Rhubarb is an absolute bawse. Posing as a fruit, this pink master of disguise – used primarily in cakes, puddings and crumbles – is actually a vegetable! Its tender stalks are beautifully pink on the outside but super sour on the inside. It’s best prepared with sugar to counterbalance its lip-smacking tartness.
How to prepare rhubarb
Wash your rhubarb before topping and tailing it. Cut it into batons, chunks or slices, ready for cooking.
To bake rhubarb, place it in an ovenproof dish, scatter over some sugar (a 5:1 ratio of rhubarb to sugar) and cover it with foil before popping in a moderate oven for about 15 mins. It should be soft but still holding its shape when ready. Alternatively, to stew or poach rhubarb, put it in a pan with the sugar and a dash of water. Allow it to simmer for about 10 minutes, or longer if you prefer a jammy or compote type consistency. You might also like to substitute the sugar for a different sweetener, such as honey, maple syrup, golden syrup or agave, or experiment with the ratios to create the perfect level of sugary tartness for your taste.
Serve the cooked rhubarb with a simple scoop of vanilla ice cream, swirl it into no-bake cheesecakes or pile it high on a pavlova. It’s also delicious as a scone filling, folded into fools, possets and syllabubs or served with vanilla custard.
The beauty of this pink vegetable is that you can also add it to cakes, pies, puddings and crumbles without pre-cooking.
How to cook rhubarb in a pie
Combine chunks of fresh rhubarb with sugar and cornflour in a pie dish before topping with shortcrust pastry and sprinkling on more sugar. The rhubarb will soften in the oven and the cornflour will thicken the juices to create a scrumptious sauce. Here’s a fantastic rhubarb pie recipe with all the specifics.
How to cook rhubarb in a cake
Fold batons of rhubarb into a vanilla cake batter and bake as normal; you’ll get pockets of juicy, jammy rhubarb dotted throughout the cake that lend it a gorgeously tart flavour. Why not save some rhubarb to scatter across the top or arrange it artistically for a stunning bake as detailed in this striking rhubarb cake? Sprinkle over demerara sugar for more crunch or pile on a streusel topping.
How to cook rhubarb in a pudding
Make a spicy rhubarb and ginger pudding by topping a dish of sugary rhubarb with some traditional pound cake batter that’s been spiked with ground ginger. You can oven bake for convenience or steam it gently in a pudding basin for a tender texture. Whatever cooking method you choose, the buttery cake and the sourness of the rhubarb are delicious served with pouring cream.
How to cook rhubarb in crumbles, streusels and cobblers
Rhubarb crumbles are perfect. A simple mix of rhubarb, sugar and cornflour topped with a crumbly mixture of flour, butter and more sugar, this traditional pud is the very definition of comfort, especially when served alongside a jug of vanilla-scented custard. This recipe for rhubarb crumble is a bit special because you freeze the crumble mix first to achieve a gnarlier, crunchier topping. You can easily switch the crumble for a streusel, cobbler or slump topping too!
