Apple and Rhubarb Dessert

Rhubarb adds a refreshingly tart flavor to the traditional apple crisp. Their combination creates an extraordinary dessert for a special occasion. Like in this recipe, sliced apples and diced rhubarb are tossed with sugar, ginger, and flour and topped with a crispy crust made of flour, ginger, baking powder, egg, sugar, oatmeal and vegetable oil. Choose a sweet crisp and juicy apple to contrast with the robust and tart flavor of the rhubarb for this recipe.

Always remember that only the stems of the rhubarb are edible. Make sure to remove the leaves of the rhubarb, rinse well and pat dry. Trim the ends of the rhubarb then slice the stem into one-inch chunks. There are times when the stems can be stringy, and can be tough when added to the dish what you can do in this case is to strip or peel off the outer layer thinly the same way that you would when preparing celery. However, some varieties of rhubarb are very tender, and need not be peeled.

Those apples with a blend of sweetness and tartness are the best apples for making apple crisp or for baking for that matter. Some examples that are on the sweet side include Golden Delicious, Jonagold, and Braeburn, while those that are on the tart side include Empire, Cortland, and Granny Smith. You don’t have to worry about too much tartness since you will be adding sugar to the apples and rhubarb and the sugar will contrast and complement the acidity of the ingredients.

Cinnamon is the spice commonly used to flavor the classic recipes for apple rhubarb crisp. However, in this recipe a different twist is added by using ginger instead. This gives the dish a tangy and invigorating taste. Crystallized ginger is used in this recipe combined with the fruits, while to mix with the upper crust, ground ginger is used.

Ingredients

2 cups diced rhubarb
3 apples (peeled, cored and sliced)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon minced crystallized ginger
1 tablespoon all purpose flour

For the Topping:

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup vegetable oil

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 in. baking pan and set aside.

2. Stir together the rhubarb, apple slices, 1 cup sugar, crystallized ginger, and 1-tablespoon flour in a large mixing bowl. Then pour the rhubarb mixture into the prepared pan.

3. Stir together the 1 cup flour, ground ginger, baking powder, egg, ¾ cup sugar, oatmeal, and vegetable oil in a separate bowl. Blend until just moistened.

4. Pour the flour dough over the rhubarb mixture. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from oven when the topping becomes golden. It is best to serve this warm.