Rhabarberberry Crumble
Medjool dates. Dark chocolate with salt. Meringue. Nougat. Chocolate chip cookies. There are certain foods that make my eyes grow large and the corners of my mouth go up. Any recipe making mention of those above sweets goes right into my “to bake” file. Rhubarb is another favorite of mine and I love its name in German: Rhabarber. When the season was in full swing here in Zürich last May, I was buying fresh bundles of vibrant rhubarb almost weekly at the market. Baked into tarts, cakes, jams and even rhubarb roll-ups! That peak season hasn’t quite arrived yet, but the first stalks are here. Strawberries too, from Spain rather than the local Swiss variety (small and softer) that will come in later summer months. Armed with rhubarb and strawberries,… it was time to get baking.
And it was time to mark the beginning of spring too, finally as many would say! What better way to do that than bake a rhubarb crumble and fill my apartment with colorful, aromatic flowers.
And just look at all those tulips below (at Zürich’s Bürkliplatz Markt). I got one of each color!
Since many of you reading don’t have fresh rhubarb where you live, I decided to use frozen; that way you can make this recipe wherever you are and all year round (which I’ll be doing for sure). One of my favorite jams to make is rhubarb, raspberry and strawberry. So into my rhubarb crumble went some frozen raspberries (of which I always have in my freezer) and a handful of fresh strawberries. For a little surprise at the bottom of the ramekin, in went some blueberries too. My inspiration came from Tartlette, who made gluten-free rhubarb and red berry crumbles with honey and cardamom, and from Desserts for Breakfast (what a great name – and idea !), who made strawberry rhubarb crumbles with orange juice and zest. Aha! I didn’t add any spices to my fruit filling, but I did like the idea of freshly squeezed orange juice. All of the flavors blended so nicely and the orange was a perfectly subtle touch. I’m ready to make this recipe below again. And when I do, I’m doubling the amount of crumble!
Rhabarberberry Crumble
Makes 6 individual ramekins
Fruit filling
about 3 1/2 cups frozen (or fresh) rhubarb chunks
1 cup frozen (or fresh) raspberries
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
6 medium strawberries, hulled and halved
4 Tablespoons cornstarch
3 Tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
Crumble topping
1 cup flour
2 big pinches fleur de sel
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, cold
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius).
Prepare the fruit filling. You don’t need to defrost the rhubarb and/or raspberries if frozen. In a large bowl, toss all ingredients together and make sure the cornstarch and orange juice are well distributed. Spoon into ramekins (2 strawberry halves in each) and set aside.
Make the crumble topping. Combine all of the ingredients except the butter in a bowl. Mix together. Using your fingertips, work the butter into the flour mixture (you can also use a pastry cutter or fork, but it’s more fun with your hands!). Continue until the butter is evenly distributed throughout the mixture, which should resemble… crumbs. Top the ramekins generously with the crumb topping, pressing down lightly and making sure none of the fruit is exposed.
Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the fruit bubbles up and inevitably runs down the sides of the ramekins. The topping should be golden brown. Remove and let cool before serving. Serve warm and top with a scoop of ice cream if you’d like. If you don’t serve them right away, you can reheat at 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius) for about 5-10 minutes. But they are quite delicious served cold too.
April 8th, 2010 at 18:39
oh, yum yum YUM. i’m glad you tried the fresh squeezed OJ with the rhubarb and berries. I think I”m going to have to make crumbles again, too–with blueberries this time. I love the idea of a hint of blue in there. 😀
April 8th, 2010 at 18:42
Ok…this one has my name on it all over the place. The crumble is a perfect dessert for anytime of the year especially with a scoop of vanilla ice cream! I want to give your recipe a try! The only problem is that I will eat all the crumble before the fruit filling is ready! My favorite photo in this post is of all the wonderful tulips. How glorious! How spring! Yes, I would have taken one of each color too. Thank you for giving me a bit of springtime in Zurich!!!!
April 8th, 2010 at 18:58
oh lovely jovely!! I want some of that! Happy Spring!
April 8th, 2010 at 19:35
This looks like a perfect end to a meal. Or maybe a meal in itself!
April 8th, 2010 at 22:18
Those tuplips are wonderful (am drinking wine so thought I’d leave my spelling error in for you). Very amused by the name Rhabarber. It sounds like a cross between two 70s kids tv shows, “Rhubarb & Custard” and “Barba Papa”. I reallly love that tea towel that’s lurking under one of those shots too.
April 8th, 2010 at 22:49
Beautiful spring flowers. I remember the tiny strawberries when I visited Switzerland some years ago. I love your rhubarb crumbles.
