Apple & rhubarb crumble is sweet, tart and irresistibly comforting. This easy homemade crumble combines juicy fruit with a hint of stem ginger (optional) and a golden, buttery oat topping. A tasty medley of flavours, this classic dessert is a crowd pleasing must try.
Looking for a drink to go with your dessert - try freshly pressed rhubarb juice with ginger, apple & orange.
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Why I Love This Recipe
- Appearance: Colourful rhubarb makes this a visually attractive dessert when the spoon is plunged into the serving dish.
- Classic flavour with a twist: Expect a medley of sweet apple with tart rhubarb, sweet crumble topping plus a boost from warming ginger.
- Texture: Soft fruit, crunchy crumble topping. Bliss.
- Easy: This dessert can be oven ready in 20 minutes.
- Adaptable: It's easy to turn this crumble vegan and/or gluten-free.
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Where Can Rhubarb Be Found?
- Forced rhubarb: This vibrant pink variety is available in the UK in February. Most of the crops come from Yorkshire but it is common to find it in supermarkets and farm shops throughout the country.
- Rhubarb: Non-forced rhubarb appears in spring and can be harvest through to late summer. Again, it is widely available in supermarkets and farm shops throughout the UK.
- Frozen rhubarb: Available all year round, from specialist suppliers and often farm shops with a decent freezer section. It is rarely found in supermarkets.
If you love tart fruit in puddings don't miss my recipes for gooseberry crumble and apple & blackcurrant crumble. They both deliver oodles of tangy flavour.
For a more unique spin on the classic crumble dessert, try your hand at my blackberry crumble pie - perfect for when you are craving both fruit pie and fruit crumble.
Ingredients Notes
Rhubarb: This recipe has been developed using fresh rhubarb, so for best results, do hunt it out. If you can find it, forced rhubarb adds a lovely pink hue to this gingery crumble.
If you are using frozen rhubarb you can add it into the apples just as it is, but I'd advise using an extra tablespoon of cornflour as frozen fruit can often give off a little more liquid that their fresh counterparts. You may also need to extend the cooking time by 5-10 minutes - just cover the top of your crumble loosely with foil or parchment if it is browning too much.
Apples: Use eating apples for this apple, rhubarb and ginger crumble. Unlike cooking apples, which disintegrate into a thick sauce, eating apples keep their shape which is a great contrast to the soft and yielding nature of cooked rhubarb.
Ginger: Stem ginger adds a luxury element to this rustic crumble. If you do not have some to hand you could stir ground ginger into the sugar and cornflour mix (2-3 teaspoons will suffice).
Cornflour: This helps bind the liquid from the fruit with the sugar to form a glorious sauce. Without the cornflour the fruit filling could be watery.
Substitutions
- Vegan rhubarb crumble: Swap the butter for dairy-free block butter substitute to turn it into a vegan apple & rhubarb crumble.
- Gluten-free rhubarb crumble: You will need to use gluten-free plain flour and ensure that the oats are also labelled as gluten-free, without risk of cross-contamination in production. If in doubt, omit the oats entirely and replace with an extra 60g of your chosen gluten-free flour.
(Step-By-Step Instructions)
Full instructions and measurements are given in the printable recipe card at the end of this post.
Step 1. Trim the ends from the rhubarb and cut the remaining stalks into pieces approximately 2cm long. Cut the apple into quarters, remove & discard the core and chop the flesh roughly.
Step 2. Put the rhubarb and apple into a large mixing bowl.
Combine the cornflour and sugar then sprinkle over the fruit. Use your hands to toss the ingredients together, until the fruit is coated in the sugar-flour mixture.
Step 3. Grease your baking tin then spoon half of the fruit into the base of it.
Finely dice one bulb of stem ginger and spread it over the fruit.
Step 4. Spoon the remaining fruit, plus any remaining sugar-flour mix (or liquid) into the baking dish.
Chop the remaining bulb of stem ginger and spread it over the top.
