While I love to tell everyone that there is so much more to rhubarb than just an ingredient for desserts, I have to say, it sure does shine laced with vanilla, lemon zest, and sugar and baked until bubbly delicious. I love tangy desserts, so you will find this is not an overly sweet recipe. It would probably be bordering too tangy even for my taste, but this is where the ice cream plays an important role. You can alternate bites of sweet melty ice cream and tangy crunch crisp, and the pair is fabulous.
If you can only find green rhubarb, or that is what you can grow in your area, check my ingredient beta at the bottom of the recipe to help you create that gorgeous red deliciousness you are craving.
Ingredients
Rhubarb
600g rhubarb | leaves trimmed away, cut into 1-inch pieces on the diagonal
zest and juice of ½ large lemon
100g sugar
15g cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Topping
150g almond flour
150g rolled oats
75g oat flour
30g cornstarch
300g brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon salt
210g butter | melted
For Serving
Vanilla ice cream, for serving
Directions
Step 1
A few hours before you want to begin baking your crumble, go ahead and make the crumble topping. In a large bowl combine the topping ingredients - almond flour, rolled oats, oat flour, cornstarch, brown sugar, cardamom, salt, and melted butter. Mix until they become a crumbly texture and then put in the freezer.
Why freeze? Because the crumble will be frozen when it goes on top of your rhubarb mixture will mean that it will absorb less liquid and will be crunchier, as well as less likely to sink to the bottom of your baking dish.
Step 2
Once your crumble topping has been in the freezer for a couple of hours and you are ready to bake your crumble, go ahead and preheat the oven to 350.
Step 3
In a large bowl mix together all of the ingredients for the rhubarb filling- rhubarb, lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla.
Step 4
Scrap the mixture into your baking dish. Bake for 25-30 minutes.
Step 5
Pull your crumble out of the freezer, and break it into appropriate sized crumble pieces and scatter it across the top of your rhubarb mixture.
Step 6
Return the baking dish to the oven. Bake for another 25-40 minutes until the crumble is beautifully golden brown on top.
Step 7
Let cool until a reasonably warm temperature. Scoop into bowls and serve topped with vanilla ice cream.
Ingredient Beta
Want that gloriously red classic rhubarb filling, but you can only grow green rhubarb where you live, or that is all you can find in the markets? No problem. I struggle with that challenge. The green rhubarb just grows better here in Bishop. My solution is to throw some frozen plums from last season into the mixture. They will help you produce the most beautiful red filling. Just be sure to realize that they also offer a lot of liquid, you might need to add a little bit more cornstarch to make sure your crumble sets properly. You could also use raspberries or strawberries to get your color as well.
If you are looking for a savory recipe with rhubarb, check out this roast chicken with sumac and rhubarb. It is delicious.
Roast Chicken with Sumac and Rhubarb Recipe
Rhubarb. More than just pies.