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Rhubarb stalks are overflowing at farmers market stands all over the country. Everywhere I turn, there’s tons of good-looking rhubarb, just begging to be made into desserts to share with friends and family. And there’s no easier way to highlight rhubarb season than this crowd-pleasing, Easy Spiced Rhubarb Crisp.
Crisp? Crumble? Cobbler? What’s the difference?
All these desserts are extremely similar with only minor differences. If you can make one, you can make them all.
In general, crumbles, crisps, and cobblers all have a fruit filling with some kind of crust or topping. The topping composition varies across all these rustic desserts.
Crisp
The topping of a crisp consists of a sandy mixture of butter, flour, sugar, and either nuts or oats. The addition of nuts and oats makes the texture of the crisp topping crunchier than its dessert cousins.
Crumble
A crumble is the same thing as a crisp, but the topping doesn’t have nuts or oats in it. It’s basically the same thing as a streusel topping, like the one on my cast iron coffee cake. But this time, it sits upon a fruit filling.
Cobbler
The main difference here is that the topping isn’t added evenly across the filling. Instead, it’s got large dollops of biscuit-like dough, and looks a bit like a stone street, the origin of its name.
Cobblers are great for fillings with large chunks, like peach slices, and I prefer to have cobblers with a higher ratio of filling to topping.
Farmers Market Ingredients and Substitutions
Rhubarb
This tart vegetable is usually paired with strawberries, but I love to highlight it on its own. Rhubarb can be a strong flavor, but warming spices like ginger, star anise, cloves, and nutmeg all work together to highlight its natural sweetness.
The most important thing to keep in mind when cooking with rhubarb is to ensure that the leaves are removed and composted. The leaves are extremely high in oxalic acid, which is toxic to humans, and most mammals (so don’t feed it to your pets either).
Wanna know more about rhubarb? This page has everything you need to know!
Rolled Oats
Rolled oats add a flaky texture to the top of this crisp, with a little bit of nutty flavor.
Don’t substitute with steel cut oats; these oats are processed differently and have a different cooking time. They won’t be as crisp and crumbly as the rolled oats. If you don’t have rolled oats, substitute with roughly chopped walnuts or almonds.
Star Anise
This sweet spice is quite powerful; a little bit will go a long way. While I think its flavor pairs nicely with the rhubarb and ginger, the licorice notes can be polarizing. If you’re someone who detests anything anise or licorice, I would recommend leaving this spice out of the mix. Add more ginger or substitute with another warm spice, like nutmeg, in place of the ground star anise.
Tips and Tricks
I prefer flat graters, like this one, which lets me grate the butter right into the mixing bowl. Box graters will work as well. It’s much easier to work the butter into the topping this way, and the butter stays nice and cold.
The crisp topping can be made a few days in advance. Keep it in the refrigerator until you’re ready to stick the crumble in the oven. If the butter warms up, it’ll melt too fast in the oven, resulting in more of a crust than a crisp or crumble.
Serving Suggestions
Naturally, this Spiced Rhubarb Crisp is perfect when served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I love making my own ice cream (here’s a good place to start), but there are many commercially available options that’ll work without any extra effort.
But don’t overlook frozen yogurt either. There’s something about the creamy tang of frozen yogurt that creates a depth of flavor that ice cream won’t. Food and Wine has a recipe for no-churn frozen yogurt that’s pretty easy to modify with any flavors you want.
But what about the leftovers?
Leftover Spiced Rhubarb Crisp can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days. The best way to reheat the crisp is uncovered in an oven, which will maintain the best texture of the topping.
Easy Spiced Rhubarb Crisp
There’s no easier way to highlight rhubarb season than this crowd-pleasing, Easy Spiced Rhubarb Crisp, perfect to share with friend and family.
Ingredients
Crisp topping
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground star anise
- ¾ cup flour
- ½ cup butter, cold, plus more for greasing pie pan
- ½ cup rolled oats
Rhubarb Filling
- 2½ cups rhubarb
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp ginger, freshly grated
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tbsp arrowroot starch
Instructions
- Make the crisp topping by mixing the brown sugar, ground ginger, star anise, and flour together in a small bowl. Grate the cold butter into the bowl. Using either your fingers or a pastry cutter, work the butter into the sugar mixture until it has the texture of wet sand. Mix in the oats. Keep mixture chilled until needed later.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 9" pie pan generously with butter. Set aside.
- Make the filling by mixing together the rhubarb, granulated sugar, salt, ginger, lemon juice, and arrowroot starch until thoroughly combined. Spread filling evenly into the buttered pie pan.
- Take the crumble topping out of the refrigerator and spread evenly over the rhubarb filling.
- Bake until filling is bubbly, and the crumble topping is a dark golden brown. Approximately 35-40 minutes.
- Let cool at least 20 minutes before serving.
Notes
Crisp topping can be made up to three days before baking. Keep chilled in the refrigerator until ready for use.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 326Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 31mgSodium: 275mgCarbohydrates: 50gFiber: 2gSugar: 32gProtein: 3g
Calculated nutrition values are not always accurate, but can provide a general idea for planning purposes. Please do not rely on this information as it may not be complete. Recipes that include unusual ingredients, especially scrap ingredients, will have the least accurate information with this calculator.