Step 5. Make the crumble topping by stirring the flour, white sugar and salt together and then rubbing in the butter until it begins to form clumps.
Step 6. Add the oats and Demerara sugar. Stir in.
Step 7. Spoon the crumble mixture onver the top of the fruit. Spread it out evenly, but do not press it down.
Step 8. Bake for 40 minutes until golden on top. The filling may bubble up a little, adding to the rustic charm. Let your crumble cool for 20 minutes then tuck in.
Storage Instructions
Apple & rhubarb crumble with ginger is best eaten on the day it is made to enjoy the topping at its prime. However, it can be stored (covered) in the fridge for up to 2 days. Just reheat for a few minutes at around 150℃/300℉.
Alternatively, it can be frozen and reheated once defrosted.
Expert Tips
- Use a deep baking dish: The rhubarb and apple filling takes up a lot of space. As it cooks it does soften, leading the dessert to fall in height during baking, but don't try squeezing all the ingredients into a shallow baking dish as it is likely to overflow.
- Reduce the sugar with caution: The recipe presented includes sufficient sugar to enjoy the fruit filling sweet but with the signature tart rhubarb flavour. Significantly reducing the sugar content in this recipe may mean that the filling is too tart to be enjoyable.
- Bake adequately: The fruit in the filling needs plenty of time to cook through to ensure it is tender. Don't rush the bake time.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, you do not. Some old fashioned rhubarb crumble recipes may call for this step, but the recipe presented here, for apple & rhubarb crumble with ginger does not require the fruit to be cooked before assembling and baking the dessert.
As rhubarb turns very soft during cooking, I like to use eating apples rather than cooking apples when making this apple rhubabr crumble. Eating apples hold their shape when cooked, creating a lovely blend of super soft rhubarb and chunky soft apple. It's the perfect combination.
It's up to you which eating apples to use, but I used Pink Lady apples for their fresh & zesty flavour and the blush pink skin.
Rhubarb can release a lot of liquid when it is cooked. For this reason, always include some cornflour in the filling to help the liqud thicken and form a tasty sauce.
To make a really crunchy topping for this rhubarb ginger crumble increase the amount of sugar used in the topping - try adding in another 25g. In addition, switching to entirely Demerara sugar or light brown sugar will help the caramelisation.
Serving Suggestions
This apple rhubarb crumble with ginger cries out for a serving of either vanilla custard or vanilla ice cream on the top. You cannot go wrong with either of these classic accompaniments.
That said, single cream, clotted cream or rather retro evaporated milk will also pair well with this juicy fruit crumble.
Variations
- Omit the ginger: Don't want those warming spice notes? Just go with a straightforward apple rhubarb crumble.
- Add orange: Toss the finely grated zest of a large orange with the fruit for an extra burst of fruit flavour.
- Include nuts: Almonds are a lovely addition to this dessert. Mix 30g of flaked almonds into the crumble topping.
- Add vanilla: Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract over the fruit before mixing in the cornflour and sugar.
- Rosemary: Sounds strange, but rosemary pairs well with both fruits in this recipe. Leave out the ginger but scatter the finely chopped leaves from a spring of fresh rosemary over your fruit to wind up with a noteworthy crumble that will get tongues wagging.
Have you made this recipe for apple & rhubarb crumble with ginger? Please rate the recipe or leave a comment - I love hearing how you get along with my creations.
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📖 Recipe
Apple & Rhubarb Crumble With Ginger (juicy fruit, crisp, oat topping)
Equipment
- 1 Large baking dish approx 15cm x 20cm x 6cm (WxHxD)
Ingredients
Apple & Rhubarb Filling
- 400 g Rhubarb
- 400 g Eating apples e.g. Pink Lady
- 2 Stem ginger bulbs
- 80 g White sugar granulated or caster sugar
- 1 tablespoon Cornflour (cornstarch)
Crumble Topping
- 190 g Plain flour (all purpose)
- 75 g White sugar granulated or caster sugar
- 125 g Butter
- Salt - a pinch
- 60 g Oats large
- 50 g Demerara sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180℃/350℉ and lightly grease the baking dish.
