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Hi Bold Bakers!
It isn’t officially summer until there’s a baking dish filled with a red bubbling concoction of strawberry and rhubarb becoming the perfect combination of sweet and tart in my oven. Of course, strawberries and rhubarb both come into season in the late spring and early summer, so naturally, someone was bound to combine the two — but my love for Strawberry Rhubarb Crisps runs deeper than that!
I mentioned in my Best-Ever Peach Cobbler recipe that I love crisps, crumbles, and cobblers (my mum made sure those delicious desserts were a staple in my childhood), but strawberry rhubarb crisp is a huge favorite in Ireland. In fact, the county where I’m from, Wexford, is known for its famous strawberries. People come from all over come to buy “Wexford Strawberries,” stopping at roadside stalls to get the perfect red fruit during the always-too-short season of summer.
This strawberry rhubarb crisp is beyond easy to make, and it’s bound to become your favorite summer dessert too. The sweet strawberries and tart rhubarb cook down to an incredible jammy mixture, and the warm dish pairs perfectly with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
What Is Rhubarb?
Rhubarb is a confusing thing, for sure, but there’s a reason why it is such a popular treat! Rhubarb is a vegetable, and a sour one too. Its leaves are poisonous and you actually only eat the stalk, but, once you have rhubarb and strawberry, you’ll understand why it’s such a celebrated ingredient.
Besides just happening to share the same season, strawberries and rhubarb are naturally perfect for each other. Strawberries are incredibly sweet, and if you tried to make just a crisp with them alone it’d probably be too sugary to eat more than one bite. Rhubarb’s sourness turns that sweetness down, which is why the two go together like peanut butter and jelly.
But I know what you’re thinking: Yes, rhubarb looks like celery. No, it doesn’t taste similar. And guess what — they’re not even related.
Don’t let that deter you from one of the best summer desserts out there.
Crisp vs. Crumble
So, what’s the difference between a crisp and crumble, anyway? While both are delicious and baked on top of fruit, what makes these streusels different is their ingredients.
A crisp is typically made of brown sugar, flour, and butter. Meanwhile, a crumble is usually topped with rolled oats and brown sugar. Despite these differences, though, the words are regularly used interchangeably. But what’s in a name anyway?
What You Need To Make Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Mixing bowls
- An oven-safe 8- or 9-inch baking dish
How to Make Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
To me, a strawberry rhubarb crisp is even better than a pie. There’s no need to make and roll out a crust! Here are the basic steps (and don’t forget to get the full recipe with measurements, on the page down below):
- Pour strawberries, rhubarb, sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla extract into a baking dish.
- In a bowl, make the topping by combining flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, butter, vanilla extract, almond extract, and almonds.
- Stir the topping mixture until it looks like coarse crumbles.
- Spread topping on top of the fruit.
- Bake at 350°F (180°C) for an hour, or until the topping is a perfect golden brown and the fruit juices are bubbling.
- Allow the crisp to cool for 20 minutes, and serve with vanilla ice cream.
Gemma’s Pro Chef Tips for Making Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
- Using salted butter for your topping will give it more flavor.
- Frozen strawberries and rhubarb work just as well as fresh.
- Swap out strawberries and rhubarb for other seasonal fruits!
- Don’t skimp on the vanilla and almonds! These flavors are what make this crisp really unique.
- The flavor of this crisp gets even better as it sits, so be patient when it comes out of the oven. With time, the fruit becomes even more concentrated and delicious!
How Do I Store Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp?
The topping of this dessert can be made up to 3 days in advance and can be frozen for up to 4 weeks. Baked strawberry rhubarb crisp can be stored covered in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Make More Dessert!
And don’t forget to buy my Bigger Bolder Baking Cookbook!
Full (and printable) recipe below!
Try These Recipes!
Sublime Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp Recipe
Ingredients
Fruit Filling
- 3 cups (14oz/400g) strawberries, quartered
- 3 cups (14oz/400g) rhubarb, cut into 1 inch pieces
- ½ cup (4oz/115g) granulated sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Crisp Topping
- 1 cup (5oz/142g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (4oz/115g) sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ cup (4oz/115g) butter, melted
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- ½ cup (2 ½ oz/71g) almonds, finely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Combine strawberries, rhubarb, sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla extract and then pour into an 8 or 9-inch baking dish.
- To make the topping: In a bowl combine flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, butter, vanilla extract, almond extract, and almonds and stir together until the topping resembles coarse crumbles.
- Spread topping evenly over the strawberry rhubarb mixture and place in the oven.
- Bake for one hour, or until the topping is golden brown and juices are bubbling.
- Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or softly whipped cream. Store leftovers in the fridge covered for up to 3 days.
This recipe is super tasty and easy. My husband wasn’t too excited when I told him I was putting this together, but he asked for seconds and thirds once it was ready!
Beyond Excellent, Decadent, Addicting & certainly Sublime! Easy too!
Received rave reviews for this outstanding Red, White & Blue recipe.
I reduced Cane Sugar in fruit filling & crisp topping to 1/4th cup each…..may do even less next time.
Due to a Cornstarch allergy, I substituted Flour.
I didn’t have Rhubarb, so I substituted 1.5 Apples, handful of Blueberries & a few soaked Raisins.
WOW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can’t wait to make this again!
Happy July 4th!
And THANKS Gemma!
So where do I get a Wexford strawberry???
American berries not so good!!!
Question regarding the “sugar” in the crisp ingredients, is it brown sugar? Thanks. I used granulated for both so hope the crisp will be ok.
Followed the recipe exactly and the ‘crumble’ was lumpy, couldn’t reduce it to a proper crumble finish although tried with fingers for ages . Very disappointed. Don’t know what I did wrong
This looks wonderful!! Is there a substitute for the almonds and almond extract? My boyfriend has a nut allergy.
Would you suggest thawing the frozen rhubarb first, or can it be used frozen? And when using frozen rhubarb, do the strawberries have to be frozen as well, or can I use fresh strawberries 🍓?
Very tasty!
How can I make this with no sugar? My husband is diabetic.
In the oven, lovely smells,. Hadn’t rhubarb or strawberries, used blueberries and apple. Can’t wait to have dinner over to try it. Looked great going in.