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If you’re a sour candy fan, then you know and love rhubarb. Grab the brightest ruby red stalks you can find, and make this Rhubarb Crisp with rose water, orange zest and a crispy out topping.
A bit of a niche recipe, because you either have a garden overflowing with rhubarb or you don’t. Or, you passed by the farmer’s market stall that had a giant stack of ruby red stalks and you couldn’t resist.
Either way, you love the sweet and sour taste of rhubarb, and I don’t blame you one bit. I do, too!
While most rhubarb desserts contain strawberries for sweetness, I left them out today and let the stalks shine. I add a bit more sugar to my rhubarb crisp recipe, plus orange zest which rounds out the sweetness. The rose water is my secret nod to strawberries, because you know I love rose water in my strawberry desserts. Have you made my mini strawberry tart for two? It has a rough puff pastry crust and is full of strawberries and rose water!
Ingredients
- Rhubarb. You need 6 cups of sliced rhubarb or roughly 2 pounds of rhubarb for this recipe in an 8-inch casserole dish. This is about 8 medium or 4 large stalks of rhubarb, sliced into 1/2-inch pieces. You can use frozen sliced rhubarb for this (use the same amount), and do not thaw before baking.
- Flour. We need 1/4 cup flour for the rhubarb crisp filling and another 1/2 cup for the oat topping.
- Sugar. One-half cup of granulated sugar.
- Rose Water. It’s entirely optional to use 2 tablespoons of rose water, but it really brings a big flavor punch to this recipe. I buy my rose water at the local Middle Eastern market, but I’ll link you to my favorite rose water just in case. Trust me, you’ll love adding it to other berry desserts and even your iced tea! If you don’t want to use rose water, use 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract in its place.
- Allspice. While most rhubarb crisp recipes call for boring cinnamon, I’m asking for ground allspice. You probably have some leftover from making my applesauce cake! We’ll just 3/4 teaspoon in the filling and another 3/4 teaspoon in the oat topping.
- Orange Zest. One heaping tablespoon of orange zest, which is about the amount you can grate from one large orange.
- Brown Sugar. One-quarter cup of brown sugar for the oat mixture that goes on top.
- Oats. You need regular old-fashioned oats, 1 cup of them. Don’t use quick oats or 1-minute oats.
- Butter. Six tablespoons of butter for making the topping clump together.
- Salt. One-half teaspoon of salt to balance all of the flavors here!
How to Make Rhubarb Crisp
- Preheat the oven to 400, and lightly spray a 8-inch square pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine the sliced rhubarb, flour, sugar, rose water, allspice, and orange zest. Stir well to coat evenly.
3. Pour this mixture into the prepared pan, and set aside.
4. In the same bowl that’s now empty, make the topping: add the flour, brown sugar, oats, allspice, and salt. Stir together well. Pour the melted butter on top, and stir to make a crumble topping.
5. Scatter the topping evenly over the rhubarb, and slide it in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown and bubbling around the edges.
Storage/ Leftovers:
Fruit crisps are meant to be enjoyed the day they are made. If they are re-heated in the microwave, the topping will lose its crispness. You can reheat leftovers in the oven to approximate the crispness again, but it’s really the best on the day its made.
Rhubarb Crisp
Ingredients
For the rhubarb crisp filling:
- 6 cups (2 pounds) diced rhubarb (from 8 medium or 4 large stalks), sliced into 1/2-inch slices
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons rose water
- 3/4 teaspoons ground allspice
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
For the oat topping:
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup oats
- 3/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons butter melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400, and lightly spray a 8-inch square pan.
- In a large bowl, combine the sliced rhubarb, flour, sugar, rose water, allspice, and orange zest. Stir this mixture together very well.
- Pour this mixture into the prepared baking dish, and set aside.
- In the same bowl that’s now empty, make the topping: add the flour, brown sugar, oats, allspice, and salt. Stir very well.
- Pour the melted butter on top, and stir to make a crumble topping. You might have to clump it together with your hands a bit.
- Scatter the topping evenly over the rhubarb, and slide it in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown and bubbling around the edges.
Looks tasty. I’ve never had a rhu or a barb. Maybe one day some nice person will make some for me to try…. Cheers!
I heart anything with rhubarb. Yum!
Crisp is my favorite way to eat rhubarb! Yours looks delicious :)
I have an extremely dumb question. Where do you get rose water?
I’m sure you’ve found rose water by now but you can pretty much get it anywhere that has a great baking section – Walmart, Amazon, Whole Foods are just 3 options.
What the heck are ramekins?? Never heard of it.
I’m sure by now you’ve discovered what ramekins are – they’re a very useful dish for making individual servings. If you do a search for them on Amazon or just do a Google search, you’ll see that they come in a variety of colors and sizes. I have two different sizes.
Love the ramekins! Where did you find them?
You’re not going to like this answer, Bethany…a friend brought them back for me from Paris, hah! I’m sorry. I’ve seen similar shapes at World Market and Sur la Table, though, but they’re not colored. So sorry!
can you pre cook the rhubarb?
Looks great, will make it soon.