April 9th, 2010 at 00:56
Steph, I am so glad I discovered your blog, and in time for that recipe. This crumble is a winner, can’t wait to make it again already ! You’ll have to let me know when you do too, and with blueberries. Everything’s better with a little blue – my favorite color ! 🙂
Lani, so true, crumbles are perfect all year round. And I am so excited that the recipe worked so well with frozen rhubarb, I had never tried that before. And I’m so with you – the crumble is the best part, yum !
anushruti, a meal in itself did you say ? It was actually my lunch today ! 😉
Sarah, I love the name Rhabarber too – even without having any wine, ha ha ! I don’t know “Rhubarb & Custard” but I do know the French cartoon “Barbe à Papa” – which means cotton candy. Oooh, rhubarb flavored cotton candy, ha ha !
barbara, thank you so much. Time to revisit Switzerland, no ? And just in time for strawberry season 🙂
April 9th, 2010 at 10:00
Before I even go back and read the entire blog post I have to stop and lick my screen and drool over the crumble a bit. And I will definitely be trying this recipe. Convinced! Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous!
April 9th, 2010 at 10:23
OMG Kerrin it is so easy! You have inspired me to try rhubarb! I love this recipe, love crumble, love rhubarb and this will really be a huge hit here this spring and summer. And I love tulips and summer berries and your photos are bringing spring right into my home!
April 9th, 2010 at 13:25
Oh la la, qu’elles sont belles ces images! Tu as dû être inspirée par un vrai maître de la photographie…
April 9th, 2010 at 14:37
have you set the table for jamie, deeba, you and me? thanks – these look just perfect! i especially like the fleur de sel kick in the topping. i usually add nuts or oats/granola into the topping too for a crunch. i see i need to seriously come to zurich – crumble and gorgeous colorful flowers and not to mention great sweet girlie talk!
April 9th, 2010 at 14:56
Mmmmm yum. I like the coloring on your ramekins, they’re somewhat spring-like too. Those tulips next to the rhabarber (that’s really fun to say out loud) are gorgeous! Morrrrrre marrrrrrrrrket picturrrrrrrres, please!
April 9th, 2010 at 16:49
Jamie, crumbles in general are simple to make. But I make them even simpler ! 😉 I can’t believe you have never baked with rhubarb before – you definitely have to make this, but just a warning – you’ll be hooked thereafter ! Glad I could bring a bit of spring – and inspiration – into your kitchen ! Let us know how it goes…
iain, un grand merci ! Je suis inspirée de tout le monde, de partout, et tout le temps… ! 🙂
Meeta, yes you are so right – that table is set for us 4 ladies ! So come on over, what are you waiting for ?! I’m sure by now you have picked up on my love for fleur de sel ! 😉 I like your idea of an extra crunch in the topping – that’s what I’ll be doing next time for sure, thanks !
Emma, thanks !! And see – isn’t that word Rhabarber great ?! I love it ! haha ! With spring and summer markets ahead, there will be plenty more photo opps… ! 🙂
April 9th, 2010 at 17:28
This looks (and sounds) sooo delicious. I LOVE desserts with berries!
April 9th, 2010 at 18:11
Thank you Kerrin for such an incredible website. The photo’s, food, recipes…amazing.
I especially loved the macaron issue. Can’t wait for the next one. Thanks again!
April 9th, 2010 at 19:27
Meeta and Kerrin – no oats for me in my topping and i’ll give you one reason: his initials are JP! Too bad! But I am really intrigued by the fleur de sel too.
And packing my bags; I hope Olivier is ready for a girl’s night of eating, gossiping and giggling!
April 9th, 2010 at 19:42
Yum crumble!! Simply one of the best family desserts of all time. This looks delicious. x
April 10th, 2010 at 01:06
When you mentioned you were making crumbles, I had to make one here, too. A mixed fruit crumble to be precise. But I wish I had seen your recipe first. Fleur de sel in the crumble? Genius! 🙂
April 12th, 2010 at 00:13
So glad to discover your blog since we just enjoyed the English version at our local last night. After my German mother-in-law’s exclamations over the divine “rhubarber” crumble I have resolved to create it at home. We are completely enamored with the English addition of warm custard over the the top….mmm,mmm!
April 12th, 2010 at 15:23
Rhabarber-berry: I love it! =) Gorgeous, gorgeous post my darling. Crumble has to be one of my all time favourites. *Loving* all those tulips. Hope your ‘project’ is going well, and hope it’s almost over? xxx
April 12th, 2010 at 17:09
yum. i was just oogling rhubarb at the grocery store today. now i’m oogling those dishtowels in your first photo. where, oh, where did you procure those?
