming.
Happy spring.

fruit crisps are a favorite--now to add betty to the list! i get tired more of the texture of baked strawberries than the taste. am looking forward to seeing how raspberries hold up--after a carrot cake for mother's day.

i've never made a betty before. i did make the blueberry buckle you posted last year and loved it!

i do have to disagree about the strawberry rhubarb thing, but that's only because i haven't gotten my hands on any rhubarb yet, and i have only made the strawberry-rhubarb combo once, so it's not old to me! matter of fact, i can't wait to make a pie, and some preserves :). raspberries are nice too though!

Wow. Yum. I have to admit that at first I wasn't sold, but then I saw that dollop of cream at the end and I was like, "Table for one, please."

amazing and so simply recipe!

Enjoying your writing and recipes! I am an American in Britain missing my kitchen, which is in a storage unit near Philly. Having spent last year in northwest Germany, my heart yearns for the Wochenmarkt and Hausbrot (and abundant Rhabarber). ~This recipe looks like a breakfast begging to happen. The baked rhubarb is a good idea too. Thanks.

Mmmm, rhubarb. I'm really getting into rhubarb this year! I've also been going out of the way to avoid strawberry-rhubarb, instead choosing plain rhubarb for the most part.

I have a confession to make. Not only have I never made a Betty... I've never, not once, cooked anything with rhubarb. I know! Shocking, isn't it? I mean, I've tasted it and I like it and all, but it's just never made its way into my kitchen. Maybe this will be my Summer of Rhubarb.

I actually like to pair rhubarb with orange, I just made a rhubarb-orange-mint sorbet that turned out pretty well. I had to chuckle about the beet-goat cheese observation. Here, the dried cherries-walnuts-blue cheese on a salad is still ubiquitous (They call it a "Michigan salad" because of the cherries). Over it!

Hi Luisa!
I decided to post a comment since you mentioned you miss your food processor.

You should know that it is doing very well :) and has most recently produced yet another lip-smacking hummus.
(next is a tomatillo salsa for cinco de mayo!)

I absolutely love it. Next to my favorite chef's knife, it just may be my most prized possession. I hope you can take solace in the fact that it is so taken care of :)

Oh, and this Betty looks delicious. I'm pretty tired of the strawberry-rhubarb combo as well. Raspberry is such a great idea!

ps, i'll definitely make breadcrumbs instead of cubes :)

Yup, Fanny Farmer has ended up in bed with me a few times too...a nice old classic..but I wish I could find the very first version I owned, it's just not the same anymore, still good but each version is just slightly different enough to make it confusing...sometimes the exzact old recipe I'm looking for isn't in it. Oh well. Bet this would be good made with challah bread, I'll have to give that a try. Being at the top of spring and with the summer bounty of fruit on its, nice to be reminded of all the simple fruit dessert options like this. Not elegant, but functional, comfortable and delicious...just the thing to takee back to bed

I think you are a remarkable woman, Luisa! Thank you for another lovely post. My Fannie Farmer cookbook has been in my kitchen for years. It's tattered and some of the pages are falling out, but I don't ever want to replace it with a new one. Best wishes as you continue to inspire.

Victoria - I've heard that from other people, too - that the Raised Waffles shouldn't be made in a Belgian waffle maker. Perhaps that explains why I didn't love them when I made them!

Sukriti - I was thinking of you the other day, so glad the food processor is keeping you happy and that you are giving it the home it deserves! :)

Pam - thank you... :)

Rhubarb and raspberries are perfection, together. And although I've forgotten most all of my German, mit schlage is one phrase I'll take to my grave. Essential, that one, in rhubarb and life.

Wish I had everything to make this right now, but I'm missing everything for it, including the bread and butter :( And I think it's not the type of thing you go purposely to shop for, more like something you make because you have those core ingredients on hand, like when you're living on a farm and are well stocked. Well, thanks for the memories. I guess you are feeling nostalgic for things American, and I can see why you turned to Fanny! I might actually do the classic apple one later in the week...my housemate reads this blog too and dropped the hint.....it reminds me of having apples in the cold cellar, stale white bread, fresh farm butter...and my grandmother transforming it into something so sweet and substantial for dessert when the guys come in from the fields for supper.
Glad to hear you enjoyed your trip...one never fully leaves a place, and that's not a sad thing, it's a wonderful thing.

loved reading your tweets about the great time you had back in NY :) Sounds like an inspirational trip. It's like a crumble with croutons, I'm intrigued. AND you make it permissable to eat for breakfast, thats the selling point!

As I already wrote somewhere else, it is a big pity that I do not like rhubarb. However, it is always good to read all those interesting recipes; if not for me, I can cook and least something for my family....

Spargelzeit! :)

I remember that from my time in Berlin...

This looks amazing, I can't wait to try!

