rhubarb, apple + coconut crisp

 

rhubarb is one of my all time favourite ingredients to bake with. i love all things sour, so it only makes sense that i love rhubarb in my desserts. this recipe is a pleasent change from a strawberry & rhubarb based recipe. it combines fresh rhubarb & apple, with a coconut topped crisp. as always, the topping portion of this recipe yields a very generous amount, because i don't like to be skimpy on my fruit to crumble ratio. i want each bite of fruit to have an equal amount of sweet, buttery oats!

for this crisp i used bob's redmill unsweetened coconut flakes. i always stick to unsweetened coconut in my recipes, so i can control the amount of sweetness being added to a dish. i absolutely love working with the coconut flakes, as the texture of them is so light & (well) flaky! i like to snack on them too & use the large flakes in my granola or cereal. so good.

ingredients

for the fruit filling

  • 4 cups fresh rhubarb, diced
  • 3 cups apples, peeled & diced
  • 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice

for the topping

directions

for the fruit filling

  • preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • in a large mixing bowl toss together the rhubarb, apples, brown sugar, cornstarch, vanilla & lemon juice.
  • transfer mixture to a 9 by 12 inch baking dish & set aside while you prepare your topping.

for the topping

  • in a large mixing bowl whisk the oats, flour, flaked coconut, pecans, brown sugar & salt.
  • add the cubed butter. using your hands workthe butter into the mixture until it resembles a pea sized crumb consistency.
  • evenly disperse over the filling & bake for 50 to 50 minutes, until the fruit filling is bubbly.
  • remove from oven & let cool slighty.
  • serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

this post was created in partnership with bob's red mill! 

like what you see? get it here. baking dish | mixing bowl | tea towel | flatware

earl grey caramel s'mores

 

it is time for round two of epic s'mores with ghirardelli's chocolate squares! for this s'more i wanted to go a little less traditional & introduce an ingredient you have probably never come across in a s'more: earl grey tea. i am sure you have already figured out that i LOVE earl grey tea. what i love even more is incorporating the strong & distinctive flavour of earl grey into my desserts. the flavour of the bergamot comes through so well when incorporated with other ingredients. while i have done waffles, cakes & other baked goods before i thought it was time to expand the flavour of earl grey even more. earl grey caramel AND earl grey marshmallow topped with ghirardelli's dark chocolate sea salt caramel sqaure yes please! i paired it with ghirardelli's milk chocolate caramel square for the kids or kids at heart like myself. it was so fun serving these s'mores to see if people could distinguish the unique & bold flavour they were tasting. these marshmallows make for a great dessert on their own & you can drizzle the caramel sauce on just about anything you can think of... anything :)

p.s. last time i made homemade graham crackers for my s'mores! because they were so good compared to the boxed version, i made them again for this round of s'mores! you can get the recipes for those here.

ingredients

for the earl grey marshmallows

  • 1/2 cup + 1/2 cup strong brewed earl grey, room temperature
  • 3/4 ounces gelatin
  • 2 cups white sugar
  • 2/3 cup white corn syrup
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup corn starch
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar

for the earl grey caramel

  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1/3 cup strong earl grey tea, room temperature
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

for the earl grey caramel s'mores

directions

  • for the earl grey marshmallows: line a 13x9 baking dish with parchment paper & grease with oil. add 1/2 cup earl grey tea & gelatin into the bowl of a stand mixer. let stand until the gelatin softens, about 10 minutes. add remaining earl grey tea into a sauce pan over medium heat. add sugar, corn syrup & salt. stir until sugar dissolves. increase heat to high & boil (do not stir) until temperature reaches 230-250 degrees, about 6-8 minutes. using the whisk attachment, turn on mixer to low speed & slowly pour in boiling hot syrup. once syrup is mixed evenly with the gelatin, add vanilla & increase speed to high. beat until mixture is thick & fluffy, about 15 minutes. pour into baking dish immediately & let stand at room temperature until firm, about 2-3 hours. sift corn starch & powdered sugar over mixture before slicing. toss each slice in the powdered mixture as well.

