It is finally rhubarb season here. So this means that any visitation of any grandmother will end with huge stalks of rhubarb, dozens of eggs, and god knows what else. I love everything that comes from the country in summer, that I will take all the rhubarb that is thrown my way and make these Easy rhubarb crumble bars. They are tangy with a sweet crumb. Wonderful little treats.
How to make a rhubarb crumble?
You will need fresh rhubarb, lots of sugar, butter, flour, and a little bit of patience. The recipe itself is super easy to make, but you will need patience in order not to eat the whole thing while it is still hot. Unless you top it with some ice cream, in which case that is okay.
To make the perfect rhubarb crisp without oats, you will need cold butter. While you can do this with a hand mixer or a food processor, it really takes just a minute or two to mush that butter with the sugar, vanilla, and flour and it is kind of relaxing to do so.
The size of the crumbs is up to you, the ones at the bottom will be pressed out to be flat and form a base layer, but the top ones can be large, small, or both.
There are many rhubarb crumble recipes and they will all be great. But this one is super versatile and can be used for many different kinds of pans. Since the thickness of these crumble bars is totally up to you, a lot of pans will work. If I didn’t have this square casserole dish, I would use a spring for the pan, resulting in around dessert instead of a squared one. These easy rhubarb crumble bars could also be made in a skillet, but mind the size because there are enough crumbs for a pretty large pan.
For the perfect golden brown easy rhubarb crumble you should cook it in the oven for at least 50 minutes. After that, it is important to watch the crumble in the oven and take it out once it has reached the desired color.
After it has cooled completely, it can be cut into little squares – bars and eaten. You can also just eat it with a spoon from the pan it came in, because when you cook a whole dessert for yourself, who is there to stop you?
Rhubarb is the essence of summer and reminds me of childhood. When I and my cousins would just eat it while dipping it in a bowl of sugar. Dip, bite, dip, bite, and so on. And we would finish whole large stalks of rhubarb a day. Good thing it is full of beneficial vitamins and tasty as well!
How to serve rhubarb crumble bars?
You can serve them hot with some vanilla ice cream on top.
Let them cool completely and cut into bars as we did here.
Serve as pieces of cake, eaten with a fork.
Pair with some strawberry compote to bring some more sweetness.
Easy rhubarb crumble bars
Ingredients
Crumble
- 250 g cold butter
- 300 g flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 250 g sugar
Rhubarb filling
- 50 g sugar
- 5 stalks of rhubarb diced
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 190°C
- Mix the rhubarb with the lemon juice, cornstarch and 50g of sugar
- In a separate bowl combine all the other ingredients and mush together with your hands to make the crumbs
- Line a pan with some parchment paper and place ½ of the crumb mixture in there
- Using the bottom of a glass or a ramekin, press together
- Drain the rhubarb and place in the pan
- Top with the rest of the crumbs
- Place in the oven and cook for 55 minutes
- Remove and let cool completely before serving