I love rhubarb and feel like doing a little happy dance every year when it comes into season. Just as the small amount of rhubarb that grows in our garden was starting to call out to me “pick me, pick me”, I came across a very nice looking recipe on the White on Rice Couple’s blog. So, I thought I’d give it a go – although I was a little cheeky and altered the recipe here and there. My result is also a little different due to the shape of the dish I baked mine in. Therefore, I felt it more appropriate to name it Squares as opposed to Bars. Also, I had a little rhubarb left over, so I made a compote to go along with the Squares.
My little helper joined me for this baking project. As always, she was very excited about this and it was a nice Sunday afternoon activity to do together – it has to be said though, it wasn’t without its power struggles. Then again, nothing new there :)
For the Streusel
1/2 cup (115g) butter, melted (plus a little extra for greasing the baking tray)
3/4 cup (160g) light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon (2g) sea salt
1 1/4 cup (160g) all-purpose flour
For the Squares
1 lb (450g) rhubarb, cut into 1 cm pieces
1 1/2 tablespoon (15g) light brown Sugar
1 1/3 cup (200g) all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon (3g) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon (3g) sea salt
3/4 cup (170g) butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cup (140g) icing sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
3/4 teaspoon (3ml) pure vanilla extract or seeds from 1 vanilla pod
Icing sugar for dusting the top
Preheat oven to 170° C/350° F. Line a medium sized baking tray or dish with greaseproof paper, leaving an overhang on the sides. Butter and flour the lined pan/dish, tapping out excess flour.
The Streusel: Whisk together butter, brown sugar, and salt. Add flour and mix together using a fork or your fingers to create large crumbs. Refrigerate until ready to use.
The Cake: In a medium bowl, combine rhubarb, brown sugar, and 1/3 cup (50g) of flour. Sift or whisk together remaining flour, baking powder, and salt, then set aside.
In a mixer, beat butter and icing sugar until light and fluffy. Slowly add eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour mix until just incorporated.
Spread batter in prepared pan, top with rhubarb mix then top with streusel topping.
Bake for 50-55 minutes or until golden and a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool in pan, then remove from pan using the overhanging parchment tabs.
Cut into squares and dust with icing sugar. Serve with crème fraiche, whipped cream or ice cream.
The Compote: As mentioned above, I made a compote with the remaining rhubarb. It is nice to serve a small amount of this along with the squares and cream. To make the compote, I simply cut the rhubarb into bite-sized pieces and placed them in a saucepan with a splash of water, a splash of ginger wine (only because I had it – you could use more water), a good sprinkling of sugar and the empty pod from the cake recipe. Bring to the boil and simmer on a low heat for 15 minutes or until the rhubarb is soft. Leave to cool.