  • for the earl grey caramel: in a saucepot add the sugar and earl grey tea over medium high heat. do NOT stir while bringing mixture to a boil. continue to boil until the sugar turns a deep amber colour (approximately 5 minutes). be sure not to burn the caramel, it will go from a deep amber to burnt VERY quickly. remove from heat and immediately whisk in the heavy cream, butter, vanilla & sea salt. cool to room temperature before serving. store in the fridge covered for up to two weeks.

  • for the earl grey caramel s'mores: layer graham cracker with earl grey marshmallow and broil or roasted over a fire until toasted. drizzle with earl grey caramel sauce & top with a ghirardelli chocolate square.

this post was created in partnership with ghirardelli chocolate! thank you for supporting the brands that support this blog. xo

bourbon salted caramel banana s'mores

 

it's that time of year again.. s'more EVERYTHING! remember last years caramel s'more pie?! this year i am keeping things more traditional but taking it to a whole new level: homemade graham crackers AND homemade bourbon salted caramel. this blog post features two similar but different s'mores. one for the adults (which includes a little bourbon + toasted coconut) & one for the kids! i can't even describe how much better homemade graham crackers taste! they do take a little bit of effort to make, but it will pay off in the end.

i finished off each s'more with one of ghirardelli's chocolate SQUARES. they come in all sorts of flavours & fillings like dark chocolate mint, dark chocolate rasepberry & dark chocolate bourbon caramel. they are seriously the perfect shape for campfire s'mores & allow for a gooey, sweet center. for the bourbon s'more i used ghirardelli's new dark chocolate bourbon caramel & it has quite the bourbon kick! for the kids i used ghirardelli's classic milk chocolate caramel square. both of these squares were my inspiration for the two recipes!

p.s. @thefeedfeed is running a contest this month for the ultimate s'more recipe using ghirardelli's SQUARES. i can't wait to see what you make! the possibilities are endless.

ingredients

for the bourbon salted caramel

  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons bourbon
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt

for the salted caramel

  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt

for the graham crackers

  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon molasses
  • 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
  • 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

for the bourbon caramel banana s'mores

for the caramel banana s'mores

directions

  • for the bourbon salted caramel: in a saucepot add the sugar and water over medium high heat. do NOT stir while bringing mixture to a boil. continue to boil until the sugar turns a deep amber colour (approximately 5 minutes). be sure not to burn the caramel, it will go from a deep amber to burnt VERY quickly. remove from heat and immediately whisk in the heavy cream, butter, bourbon & sea salt. cool to room temperature before serving. store in the fridge covered for up to two weeks.

  • for the salted caramel: in a saucepot add the sugar and water over medium high heat. do NOT stir while bringing mixture to a boil. continue to boil until the sugar turns a deep amber colour (approximately 5 minutes). be sure not to burn the caramel, it will go from a deep amber to burnt VERY quickly. remove from heat and immediately whisk in the heavy cream, butter, vanilla & sea salt. cool to room temperature before serving. store in the fridge covered for up to two weeks.

  • for the graham crackers: in the bowl of a standmixer with the paddle attachment cream the butter, sugar & honey. add in the milk, vanilla & molasses until incorporated. sift in the whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, salt, cinnamon & baking soda. mix until dough comes together. shape into a disk & refridgerate for two hours. when ready to roll out, heavily flour the surface & roll to 1/4 inch thick. cut into desired square or rectangular shape & poke holes using a fork. bake at 350 degrees for 6-8 minutes. let cool before serving.

  • for the bourbon caramel banana s'mores: layer graham cracker with toasted marshmallow, drizzle with bourbon salted caramel, sprinkle with toasted coconut chips, layer sliced banana & finished off with ghirardelli's dark chocolate bourbon caramel square. eat open faced or sandwiched together with an additional graham cracker.

  • for the caramel banana s'mores:layer graham cracker with toasted marshmallow, drizzle with salted caramel, layer sliced banana & finished off with ghirardelli's milk chocolate caramel square. eat open faced or sandwiched together with an additional graham cracker.

this post was created in partnership with ghirardelli chocolate! thank you for supporting the brands that support this blog. xo