Herald blogs: Simply Sumptuous: pastry

Simply Sumptuous

Would you like some strawberries and rhubarb with your vanilla-cinnamon crumble?

Bright pink stalks of rhubarb were the produce of choice at the Farmer’s Market this Saturday, which gave me the opportunity to make one of my favorite seasonal desserts.
Would you like some strawberries and rhubarb with your vanilla-cinnamon crumble?

ALLIE DEMET/Herald photo

Rhubarb is one versatile vegetable. The thick, crisp, slightly acidic stalks can be used in a slew of dishes, savory or sweet, but one of the more traditional recipes in which you’ll find it is your basic strawberry-rhubarb crumble, which, incidentally, is probably the easiest to make.

The crumble portion on top is a glorified streusel—but thicker and a bit more crunchy, almost like a cookie. Underneath is a soft, syrupy layer of sweet in-season fruits and our star vegetable, rhubarb. Always, always serve your strawberry-rhubarb crumble straight out of the oven and preferably with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream.

For the crumble, you’ll need 1 stick butter, 1 1/3 cups flour, 3 tablespoons white sugar, 3 tablespoons brown sugar, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Stir together all the dry ingredients in one bowl; set aside. Melt the butter, stir in the vanilla, and add it to the dry ingredients. Mix until you have quarter- to dime-sized pieces. Store the crumble in the fridge until you need it.

For the base layer, all you need to do is toss together 1 1/2 cups rhubarb, 1 cup strawberries, a few tablespoons lemon or orange juice, 1/2 cup white sugar, and 3-4 tablespoons cornstarch.

Pour the strawberry-rhubarb mixture into an 8-inch by 8-inch pan, cover it with an even layer of the crumble, and bake for 50 minutes at 375 degrees.

As a sidenote, this dessert may not photograph well, but it is by far the best I’ve had in a long time.

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