Be still my rhubarb loving heart. Strawberry rhubarb pie seems to be just about the only rhubarb dessert most people have eaten and it’s a shame! There’s so much to love about this oddly tart red celery-like food. Today’s recipe for Rhubarb Crumb Bars is a must try. These bars have a dense buttery cake on the bottom, a layer of rhubarb in the middle, and it’s all topped with a perfectly sweet and lightly crunchy crumb. The rhubarb crumb bars are light enough to be served as a coffee cake for breakfast or lunch, but are also sweet enough to be served as dessert. Top them with a little vanilla ice cream and you really have yourself a treat! The tang of the rhubarb is just so pleasant mixed in with the sweet sugar and crunchy topping. Heaven I tell you.

Rhubarb is ready to harvest in the spring and this is such a fun seasonal ingredient to get to know. Today is also my monthly Eat Seasonal post, so be sure to check out all of the other recipes featuring seasonal produce.

My Other Recipes

I actually planned on making and sharing this rhubarb crumb bars recipe for #eatseasonal last month. I made them and all of the crumb sunk to the bottom. It was a sad day. Don’t you worry about them going to waste though, they tasted delicious, but that sunken crumb was just not up to par. I tried these a few more times and partially baked the cake first and then added the crumb. This worked a lot better. I’m not sure if sinking crumb is an altitude thing (I’m at 5,400 above sea level), but either way, it’s nice to have that crumb stay on top.

If you try this recipe, let me know what you think! Leave a comment, pin it, and don’t forget to tag a picture #blessthismesseat on Instagram. I love to see your kitchen skills in action!

Rhubarb Crumb Bars

Ingredients

For the Cake Layer

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

For Rhubarb layer

1/2 pound rhubarb, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

For the Crumb Topping

6 tablespoon butter, melted
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×9 inch baking dish and set aside.
For the cake layer, in a small bowl beat the sugar and butter together until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and stir well to combine. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt and stir until just incorporated, do not over mix. Add this batter to the bottom of your greased pan.
For the rhubarb layer add the rhubarb, brown sugar, and flour into a small bowl and toss well to combine. Evenly distribute the rhubarb layer over the cake layer. Bake the cake and rhubarb layers for 15 minutes.
While the cake is baking make your crumb topping. In a microwave safe bowl melt the butter. Add the flour, brown sugar, and salt. Stir to combine until the mixture resembles a thick cookie dough.
After the cake has cooked for 15 minutes, remove it from the oven and gently break off pieces of the crumb topping into large pieces (about the size of the end of your pinkie finger) and evenly distribute the crumb topping over the rhubarb layer.
Bake the cake an additional 30 to 35 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. (Total baking time will be 45 to 50 minutes). Allow the cake to cook for at least an hour before serving warm or at room temperature.

This recipe was slightly adapted from Martha Stewart.com

Let’s not forget the fun part of this “eat seasonal” group… all the monthly recipes! June is such a lovely season with more and more produce coming into season. You can get all of the details and the June Seasonal Produce from Becky at The Vintage Mixer. I highly recommend checking out her post. Now on to all the recipes the groups has put together. That Blueberry Buckle is calling my name!