April 13th, 2010 at 00:34
Erica, me too – I love all sorts of desserts with berries, especially crumbles !
Trisha, thank you so much for your sweet words, much appreciated.
Jamie, you’re on – giggling, gossiping and eating… and we can have oat-filled crumbles if it’s an all-girls night ! ha ha !
diva, oh yes, crumble is a classic – family style *and* solo !
Julia, oooh a mixed fruit crumble sounds awfully good to me. I’m curious about your topping, bet it was divine. And yes, absolutely, next time – grab that fleur de sel !! I love using it in desserts… and in granola… and with dark chocolate most of all.
gloria, you’ll have to let me know when you make the “rhubarber crumble” – and how it goes. 🙂 And topped with warm custard or whipped cream… iced cream… you can’t go wrong ! Even just powdered sugar. Enjoy !
Mowie, I knew you’d love this post – the German Rhabarber and the tulips, oh yes ! So for you, right ?!
katy, so did you buy that rhubarb you had your eye on at the store ?! The dish towel is from a very exotic place… New York City ! ha ha ! A gift from my mom, and it may be hard to tell, but it actually says, “Les Macarons’ ! 🙂
April 13th, 2010 at 18:13
I am so ENVIOUS of this gorgeous crumble. baking with fruit is right up my street, and crumbles are #1!! These are just awesome Kerrin…nom nom nom! Maybe I shall try this with stone fruit a little later in the season!
April 20th, 2010 at 04:39
I love the idea of using orange juice to meld all the flavours! I am so curious about the taste of rhubarbs. Your crumble looks absolutely gorgeous!
April 28th, 2010 at 12:30
I should have known better than to read one of your entries BEFORE lunch!!!! Now I’m absolutely starving and desperate for something delicious. Like crumble!!!
May 13th, 2010 at 22:29
Ok… seriously!? That looks AMAZING! you were right, I so should have made that for my dinner party last weekend…. Well next time. And those photos, I could just pick those crumbles right off the top!
xoxox
May 23rd, 2010 at 23:01
Hi Kerrin,
I love your photography and writing — and I love rhubarb too. A book I have says that in Zurich it seems to be more appreciated than anywhere else — do you think that’s true?
Before I saw your blog, I’d made a version of rhubarb crisp (kind of like crumble but it has oatmeal and sometimes nuts in the topping). I was dining solo so I made just ONE small dish of it, to keep myself from eating way too much.
Toby
p.s. I’m writing about rhubarb for the second time this season on my blog at at http://tobykitchen.com. I’ll put a link to your blog
June 4th, 2010 at 15:02
This caught my eye because I just finished baking up 5 kilos of rhubarb, which I pilfered from my mother’s garden. I made much of it into jam, but I also made a rhubarb raspberry crumble. Yours looks gorgeous, and I too love the name of rhubarb in German. It just sounds rhubarber than in English, and that’s a very good thing!
June 8th, 2010 at 17:42
deeba, the seasons are changing – and so are our crumbles. Crumbles are your #1, mmmm, can’t wait to see how you make them ! 🙂
Shaheen, thanks so much. I hope you have had the chance to taste rhubarb now, if so, let me know what you thought.
Scribetrotter, ha ha, yes you have done that before ! But what better than a crumble to spoil your lunch – or hey, FOR lunch ! 😉
toby, thank you so much. I just saw your post, I appreciate the mention, I see you love rhubarb just like I do ! Here’s the link for others interested: http://tobykitchen.wordpress.com/2010/05/24/another-rhubarb-appreciation/
What book did you see that information about Zurich in ? I’m curious for sure. I do think it’s a very popular item here; for the few months during rhubarb season, every stand at every market is just overflowing with it, and all local of course. But I don’t know if that’s not really the case in so many other places around the world.
Mary, oh wow, 5 kilos of rhubarb (I hope your mother didn’t mind !) – reminds me of when a friend brought me almost as much from his farm. I spent an entire weekend baking different recipes like you. What was your favorite ? Did you see my rhubarb roll ups ? It’s a fun recipe, and definitely something different:
http://mykugelhopf.ch/2009/05/rhubarb-roll-ups/
May 12th, 2011 at 06:32
Thank you so much for this recipe! It was perfect midweek inspiration for me and I got to use a lot of things that were just hanging out in my fridge and freezer. I wrote about it here: http://wp.me/pynbL-8v
Thanks again! I can’t wait to try some of your other recipes!