Rhubarb and apple crumble

Rhubarb and apple crumble

Rhubarb and apple crumble

After reminiscing about rhubarb and custard I decided to make a quick rhubarb and apple crumple since I had some rhubarb left over and some apples were falling from the tree outside. Using dairy-free margarine instead of butter can make for a different kind of crumble mix at times but I have tried this combination a few times and it provides enough crunch to get away with it.

Wonderful colour!

Ingredients:

400g rhubarb trimmed and cut into 3cm pieces
5 apples peeled, cored and cut into 3cm pieces
2 tbsp light muscovado sugar
1 stem ginger, finely chopped
160g dairy-free margarine
180g gluten-free plain flour
60g light muscovado sugar
25g gluten-free oats

Preheat the oven to 180C. In a large pan, place the prepared rhubarb, apple, sugar and ginger and heat over a medium heat until the apple softens and the rhubarb begins to break (about 5 minutes). Place into an oven proof dish.

Deconstructed rhubarb

Softened apple

In a large mixing bowl, add the flour and margarine (in this order) and using your fingertips, rub together until you get large breadcrumbs. Add the muscovado sugar and oats and mix in with your finger being careful not to work the crumble mix too much as this will remove the breadcrumbs. 

Freefrom crumble

Sprinkle the crumble mix on top of the rhubarb and carefully spread to cover evenly. Pop into the oven for about 40 minutes or until the crumble browns and you can just start to see the rhubarb and apple bubbling through at the sides. Serve warm with custard and enjoy!

So good and colourful

So, would you mix apples with rhubarb?

Sticky ginger and rhubarb pudding with rice milk custard

Rhubarb and custard

Sticky ginger and rhubarb pudding with rice milk custard

Rhubarb and custard is a combination which you either love or hate. As a lover of sour as well as sweet, rhubarb conjures up fond childhood memories of rhubarb crumble with lashings of custard. Now that I am supposedly more grown-up I decided to try something a little bit different. Since tartness is not to everyone’s liking I decided to try to incorporate rhubarb into a pudding with ginger to compliment the flavours. 

Alas, making custard with rice milk is fraught with problems due to the thinness of the rice milk. Hence I decided upon using custard powder as a way around this problem.

Rhubarb

Ingredients:

6 tbsp of the syrup from stem ginger in syrup

2 pieces stem ginger in syrup

400g rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 2.5cm lengths

2 tbsp caster sugar

90g caster sugar

150g dairy free margarine

2 large eggs, beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

175g gluten-free self-raising flour

250ml rice milk plus a little extra

2 tbsp custard powder

1 tbsp caster sugar

In a large pan over a medium heat, place the rhubarb, 2 tablespoons of ginger syrup and 2 tablespoons of caster sugar. Stir occasionally until the rhubarb begins to soften and bubble. Reduce the heat to low and leave to simmer for about 20 minutes, remembering to stir to avoid the rhubarb catching. Leave to cool.

Rhubarb puree

Meanwhile, prepare the sponge mixture. Dice the ginger finely.

Stem ginger

In a large mixing bowl, beat the remaining sugar and margarine together until light and creamy. Gradually add the eggs and then fold in the flour, chopped ginger, cooled rhubarb and vanilla. 

Chopped!

Grease a pudding basin and then add 4 tablespoons of ginger syrup into the base. Pour the mix into the prepared pudding basin then pop into the oven for 45 minutes until golden brown on top. Leave in the basin for 10 minutes before popping out. 

Not great looking...

In the meantime prepare the custard. Pour the milk into a saucepan and over a medium heat bring to almost boiling point. Mix the custard powder, 1 tablespoon of sugar in a cup with enough milk to cover the custard powder and mix until all the lumps have gone. When the milk is just about to reach boiling point, pour in the custard paste and continually mix together to avoid lumps. Continue to mix until the custard has thickened.

Serve slices of the pudding with the custard. This pudding actually tastes better the next day after the ginger and rhubarb have has time to infuse fully. 

...but tastes heavenly!

So, are you a fan of rhubarb and custard?

Rhubarb and orange muffins with coconut crumble

Rhubarb and orange muffins with coconut crumble

Rhubarb is back in season so what better way than to start a week of rhubarb recipes. Rhubarb crumble is a childhood classic which fills some with dread especially those who cannot fathom why sour sweets are so popular. Rhubarb can be difficult to work into sweet dishes as the knack is in adding sweetness without overpowering the sour essence of rhubarb. It must be hard trying to sell the rhubarb taste to children but it is a fruit which offers traditional medicinal benefits.

The first offering is a muffin which is not too sweet but at the same time brings lots of flavour and texture in a form which might appeal to children and adults alike!

Ingredients:

180g dairy-free margarine

180g caster sugar

3 eggs

300g self-raising gluten-free flour

few drops vanilla essence

Grated rind from 1 orange

3 rhubarb stalks

75g dairy-free margarine

75g plain gluten-free flour

20g caster sugar

2 tbsp dessicated and toasted coconut

Prepare the crumble mix by rubbing the margarine and gluten free flour together in a bowl with cold hands. Mrs NMFS has the coldest hands that I know of so hers are ideal! Once you have what looks like fine breadcrumbs stir in the sugar and toasted coconut. Set aside in the fridge until you need it later.

Preheat the oven to 180C and pop 12 muffin cases into a muffin tray. Now to prepare the easy muffin mix.

Cream the margarine and sugar together until soft and light. Slowly add the eggs, one at a time. Add the flour and fold into the mix together with the orange rind and vanilla.

Wash and cut the rhubarb into pieces.

Spoon 1 heaped tablespoon of the mix into each muffin case until all of the mix is used up. Lightly press 3-4 pieces of the rhubarb on top of the mix depending on how large you cut the rhubarb. Spoon 1 even tablespoon of the crumble on top of the rhubarb.

Place in the oven for about 45-50 minutes.

Mrs NMFS's response when I told her of the combination of flavours and as she tried a piece was to say "It's interesting!" I was left to ponder for some time whether that was a good thing or not! Apparently it was a good interesting which was such a relief.

Have you tried a new flavour combination which also interested others?