May 5, 2014

RHUBARB, GINGER AND WHITE CHOCOLATE CRUMBLE

rhubarb, ginger and white chocolate crumble Depressingly, we are still here, in the house which displays the estate agent’s board outside, announcing to the whole world that we are “SOLD”. 

Things are moving very slowly, as we knew they would, but knowing doesn’t actually make it any easier.  It’s heartbreaking to see the vegetable patch with only weeds in it and the greenhouse empty.  We occasionally drive past our new house, the one we are moving to just a few miles away, and check it’s still there, that it isn’t all just a dream.  We expected to have moved by now, had things gone to plan.  Unfortunately our buyers “changed their buyers” three weeks into the process so went back to square one and we’re now in a chain of five instead of just three.

Anyway, baking is good therapy and to cheer myself up I picked up this little book by Joanne Harris and Fran Warde the other day.  It’s full of recipes inspired by the Chocolat series of novels by Joanne Harris, two of which I have read and enjoyed, the third sits on the bookshelf in our little French cottage, a treat to look forward to on our next visit.

rhubarb, ginger and white chocolate crumble2This book has a lot of nice recipes, many of which I am unlikely to ever cook but reading them is a joy.  Being short of baking time, books and equipment at the moment reduces my ability to bake much and I have to say, I don’t really have the heart for it either.  But when my dad comes for his dinner on a Sunday evening a crumble is the order of the day.  He and Nick love a good crumble and in this book there is a recipe called “Roux’s Ginger Crumble” and is described as “Spicy yet mellow, just like Roux”  (Roux being a character in the novels.)

rhubarb, ginger and white chocolate crumble3The recipe uses apples, pears, stem ginger and dark chocolate.  Inspection of my ever diminishing store cupboards revealed no stem ginger but a few spoonfuls of ginger preserve in a jar, a bar of white chocolate, a jar of “gelée de coings”  (quince jelly, a gift from a friend in France) and a cooking apple.  There were also a few sticks of rhubarb on our plants in the garden.  Knowing how well rhubarb goes with both ginger and white chocolate, I decided to have a go at a version of the recipe.

When we move I shall miss the rhubarb plant as much as anything.  I still miss the two huge rhubarb plants left behind when my dad moved after my mum died.  It has taken several years to get our own plants going and they provide enough fruit for a few crumbles every year.  The sticks on our plants are a bit short and young yet but…..I decided we might as well have them otherwise “our buyers” will be the ones to enjoy them.

rhubarb, ginger and white chocolate crumble4It’s difficult to make a crumble look like anything other than a splodge of pudding on a plate so I didn’t try very hard.  However, it was, without doubt, truly delicious.  It got the thumbs up from both Nick and my dad and I will definitely be making it again.

This is my version, inspired by, rather than adapted from, the “Chocolat” recipe:

Ingredients

For the crumble

200g plain flour

100g butter

75g golden caster sugar

1 tblsp demerara sugar (optional)

For the filling

a few short sticks of rhubarb, wiped and cut into 2cm pieces

1 large cooking apple, peeled and sliced

2 tblsp ginger preserve

1 tblsp quince jelly (optional)

50g golden caster sugar

100g bar white chocolate, chopped

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C / 180° fan / gas mk 6.  Grease a suitable baking dish, not too shallow, not too deep.

To make the crumble topping, put the flour and butter into a food processor and blitz to make breadcrumbs.  Add the caster sugar and pulse briefly to combine.

Put the rhubarb pieces and apple slices into the baking dish, mixing them together in a single, even layer. 

Put the ginger preserve and quince jelly (if using) into a small saucepan, add a small splash of water and heat gently and stir until they are all melted together into a syrup.  Pour this over the fruit.

Sprinkle over the caster sugar then the chopped chocolate.

Top with the crumble mixture and sprinkle the demerara sugar over the top (if using).

Bake for about 30 minutes until the crumble is golden and the fruit is bubbling up around the edges.

Serve warm with cream, custard, ice cream or crème fraîche.

Serves 4-6.

7 comments:

  1. Love the look of the cook book so will look out for it.

    I love rhubarb in just about anything so this recipe will definitely be tried out. Thank you ;o)

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    1. Gaynor, I got mine in Tesco.
      Knowing of your love of both rhubarb and ginger, I thought this might appeal to you!

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  2. Oh it's so hard buying a new home. Things can move at a snails pace but then suddenly .... I'm sure this stunning crumble will appease in the short term. Gorgeous combo of flavours x

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  3. Gosh, that sounds good, Jean. A friend gave me a chunk of rhubarb root last autumn and it has just produced its first sticks, so I must try this, or a variant, depending on what I have in the cupboard. Couldn't you put a chunk of your rhubarb plant in a pot to take with you?

    Sorry to hear the sale of your house is proceeding so slowly - so frustrating for you.

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    1. Perpetua, we thought about that. My dad says it's the wrong time of year to move it and it might not survive, but we think it's probably worth a try and we'd then be a few years ahead of starting from scratch.

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    2. Definitely worth a try, Jean. My chunk of root overwintered in the garage in a plastic bag as the ground was too wet to plant it out and it survived and is growing well. I've only just given it a proper home. :-)

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  4. Lovely stuff - you can't beat a good crumble and rhubarb is just about as good as it gets. I left a fine rhubarb plant behind in a previous house and, due to incompetence and bad luck, I've never managed to get another to establish properly. I'm sorry to hear that things are going slowly, but keep the faith and I'm sure that you'll get there.

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