Some say a grunt is like a cobbler but brace yourself: the first time I tasted this I almost fell over it was so good. The dough is made with whipped cream and self-rising flour so it becomes a pillowy cloud of yumminess.
I was handed the recipe to make while working as a prep cook many years ago; the top of the printed out page said “James Beard’s Rhubarb Grunt”. We were a new casual restaurant in need of a ‘wow’ dessert; this fit the bill both for the customers {so delicious} and for me the busy prep {simple, straight-forward directions}.
Years later I tried to find it online; lots of pages came up but never anything by James Beard. So I’d like to credit the man who started it all, unfortunately with no link and I don’t know which of his cookbooks to mention…
Today I substituted marionberries for rhubarb since that’s what I had on hand. So far I’ve used rhubarb, apricot, huckleberry, apple and peach and they all work well.
ingredients:
- 1-1/2 pounds rhubarb, sliced {or berries or fruit of choice}
- 3/4 cup sugar and 3 tablespoons sugar, separate
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
- 1 cup self-rising flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream, whipped lightly
directions:
- Preheat oven to 375F {or 350F convection}
- Grease a 9-inch square brownie pan
- Place the fruit evenly in the pan, then sprinkle with 3/4 cup of the sugar; toss to coat
- Dot the surface of fruit with the butter cubes
- Whip the cream, not too stiff
- Sift the flour, the 3 tablespoons of sugar and the salt into a mixing bowl; gently stir in the whipped cream until it becomes a really sticky dough
- Use a big spoon {and your finger} to scoop and drop the dough over the fruit; spread gently to cover as much as possible
- Place pan on a lined baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes until lightly brown & bubbly
You can cut back a bit on the 3/4 cup sugar if you’re not using rhubarb, but the sugar is what makes the juice thicken. It also works fine in any shallow pan or dish of comparable size.
I have eaten this warm with ice cream for dessert as well as cold with a cup of coffee first thing in the morning. Either way it’s delicious, with a unique topping that I really love.
Looks delicious, similar to something my nieces make called a “dumpcake”.
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i haven’t heard of dumpcake ~ this is like a cobbler but the fluffiness of the biscuit dough is so amazing
Dumpcake is also similar to a cobbler, but cakemix instead of the biscuit dough on yours. It’s a lot sweeter because of that. I make cobblers myself, because the pie crust used for it, isn’t as sweet, and allows the berries to shine. I think using the biscuit dough would have the same effect. Add some cinnamon, brown sugar too the biscuit dough and maybe even some nuts and it would make a great topping for it as well.
dumpcake sounds good too, but i agree not too sweet allows the berries to shine
Yum, yum! My mouth is watering. It looks delish!
it really is yummy ~ of all the fruit i’ve used this marionberry one is my favorite so far!
I have a freezer with 20 kg of rhubarb. Am going to make a jam this weekend, might throw this recipe in to serve at “tea time”. I love rhubarb and Ice cream….If you say it´s good it´s a must try with all that rhubarb I got.
if you like biscuits you’ll love this topping ~ and it’s very easy to put together
Looks perfect. I love using the bounty of summer berries in crisps and all sorts of baked dishes. I look forward to it!
thank you ~ yes berries are so wonderful
thanks for visiting, i’m about to go check out your site ~ cheers!
This looks gorgeous! I love cooking with rhubarb, and the topping sounds really interesting, so definitely marking this out to try for myself.
thank you and thanks for visiting ~ the topping is very special, hats off to james beard
Oh this is most definitely my kind of pudding – got to make soon!
it’s delicious and very easy to put together ~ nearly any fruit or berry should work great
[...] Grunt {a delicious twist on cobbler} from Eclectic Faerie [...]
Fabulous recipe. I’ve been a fan of James Beard for years, yet have none of his book and I can’t think why that is. Glad to have found your blog.
thanks for visiting! i love this recipe, use it all the time. and actually this photo got some attention on pinterest so that was a nice surprise
[...] Grunt– Stewed fruit topped with dropped or rolled-out biscuit dough while cooking. [...]
Wow. That sounds scrumptious. Made me want to bake !
{I might try adding tapioca [mmmm] to the fruit }…
Thanks for visiting me, I’m keeping an eye on you.
thanks! and thank you for stopping by & subscribing ~
tapioca sounds like a fantastic addition