Rhubarb & Strawberry Crumble Slices (gluten free) & some changes afoot at Gluten Free Alchemist

The summer may be drawing to a close, but I am eeking it out with every last bit of seasonal fruit I can find. These beautiful gluten free Rhubarb and Strawberry Crumble slices may be the last I can make with our garden rhubarb before it draws back into hibernation for the winter months.

It will also be the last post that I will share on Gluten Free Alchemist for a while as I shift my focus to some major changes taking place behind the scenes. Having recently been made unexpectedly redundant from my day job after a career of more than 30 years, I have decided to spend more of my newly found ’empty’ time both on the blog and on some other gluten free plans formulating in my now ‘less cluttered’ brain.

I would love to jump straight into full-time blogging and a food-related new career, but despite Gluten Free Alchemist having been around since 2013, I have never seen it as anything other than a hobby blog until now and as a result, it is simply not set up to be anything more ‘commercial’.

Whilst I have no intention of selling my soul to the advertising industry, I at least want to give myself a chance of moving Gluten Free Alchemist towards something that pays at least some of the bills (alongside some freelancing linked to my other, life-long career). With that in mind, I plan to transfer the whole blog over to a new platform in the coming weeks for a fresh new look and more flexibility, which will mean (mainly because I am one of the least techy people I know) putting all my attention into getting my head around the changes needed. I just hope you will all still be here when I come back!

Gluten Free Alchemist as it currently looks, will still be live in the meantime and I will still be baking and developing new recipes in the background whilst I ready the new site… Which (hopefully) means lots of new recipes waiting to be shared when I resurface. I will also continue to post on Instagram and in Facebook with lots of photos of my bakes, makes and finds so that you get a sneak peak of what’s going to be coming up on the blog soon… Make sure you follow me to see what I’ve been up to.

For now though, I give you my Rhubarb and Strawberry Crumble Slice which is not only the most gorgeous colour, but is utterly delicious too. It needs no dressing up with fancy drizzles or sprinkles… It speaks temptingly for itself, promising you a combination of sweet and tart flavours, set against textures which are crisp, crunchy, soft, dry, moist and melty in each and every bite.

Tempted? Why not make it yourself. There is still some beautiful pink rhubarb to be had and although finding some British ones may be more of a challenge, there are always strawberries in the shops ready and waiting. This gluten free Rhubarb and Strawberry Crumble Slice may be the perfect dessert for you to wave a fond farewell to the glorious summer that 2019 has proved to be, before you pull out the winter coats and boots, switch on the heating and snuggle up for Winter. Slather in custard, drizzle with cream or top with ice cream for a little extra decadence.

Yield: 16 slices

Author: Gluten Free Alchemist (Kate Dowse)

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Rhubarb & Strawberry Oat Crumble Slices (gluten free)

A deliciously fruity dessert crumble bar made with rhubarb, strawberry and blueberry. Perfect served with custard, ice cream or cream.

ingredients:

Shortbread Base

• 220g gluten free flour blend (I used Gluten Free Alchemist blend A from this post)
• ½ teaspoon xanthan gum
• pinch fine sea salt
• 135g unsalted butter (cold and cubed) or dairy free alternative
• 100g golden caster sugar

Fruit Layer

• Approx 400g fresh rhubarb (cut into chunks)
• Approx 400g strawberries (hulled)
• 2 to 3 tablespoons soft light brown sugar
• handful of blueberries

Crumble Top

• 80g unsalted butter – cold and cubed
• 100g gluten free oat flour (easy to make your own as in this post)
• 80g gluten free rolled oats
• 70g soft light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons roasted chopped nuts (optional)
• (+ about a quarter of reserved base dough.)

instructions:

How to cook Rhubarb & Strawberry Oat Crumble Slices (gluten free)

Shortbread Base

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C/350 F/Gas 4 and base-line an 8 inch (20 cm) non-stick square tin (approx 5 cm/2 inch deep) with baking paper. Alternatively spray the base with non-stick baking release spray.
2. Weigh and mix in a large bowl the flour, salt and xanthan gum.
3. Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles fine bread crumbs.
4. Add and stir in the caster sugar.
5. Remove ¼ of the mixture to a separate bowl and set aside (to be added to the crumble topping).
6. Press the remaining mixture together with the hands to blend and form a loose dough.
7. Tip the dough mixture into the base-lined/greased tin and press using the back of a spoon until even in the base of the tin and reasonably firm.
8. Bake the base in the pre-heated oven for about 20 minutes, then remove and set aside to cool while you make the fruit and crumble layers.

Fruit Layer

1. Place your prepared rhubarb and strawberries (NOT the blueberries) with the brown sugar into a saucepan and gently heat, stirring to bring to a simmer.
2. Continue to simmer, stirring frequently until the mixture has reduced and thickened to an almost jam consistency.
3. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

Oat Crumble Top

1. Place the oat flour and oats in a large bowl and mix together.
2. Add the butter cubes and rub into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs.
3. Add the sugar, nuts (if using) and reserved dough from the base mix and stir through.
4. Squeeze with your finger tips until you have a slight clumpy texture.
5. Set aside.

Putting it all together

1. Re-heat the oven to 180 C/350 F/Gas 4.
2. Spread the fruit ‘jam’ layer on top of the shortbread base.
3. Sprinkle the blueberries on top, followed by the oat crumble mix.
4. You may wish to sprinkle a little extra brown sugar (optional) on top before placing the tin back in the oven. Bake for a further 20 to 25 minutes until golden.
5. Take out of the oven and allow to cool completely in the tin, before removing and slicing into portions.

Calories

224.34

Fat (grams)

12.46

Sat. Fat (grams)

7.04

Carbs (grams)

25.66

Fiber (grams)

2.06

Net carbs

23.60

Sugar (grams)

7.58

Protein (grams)

3.39

Sodium (milligrams)

17.18

Cholesterol (grams)

28.89

Gluten Free Alchemist © 2013-19

Created using The Recipes Generator

I am sharing these pretty gluten free Rhubarb & Strawberry Crumble Slices with :

Cook Blog Share with Everyday Healthy Recipes
Baking Crumbs with Jo’s Kitchen Larder and Apply To Face Blog
What’s for Dinner #217 with The Lazy Gastronome

Gluten Free Alchemist © 2013-19 unless otherwise indicated