Rhubarb and Hazelnut Crumble

We had to. I’m not even going to apologize. If you’ve got rhubarb, try as you might, you will always end up making crumble sooner or later. And this recipe is by far the best crumble I’ve ever had. What’s the secret you ask? Hazel nuts, oats, and cloves.

This recipe makes five cute little single portions, or one large dish. As it was the end of a sunny day in the garden when I made this, I had to eat it with ice cream, but for those of you who love custard, I have a special treat for you. As part of this recipe, I will include recipes for a traditional and vegan crème anglaise. If you feel like getting adventurous then this is the recipe to go for. It’s great fun and child friendly, so why not get the whole family involved? (Or just your favourite kid).

Rhubarb Crumble Recipe
Served 5

Crumble topping

• 250g plain wholemeal flour

• 130g demerara sugar

• 40g rolled oats

• 35g hazelnuts, roughly crushed

• 85g hazelnut flour*

• 125g unsalted butter

• 1tsp vanilla paste

• 1 pinch of salt

*If you cannot source hazelnut flour, ground almond will do.

Crumble Filling

• 5 eating apples, cored and diced

• 2 medium sized sticks of rhubarb

• 50g butter

• 50g demerara sugar

• 50ml of water

• 0.5tsp cloves, ground

Crème anglaise (traditional)

• 350ml of double cream

• 100ml of milk (full fat)

• 1 vanilla pod

• 125g of sugar (caster is traditional, but feel free to use whichever type you wish)

• 4 egg yolks

Crème anglaise (vegan)

• 250ml soy cream

• 200ml milk alternative

• 1 vanilla pod

• 125g of sugar

• 2tbs of cornstarch

• 0.25tsp of turmeric powder (or simmer 1mm slice of turmeric root in the cream)

For both crème anglaise you will need a whisk and a spare bowl.

Step 1.

Begin by preparing your apples with a bowl of cold water to store them in to prevent discolouring. Alternatively, squeeze lemon juice over them. I don’t peel my apples because I find the skin is soft enough once cooked and I enjoy the colour it brings to the dish. If you’d prefer to peel them then go ahead. There is no need to finely dice your apples as long as they’re roughly 2cm or so, any smaller and you’ll end up making jam.

Add them to a saucepan with the butter and sugar and let them cook for a few minutes on a medium heat until they start to soften. As they cook, chop up your rhubarb into similar sized pieces and add them to the pan with the apples. Cook for a further 4-5 minutes until the rhubarb begins to release it’s juices. Add your ground cloves, stir, and remove from the heat by adding them to the dish you intend to bake your crumble in.

Step 2.

Preheat the oven at 180C/356F whilst you add all your topping ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Rub the butter into the flour and ground nuts between your fingers and thumbs until it resembles a rough, sticky sand-like texture as seen below. This may take some time if your butter is cold so feel free to rest if your hands start to cramp.

Step 3.

Crumble the topping over the fruit in your baking dish until every last piece is used up, then pop them in the oven for 40 minutes. If you ever find you have too much, you can add 1tsp of baking powder and a dash of milk to bring leftover crumble topping into a dough that bakes into beautifully rustic cookies.

Although this recipe shouldn’t bubble over and make a mess of your oven, I always place a tray beneath my crumble dishes to be safe.

Step 4.

Whilst your crumble bakes you can prepare the crème anglaise. It will take you roughly 15 minutes so consider this in your timings to make sure your crumble finishes baking in time.

Traditional
Add your cream, milk and vanilla into a saucepan and bring to a simmer. If using a vanilla pod, run the tip of a knife down the middle of the pod from top to tail and scrape the seed out using the broad side of the blade. Whilst the cream mix infuses with vanilla, crack the egg yolks into a spare bowl and beat the sugar into them until they lighten in colour. After the cream has simmered for a couple of minutes, fish the vanilla pod out and gradually pour it into the egg yolks whilst beating the mix with a whisk. It is very important to keep the eggs whisking so that you don’t cook any lumps of yolk into your crème anglaise. Once fully combined, pour the mixture back into the saucepan and continue to cook it on a low temperature whilst stirring. After a minute or two it should begin to thicken and be ready to serve.

Vegan
Add your cream, half your milk, vanilla, turmeric and sugar to a saucepan and bring it to a simmer. If using a vanilla pod, run the tip of a knife down the middle of the pod from top to tail and scrape the seed out using the broad side of the blade. Whilst the mixture infuses, measure out the cornstarch and remaining milk in a separate bowl and whisk into a slurry. To make life easier, add the cornstarch first and stir as you gradually add the milk. Try a little bit of the cream and if it is sufficiently flavoured by the vanilla and turmeric, remove any solids and add the slurry. Much like the egg yolks in the traditional crème anglaise, it is important to whisk your crème anglaise when adding the cornstarch to avoid it cooking into lumps. Keep the saucepan on a medium-high temperature to make sure the starch activates and begins to thicken, but make sure you keep it moving to avoid it catching on the bottom of the pan. After a minute or two it should be ready to serve.

Note: both of these crème anglaise recipes make wonderful ice creams when chilled and added to an ice cream machine. If you have leftover, let them cool in a fridge, then add them to an ice cream machine for a soft scoop vanilla ice cream.

Step 5.

Remove your crumble from the oven and let it stand for 10-15 minutes before serving. Pour your crème anglaise over the crumble and enjoy.