Rhubarb Crumble

Tart rhubarb, sweet strawberries, and tender apple cubes bake together under a crunchy blanket of oats, brown sugar, and butter that shatters when you dig in with a spoon. The three-fruit combination keeps the filling from being one-note: rhubarb brings the pucker, strawberries bring sweetness, and apples add body.

Cutting the butter into the flour until it resembles coarse crumbs is what creates that crumbly, craggy topping. You want visible pea-sized pieces of butter in the mix. Those chunks melt in the oven and create steam pockets that make the topping crisp rather than dense.

Kitchen Tips

• Slice the rhubarb no thicker than ½ inch so it softens completely during baking. Thick chunks can stay fibrous and chewy in the center.
• The cinnamon goes on the fruit layer, not in the topping. It perfumes the filling as the juices bubble up through it.
• Don’t pack the crumble topping down. Keep it loose and rough for maximum surface area and crunch.
• Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The contrast of hot, tart fruit against cold, creamy ice cream is hard to beat.

Variations

• Swap strawberries for raspberries or blackberries when they’re in season.
• Add a handful of chopped pecans or walnuts to the crumble topping for extra crunch.
• Stir a tablespoon of fresh grated ginger into the fruit mixture for a warming, spicy edge.