Rhubarb Crumbles with Strawberry and Elderflower Cream
This gluten free recipe is ideal for using up a rhubarb glut, as always seems to be the case at this time of year.
If you prefer you can opt for a 600g / 1 lb 5 oz rhubarb and 350g / 12 oz strawberry mix for the crumble – I just prefer a tarter pudding and a sweeter strawberry cream. Raspberries also work so well with the rhubarb, when properly in season. Whichever fruit you choose, add 70g of sugar to your fruit mix & then add in a tablespoon at a time extra to taste. If you’re after another crumble recipe, try our delicious Apple and Blackberry Crumble recipe here.
Makes 1 large crumble or 8 smaller ones
Suitable for: gluten free
Store: 3 days in the fridge. Freezes well
Can be reheated
Fruit Mixture Ingredients:
900g / 2 lb rhubarb, chopped
70g / 2 ½ oz light muscovado sugar (more if needed)
2 tbsp orange juice
Gluten free Crumble Topping Ingredients:
100g / 3 ½ oz almonds, toasted and roughly chopped
55g / 2 oz ground almonds
100g / 3 ½ oz light muscovado sugar
90g / 3 ¼ oz polenta
85g / 3 oz chilled butter, cubed
1 tbsp light brown sugar for sprinkling
Strawberry Cream Ingredients:
330ml whipping cream
200g / 7 oz strawberries (to make 6 tbsp strawberry coulis)
5 tsp elderflower cordial
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4. Wash & chop the rhubarb into chunks. Pop these into a pan with the orange juice and put the sugar over the top, lest it burns at the bottom of the pan. Put a lid on the pan and simmer on a gentle heat for a good 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. The rhubarb needs to be frayed around the edges, with some chunky bits still left.
Toast the almonds – spread out on a baking sheet and pop into your preheated oven for 3-4 minutes. They want to have just started to darken. Then chop either by hand or briefly blitz in the food processor – you need them quite chunky.
Add the almonds to the other crumble ingredients and rub in the butter to the dry ingredients using your finger tips. You can use the food processor but don’t blitz the chopped almonds (add them after blitzing). You’re aiming for a rustic-looking crumble, so odd blobs of butter coated in crumb are fine.
Fill 8 ramekins with the cooked rhubarb mixture, then top with the crumble (alternatively, you could use one large dish – 25cm x 15cm is ideal or 18cm diameter). Sprinkle a tablespoon of sugar over the top; then bake for 15 minutes or until dark golden and bubbling.
For the strawberry cream, place the hulled strawberries in a pan on a gentle heat. They’ll be soft enough after 10 minutes. Press through a sieve with a wooden spoon & collect the juice.
Add the juice & elderflower cordial to the cream & whiz using an electric hand mixer until you get an airy soft mousse. Serve alongside the warm crumbles.