BTW, do you have a post w/ Berlin recs? I'll be spending some time there this summer and am looking forward to trying out some new places

I once baked the rhubarb custard pie out of Fannie's Baking book and it was the best pie I've ever tasted!

I'm so jealous of your bedroom :( when I curl up in bed with a book I either hear: my neighbours' grandchildren screaming and jumping on the furniture | my neighbours' tv blaring away | my other neighbour's washing machine.
I'm so moving out of my apartment this year. And I'm so buying rhubarb this weekend! I didn't buy any yet as I didn't have an occasion to serve any crumble/pie/cobbler/betty yet - but silly me, BREAKFAST is the perfect occasion! Thanks for the inspiration :)

Excellent idea. Fresh fruit and yogurt always goes well together. This would be great for breakfast, dessert, or a summer time snack.

I like this dessert; it reminds me of the Shakers, all austere. I like austerity.

Rhubarb is so awesome and if I saw more of it where I live, I certainly would pick some up and cook it. My mom made a wonderful rhubarb pie. Man, now I might have to stroll over to the g-store and see what I can find! :) Thanks for the awesome article!

I love how you made this recipe your own. You are very inspiring to me! And I never know what to do with rhubarb. This seems like something I can do, and it looks delicious!

Lovely! Rhubarb is so nice paired with good berries, and a minimal dessert like this really lets the flavors of the fruit shine through. A winner!

I enjoyed reading this post so much... I need to read more, get back to my "friends". I'm just discovering rhubarb and love the idea of pairing it with raspberries.

Oh yum! My rhubarb is just about ready in the garden!

Rhubarbs are becoming more and more popular! I love these ideas and can't wait to try them!

Made this with pear and gingered chocolate tonight for my mother and it was really delicious. I did use a high quality artisan bread. This is a nice, flexible technique that can be either simple or elegant, or both. Thanks for the writing. I look forward to the olive oil cake recipe.


I've been playing with the rhubarb raspberry combination too and found that baking rhubarb in a raspberry puree (a trick I picked up from the chef at Baker & Banker) is a lovely, lovely topping for vanilla ice cream.

you captured nyc perfectly in those photos. lucky you to be able to come back to nyc for a quick refresher.

I made this this weekend because for whatever reason I had NEVER tried rhubarb, and I wanted to. OMG - I LOVED it, it was soooo good. And my in-laws stopped over on Sunday and they loved it too, they are German & apprantly rhubarb is big in Germany, just like asparagus...

I'm going to have to make another one again asap, I'm starting to obsess-

I have always wondered about betties. Thank you for this introduction! Your last rhubarb post has inspired me to cook with rhubarb twice so far this spring, when it is usually a once a year (at most) thing for me. Always keep in mind that you yourself are an inspiration to your readers!

Thank you for your recipe.I finally found rhubarb at the Trionfale market in Rome at quite a price..but am determined to try this!

Rhubarb! rhubarb! Rhubarb! Another amazng Rhubarb idea. I just love Rhubarb and can eat it all the time. This is not as sweet as a pie or cake. THANKS!

Don't ever forget that as you pull inspiration from all these wonderful sources you in turn become our inspiration!! Your writing just brightens my day, and turns dinner into a world of possibilities. Thank you!!

I have just served this recipe up with a dollop of creme fraiche and it has had rave reviews! I am not too keen on the sweetness / heaviness of crumble so this is a perfect alternative, sharp but buttery with chunky fruit and cool creme fraiche. Its a new favourite!

Patricia - if you need recs, email me. I don't have an official Berlin post up yet.

Robin and Haley - thank you, lovelies. xo

To everyone - I made this again last night, replacing the raspberries with strawberries (overpowered by popular demand) and with 1 cup of sugar. I skipped the first baking step and simply put the whole thing in the oven for 30 minutes. Instead of yogurt, I whipped cream with sugar until it was barely holding peaks, still really soft. It was a huge hit - the whole pan gobbled up in one swift go by the diners at the table.

Luisa! This and your last post have taken my breath away. Something has shifted in your universe and it's coming through in your writing and those gorgeous, gorgeous photos. You captured New York with new eyes and I've never seen her like that before. Full of freshness and longing...

I love a betty! I'm in Australia and our way of doing it is with pureed/stewed rhubarb in a dish, then covering with a sponge topping. I can't wait to try your version with the crunch and whole fruit pieces. I stew my rhubarb with muscovado sugar, strips of orange peel and a squeeze of the juice. I add a bit of finely grated peel to the sponge batter. I usually make a homemade custard to go with and have been known to stir through strained pureed raspberries or strawberries into the cooled custard.

I learned many years ago to make a pie of rhubarb and sour cherries.... now that's an uncommon combo, bold, and seriously tart- don't skimp on the sweetener on this one!- but oh so good and a great variation if you're tired of rhubarb & strawberry.
Don't leave out a squeeze of lemon, it needs it to balance the tastes.

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