If I’m remembering correctly, the last time I came to this space to talk about rhubarb, I mentioned a rhubarb compote from the book “The Lost Kitchen” by Erin French. The recipe leaned into lemon and worked well with ginger and strawberries.

This year I took the ruby stalks, which are in season right now, left out the lemon, and added almond. I served it with an almond cake during Passover last month, and enjoyed it with Greek yogurt, and yes, some sliced strawberries.

The original compote is paired with another recipe in the cookbook: a spoon bread baked in a cast iron skillet. As the name implies, a spoon bread is served with a spoon, straight from the skillet. I did not share the recipe at the time for two main reasons: word count and laziness. But now that I’ve tweaked the compote, I think it is worth revisiting.

I made another tweak to the cake recipe, subbing in King Arthur’s gluten-free flour (a long story for another time) and it worked perfectly. The recipe calls for sour cream, but Greek yogurt is a good substitute.

The compote takes no more than 10 minutes to put together, and the cake takes 25 minutes in a hot oven. If you preheat your oven as you start working on the batter, you may even be done with your prep work before the oven is ready.

I whipped this up on a Sunday morning and it lasted all the way to Monday morning. If you can, serve it with a dollop of fresh whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Makes about 3 cups

Ingredients:

Article continues after...

Yesterday's Most Read Articles

Back on her feet with new store at Westhampton’s Hanging Mountain Farm

UMass football: Joe Harasymiak formally introduced as Minutemen’s next head coach

Standing Together: Leaders of international group present solution to Gaza War during visit to Northampton

‘The magic that existed back then’: Academy of Music to screen time capsule film of New Year’s Eve 1984 concert at The Rusty Nail

Guest columnist Sarah Buttenwieser: Trying to do best for our city together

Bittersweet Bakery & Cafe in Deerfield reopens with smaller menu, renewed focus on dinners

Your Daily Puzzles

Cross|Word

Flipart

Typeshift

SpellTower

Really Bad Chess

3 cups chopped rhubarb (1-inch pieces)

A generous quarter cup of sugar

1 teaspoon almond extract

3 tablespoons water

Directions:

In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the rhubarb, sugar, almond extract and water. Bring to simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly until the rhubarb becomes tender and sauce-like, about five minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature. This will keep in the fridge for up to a week.

Ingredients:

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for the pan

1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ cup sugar

½ teaspoon salt

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup whole milk

One quarter cup sour cream

Rhubarb compote

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400F. Coat a 10-inch ovenproof skillet, preferably cast iron, with butter and flower, shaking out any excess flour.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, the baking powder, the sugar, and the salt.

In a large bowl, whisk together the egg, the vanilla, the milk, the sour cream, and the melted butter. Gently stir the wet ingredients into the dry until just incorporated.

Pour about two-thirds of the compote into the greased skillet and spread evenly. Pour the cake batter over it, spread evenly, then dollop the remaining compote over the top. Use a butter knife to swirl together the batter and the compote.

Bake until a cake tester or knife inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Serve warm, directly from the skillet, with a big spoon. Add a dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream on top.

Molly Parr lives in Florence with her husband and two young daughters. She’s been writing her food blog, Cheap Beets, since 2010. Send questions or comments to molly.parr@gmail.com.