The star of this recipe is the crumble which is so so easy to make – perfect for kids to make as it is completely foolproof. The recipe makes a full jar of the delicious crumble just like the one in the photo. Since I made this last weekend I have had to hide the jar as fistfuls were disappearing overnight! Think of crumbled home-baked cookies and you get the idea. The crumble will go on anything ………ice cream, fruit, custard for example and is delicious cold. This recipe has 3 parts to it, all very useful on their own i.e. poached rhubarb, custard and crumble. If you don’t make the rhubarb or the custard please give the crumble a go – eat it on its own or serve it with some fruit e.g. strawberries and ice cream or natural yogurt.  I have rhubarb growing in my garden so I am always looking for recipes to use it up as I hate wasting it. It is the easiest plant in the world to grow, needs absolutely no care or attention so if you have any space at all buy a couple of plants and you will have a supply year after year. 

The recipe is one I came across in a book called Fruit by Hugh Fearnley- Whittingstall from River Cottage.

Ingredients

Crumble
225g plain flour
Pinch fine sea salt
200g cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
150g demerara sugar
100g porridge oats

Rhubarb
400g rhubarb, cut into 4-5cm lengths
40g caster sugar
2 tablespoons water

Custard
125ml double cream
125ml whole milk
½ vanilla pod, slit open lengthways
2 large free-range egg yolks
40g caster sugar
1 teaspoon cornflour

How to make it!

Crumble

• Preheat oven to 180° C /Gas Mark 4
• Put all the ingredients into a large bowl.
• Rub together with your fingertips until you have a crumble dough, then squeeze in your hands to form clumps
• Crumble these on to a large, lipped baking tray and spread out evenly
• Bake for about 25 minutes until golden brown and crisp, giving the whole thing a good stir halfway through
• Leave to cool
• Store in an airtight container where it will keep for a couple of weeks if you are lucky!

 

Rhubarb

• Put the rhubarb into a large saucepan with the sugar and water.
• Heat gently until the juices start to run then give it a stir.
• Cover and cook gently for 10-15 mins, moving the pieces around carefully once or twice to ensure it is cooking evenly until tender – ideally you want most of the pieces to hold their shape.

Custard

• Put the cream, milk and vanilla pod in a saucepan and bring to just below the boil.
• Set aside to infuse for 10 minutes
• Beat the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour together in a bowl until smooth
• Slowly pour on the hot cream, whisking all the time
• Pour back into the pan and heat gently stirring with a wooden spoon, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon – don’t let it boil.
• Strain and either leave to cool or serve straight away

Serve the rhubarb with the custard with a good scattering of the crumble on top.

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