Rhubarb crumble is a delicious crisp recipe made with the tart bright pink rhubarb and topped with a sweet crunchy crumble topping.
I love rhubarb crumble as a change from a berry or apple crumble since rhubarb is so tart, it totally balances the sweet crumble and the sweet ice cream or custard normally served on top.
Crumbles are one of my favorite desserts to make, simple, quick and everyone loves them.
Rhubarb is amazing!
It isn’t actually a fruit but a vegetable, most often used as a fruit. Stalks are known for their bright pink color, rhubarb is a plant that grows like celery. It is very tart so it is usually paired with sugar so that it is still tangy but balanced out a bit.
Rhubarb is mostly used in desserts like fruit pies and crumbles, or to make jellies and jams. Italians make liqueurs from it – the most famous being Rabararo Zucca. The Chinese have used it for centuries in medicine to address stomach ailments and relieve constipation. It is best known for its sky-high fibre and vitamin K content, but it also packs in loads of Vitamin C. A cup of rhubarb has as much calcium as a glass of milk!
A good thing to remember is that rhubarb leaves are toxic, due to high levels of oxalic acid, so make sure you discard them safely if you have pets.
You can’t really use tinned rhubarb, as it is preserved in sugar syrup so you need to use fresh rhubarb.
During rhubarb season there are lots of delicious desserts you can make. If you’re lucky enough to grow your own rhubarb you’ll be spoilt for choice for what to do with it. But my favourite dish is an easy rhubarb crumble. The sweet crunchy topping goes brilliantly with the slightly tart rhubarb.
WHAT OTHER FRUITS CAN YOU PUT IN A CRUMBLE?
Crumble is such a versatile dessert which goes with all sorts of fruit. Apple crumble is a classic. Mixed berries, plums or even apple and blackberries go really well with crumble.
WHAT CAN I SERVE WITH RHUBARB CRUMBLE?
Rhubarb crumble is delicious on it’s own, but if you want to really enjoy it properly, try it with some vegan cream or ice cream.
I wanted this rhubarb crumble to be pretty classic with a buttery, crispy topping and absolutely full of tangy, bright rhubarb. The topping has the addition of oats for added goodness and a final sprinkle of brown sugar for extra crunch.
Notes:
Rhubarb releases a lot of water as it cooks. To stop the crumble being too soupy I use cornflour as my thickener. It thickens the juice and makes a lovey thick sauce without affecting the taste. Don’t use flour as it won’t taste nice as the flour won’t cook and will be gummy.
I suggest 100g/4oz of sugar depending on how tart you like your filling. I LOVE tart things, especially when topped with buttery crumble and melting ice cream, but I know some like their desserts sweeter so adjust by adding more sugar according to your preference.
Crumble is really simple to make it takes hardly any time to prepare. You don’t even have to cook the rhubarb first! Some recipes say to cook it first but I prefer not to as I find it makes the rhubarb too mushy.
Once you’ve cut the rhubarb, I like to place them in the dish to just double check the dish size and see if I want to add in any extra fruit, remember with all fruit crumbles the fruit will shrink as it cooks.
Next mix the cut fruit with the sugar and cornflour.
To make the crumble most recipes state that the butter should be rubbed into the flour but I find it makes a much nicer crumble if you simply melt the butter and then stir in the flour, oats and sugar. It’s a quicker method too!
It forms bigger clumps which are lovely and crunchy so leave the crumble lumpy before putting on the fruit. An extra sprinkle of brown sugar on top adds flavour and crunch.
- Rhubarb- You can use frozen if that’s all you can find.
- Oats- Please use porridge oats for this recipe rather than quick-cooking oats. It makes a huge difference to the texture of the crumble topping.
- Butter- Use a non-dairy spread.
- Sugar- Use a mix of caster and brown sugar or all caster is great here.
- Plain flour
Storage
If you actually have any leftovers, this crumble stores in the fridge for up to 4 days. But it also freezes really well too. You can freeze it before baking so you just have to pull it out of the freezer and bake it from frozen, or you can freeze any leftovers and simply microwave to heat it up.
Rhubarb Crumble
Equipment
- 1 Large Pie Dish
Ingredients
- 550g /20oz Rhubarb chopped into chunks
- 100g /4oz White Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Cornflour
- 150g /5oz Flour
- 100g /4oz Porridge oats
- 100g /4oz Vegan butter or margarine
- 100g /4oz Brown sugar Take out 2 tablespoons from this to sprinkle on top
Instructions
- Heat oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4
- Grease the pie dish and add in the rhubarb
- Stir in the cornflour and white sugar to the rhubarb
- Melt the butter and then stir in the flour, oats and brown sugar remembering to keep back 2 tablespoons of sugar for the top
- Stir together but do not break down any lumps
- Put on top of the rhubarb and sprinkle with remaining brown sugar
- Bake for 30 mins until golden brown
Did you make this recipe? Take a pic and share it on Instagram with the hashtag #aveggiecooks and tag @aveggiecooks__. I would love to see it!
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