National Gardening Association
"When You Garden, You Grow"
Rhubarb Strudel
One of my favorite ways to serve rhubarb is this strudel, made with chopped fresh rhubarb folded into a batter and topped with oats.
Ingredients
Strudel:
| 1 1/4 | cups milk |
| 1 | tablespoon cider vinegar |
| 2 1/4 | cups unbleached all-purpose flour |
| 1 | teaspoon baking soda |
| 1/2 | teaspoon salt |
| 8 | tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature |
| 1 1/4 | cups packed dark brown sugar |
| 1 | large egg |
| 3 | cups rhubarb sliced 1/2 inch thick |
Topping:
| 1/3 | cup packed light or dark brown sugar |
| 1/2 | cup old fashioned rolled oats |
| 1 1/2 | teaspoon ground cinnamon |
Preparation
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter and flour a 9 x 13 inch baking pan, tapping out the excess flour.
Combine milk and vinegar and let stand until the milk curdles, about 5 minutes. Mix the flour, baking soda, and salt to combine.
In a medium-sized bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar together with an electric mixer on high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and mix throroughly.
In three additions beginning with the flour mixture, stir in alternating portions of flour and curdled milk, mixing with a spoon just until smooth. You can use the mixer on low speed but do not over-mix. Fold in the rhubarb. Spread the mixture evenly in the pan. Make the topping by mixing the brown sugar, oats, and cinnamon in a small bowl until blended. Sprinkle evenly over the batter.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack. For the real rhubarb lover, serve with a dollop of rhubarb jam on the side.
Recipe by Ellen Ecker Ogden from her book From the Cook's Garden (HarperCollins, 2003). Ellen is a garden writer and cookbook author based in Vermont.
