3 can't-miss rhubarb recipes

And rhubarb is great for making pies, cakes, and crisps. Its tart flavor adds a nice zing to jams and jellies, too.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp

There are few things easier than a nice fruit crisp. That’s mostly because a crisp is like a pie, except there’s no crust to roll out.

This recipe for strawberry-rhubarb crisp comes from Food 52. It has a few more ingredients than most – i.e. the orange zest and juice – but it’s still pretty simple to make.

Ingredients

For the streusel:

• 1 cup flour
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 4 teaspoons white sugar
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 6 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces at room temperature

For the filling:

• 4 cups strawberries, hulled and quartered
• 4 cups rhubarb, cut into ½-inch pieces
• ¾ cup sugar
• ½ teaspoon orange zest
• Pinch of salt
• 3 tablespoons orange juice
• 2 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Make the streusel: In a bowl, combine the flour, both sugars, the baking powder and salt. Use your fingers (or a pastry blender) to work in the butter. The mixture should be chunky with no visible pieces of butter remaining. Refrigerate streusel while you assemble the fruit mixture.

In a large bowl, combine all filling ingredients. Toss to combine.

Place the filling in an 8-by-8-inch pan. Sprinkle the streusel topping over in an even layer. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until the fruit is bubbling and the topping is browned.

Serve warm with ice cream.

Rhubarb Coffee Cake

Every year I ask the other Michael what he wants for his birthday cake (his birthday is May 13), and every year he asks for this cake. It makes me feel guilty because it is so easy to make. You really just mix everything together in a bowl, and then scrape it into a pan. Top with the streusel topping, and bake.

I have to admit that, despite how easy it is to make, it is pretty delicious, especially when served with sweetened whipped cream.

This recipe is from Myrecipes.com.

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 ¼ cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup sour cream
• 3 cups diced rhubarb

For the Streusel:

• 1 cup sugar
• ¼ cup butter, softened
• ¼ cup flour
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.

Stir together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Mix in the eggs and sour cream until smooth. Fold in the diced rhubarb. Spread into your prepared pan and smooth evenly.

Now, make the streusel. Stir together the sugar and butter in a medium bowl until smooth, Stir in the flour until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle mixture on top of the cake and then dust lightly with the cinnamon.

Bake for 45 minutes.

Serve with sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Rhubarb Swirl Bars

This recipe is from the folks at King Arthur Flour. They are easy to make and pretty to look at. One note: if your rhubarb is more green than red in color, you can add a drop or two of red food coloring to get that beautiful crimson swirl. Another note: if you don’t want to make rhubarb jam, you can substitute pre-made jam. Strawberry and raspberry work great. If you do use a pre-made jam, you’ll need about ¾ cup.

Ingredients

For the rhubarb jam:

• 1 ½ cups (180 grams) diced rhubarb
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

For the bars:

• 1 1/3 cups brown sugar, packed
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 10 tablespoons butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 ½ cups flour
• ½ teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8-by-8-inch square pan with cooking spray. Set aside.

To make the jam:

In a small pan, combine the rhubarb, sugar, water, and salt. Cook over medium-high heat until the mixture comes to a boil (about 2 minutes). Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the rhubarb breaks down and the mixture is jammy. This can take between 5 and 15 minutes.

Remove the rhubarb jam from the heat and stir in the vanilla and lemon juice. Transfer mixture to a small bowl (you should have about ¾ cup).

To make the bars:

In a medium bowl combine the brown sugar, salt and vanilla.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Pour melted butter directly over the brown sugar mixture. Stir to combine. As you stir, the mixture will become thicker and slightly lighten in color. Add the eggs and continue whisking until combined.

Mix in the flour and baking powder until no streaks of flour remain.

Scrape the batter into your prepared pan and spread evenly to the edges. Dollop heaping scoops of the rhubarb jam over the top of the batter, and then use a toothpick or a butter knife to gently swirl the jam into the batter.

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the center is set. Cool bars completely before slicing and serving.