- Trim and discard the ends from the rhubarb. Cut the remaining stalks into pieces approximately 2cm long. Cut the apple into quarters, remove & discard the core and chop the flesh roughly. Put the rhubarb and apple into a large mixing bowl.400 g Rhubarb, 400 g Eating apples
- Combine the cornflour and sugar in a small bowl then sprinkle it over the fruit. Use your hands to toss the ingredients together until the fruit is coated in the sugar-flour mixture.80 g White sugar, 1 tablespoon Cornflour
- Spoon half of the fruit mixture into the baking dish. Finely dice one bulb of stem ginger and spread it over the fruit (it can be sticky, so use a knife to push chunks onto the fruit).2 Stem ginger bulbs
- Spoon the remaining fruit, plus any remaining sugar-flour mix (or liquid) into the baking dish. Chop the remaining bulb of stem ginger and spread it over the top.2 Stem ginger bulbs
- Make the crumble topping by stirring the flour, white sugar and salt together. Cube the butter, add it to the bowl and use your fingers to rub it into the other ingredients until it begins to form clumps.190 g Plain flour, 75 g White sugar, Salt - a pinch, 125 g Butter
- Add the oats and Demerara sugar to the topping mixture. Stir them in.60 g Oats, 50 g Demerara sugar
- Spoon the crumble mixture over the top of the fruit. Spread it out evenly, but do not press it down.
- Bake for 40 minutes until golden on top. The filling may bubble up a little, adding to the rustic charm. Let your crumble cool for 20 minutes then tuck in.
Notes
- Use a deep baking dish: The rhubarb and apple filling takes up a lot of space. As it cooks it does soften, leading the dessert to fall in height during baking, but don't try squeezing all the ingredients into a shallow baking dish as it is likely to overflow.
- Reduce the sugar with caution: The recipe presented includes sufficient sugar to enjoy the fruit filling sweet but with the signature tart rhubarb flavour. Significantly reducing the sugar content in this recipe may mean that the filling is too tart to be enjoyable.
- Bake adequately: The fruit in the filling needs plenty of time to cook through to ensure it is tender. Don't rush the bake time.
- Use frozen rhubarb: If you are using frozen rhubarb you can add it into the apples just as it is, but I'd advise using an extra tablespoon of cornflour as frozen fruit can often give off a little more liquid that their fresh counterparts. You may also need to extend the cooking time by 5-10 minutes - just cover the top of your crumble loosely with foil or parchment if it is browning too much.
- Make it vegan: Swap the butter for dairy-free block butter substitute to turn it into a vegan apple & rhubarb crumble.
- Make it gluten-free: You will need to use gluten-free plain flour and ensure that the oats are also labelled as gluten-free, without risk of cross contamination in production. If in doubt, omit the oats entirely and replace with an extra 60g of your chosen gluten-free flour.
- Storage instructions: Fruit crumble is best eaten on the day it is made to enjoy the topping at it's best. However, it can be stored (covered) in the fridge for up to 2 days. Just reheat for a few minutes at a low oven temperature. Alternatively, it can be frozen and reheated once defrosted.
Variations
- Omit the ginger: Don't want those warming spice notes? Just go with a straightforward apple rhubarb crumble.
- Add orange: Toss the finely grated zest of a large orange with the fruit for an extra burst of fruit flavour.
- Include nuts: Almonds are a lovely addition to this dessert. Mix 30g of flaked almonds into the crumble topping.
- Add vanilla: Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract over the fruit before mixing in the cornflour and sugar.
- Rosemary: Sounds strange, but rosemary pairs well with both fruits in this recipe. Leave out the ginger but scatter the finely chopped leaves from a spring of fresh rosemary over your fruit to wind up with a noteworthy crumble that will get tongues wagging.
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