I'll keep it short and sweet this month...I'm not even going to talk about my monthly blog target. All I will say is I hope by year end to have averaged out at the right level... SORRY. In the UK we're in peak rhubarb season. I have a bit of a rhubarb problem, not helped by the fact I recently discovered a huge patch of it in my new garden. Hallelujah for the previous owners. Now to put it to work, beautiful ingredients don't need fancy things to happen to become great. I've opted for a crumble, with a generous crumble layer (don't @ me, scrimpy crumble folks) and a bit of blood orange to give a citrus kick. Enjoy! Let me know how you get on, always love seeing your bakes! Andrew x
Ingredients - Feeds 6 hungry folks
For the fruity layer
500g trimmed rhubarb
3 tbsp blood orange juice (or orange juice)
100g golden caster sugar
1/2 tsp cornflour
For the crumble
180g self-raising flour
110g chilled butter
65g light muscovado sugar (or caster/golden caster)
40g whole rolled oats
30g flaked almonds (or other nuts in the back of the cupboard)
To finish
A dollop of ice cream, creme fraiche, custard or your dairy of choosing
Kit
A 10"x 6" rectangular baking dish or 9" diameter circular dish
Method
Chop the rhubarb into thumb-sized pieces and add to a large saucepan with the orange juice and golden caster sugar. Stir gently over a low heat for 15 minutes until softened but still holding its shape. Add a little of the juices from the pan to the cornflour in a small bowl before adding back into the pan to help thicken. Tip into your baking dish and set aside.
Preheat the oven to fan 180C (200C conventional). Finely cube the chilled butter and add to the flour. Rub between your fingers (or use a food processor) until it resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar, oats and almonds and compress together then break into various sized chunks.
Cover the rhubarb with the crumble topping and place in theb middle shelf of the oven for 20-25 mins until golden brown. Keep a close eye on the topping as it can brown quickly! Leave to cool for 30 minutes before eating, I recommend a generous portion of vanilla custard. Bon appetit!
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