Melbourne generally hasn’t transitioned into full on spring weather by the time the Northern hemisphere reaches their autumn. It’s the only time of the year when I can post cosy recipes that apply to both the Northern hemisphere and me at the same time. This year I have wasted no time developing this delicious classic: a gluten free rhubarb crumble.
Gluten free rhubarb crumble
This easy crumble recipe is gluten free, xanthan gum free, oat free and nut free. The crumble is low FODMAP and easily dairy free/vegan too. I don’t feel that crumbles need cornstarch to control the juices, either, so this is a corn free recipe (check your vegan for the vegan option, though).
The crumble uses an incredibly simple mix of white rice flour, white rice flakes, light brown sugar and butter. I like to add a bit of cinnamon and a pinch of salt for flavour, but they’re totally optional.
The result is an incredibly crispy and golden brown crumble that takes absolutely no time at all to prepare. I use it to top a rhubarb filling (or a rhubarb and strawberry filling). However, it can really top any fruit you prefer.
Speaking of fruit: all we need to do for this crumble is wash and chop the fruit and sprinkle over the sugar. No need for extra cooking, pots or pans – this is a quick and easy dessert at it’s finest.
Ingredient notes for your gluten free rhubarb crumble
- I have only tested white rice flour and white rice flakes in this recipe. Brown rice flour contains moderate amounts of fructans in serves of 100g or more. Because baking often requires more than 100g of flour, I don’t generally keep brown rice flour on hand. I can’t see why it wouldn’t work, but I haven’t tested the theory and I don’t intend to.
- White rice flakes are generally longer and thinner than brown rice flakes. My experience is that white rice flakes are often sold in the Indian section at the supermarket. They are called Poha and sold in a large bag. Brown rice flakes tend to be sold in the health food aisle. Like flour, I can’t see why brown rice flakes wouldn’t work here.
- I haven’t tested quinoa flakes or oats here. Oats are not considered gluten free in Australia, which is why this is an oat free crumble. I don’t work with them often so I can’t say it they would work here. With that said, I am sure you can find plenty of excellent recipes designed around oats online.
- Both regular butter and vegan butter work here. I have tested Nuttelex Buttery.
- If you are making a dairy free/vegan crumble but have other dietary requirements as well, keep an eye on the vegan butter ingredients. Every brand contains different things, so make sure you read the label.
Making your gluten free crumble
There are two easy ways to make your gluten free crumble mixture. Firstly, you can simply do it by hand!
Combine all your ingredients in a bowl and rub the butter into the mixture to create a crumble consistency. White rice flakes are quite tough and pokey, so it feels a little like a hand scrub lol. You don’t need to worry about breaking down the rice flakes too much as they benefit from being in smaller pieces anyway. Because they’re tough, it’s unlikely you will over-crush them by the time you have rubbed all the butter in.
The second option (and my preferred option) is to use a food processor. Nothing high powered – I use my KitchenAid mini food processor for this job. Personally, I like to start by pulsing the sugar, flour, rice flakes and cinnamon together. I then add the butter to the mix and blitz until a crumble is formed. You can add a little splash of milk if the crumble feels a bit too dry.
Whichever method you choose, it’s a very low key crumble that is difficult to mess up. I haven’t tried using any mix ins, but I feel some flaked almonds would work really nicely.
Tips for your rhubarb
The only tricky thing when it comes to working with rhubarb is that the tartness varies from bunch to bunch, season to season. This can be a qualm when determining how much sugar to add. Why? Because we’re not cooking the rhubarb prior to baking it.
We don’t want the rhubarb to become total soft mush, which is why it is baked from fresh. Personally, I would always rather a more tart rhubarb crumble than one that is overly sweet. A tart crumble can be fixed with extra custard, ice cream or a drizzle of maple syrup. An overly sweet crumble has no anecdote.
I designed this recipe around a supermarket bunch of rhubarb here in Australia. I find that recipes oftentimes call for a bunch and a half worth, which leaves you with extra rhubarb. Most bunches I have found in Australia are 350g worth of rhubarb after the knobby stems are cut off. This much rhubarb serves 4 people with a ratio of 1:1 fruit to crumble. The fruit portion isn’t overly generous, but it the perfect sweet to sour combination. It also works perfectly when served with custard or vanilla ice cream.
Of course, you can double the rhubarb if you like. You’ll need to roughly double the sugar, or perhaps use just a bit less.
One option I like using it adding strawberries to the fruit mix. As strawberries are naturally sweet, they temper the tartness of the rhubarb without the need to add more sugar. I add the lesser 50g sugar when I use rhubarb. If you don’t have a sweet tooth, I daresay you could get away with less sugar, too.
FODMAP notes
This is a very low FODMAP dessert recipe. The white rice flour and rice flakes currently have no upper limit in the Monash app. As discussed, I recommend white rice flour and white rice flakes to keep any brown rice fructan issues at bay.
Rhubarb is low FODMAP in serves of up to 500g per person, which is nearly 2 whole bunches. This recipe only uses 350g rhubarb, which keeps it well below that threshold.
I have given the option to add strawberries to your rhubarb crumble. In the option, I used 500g of strawberries. Strawberries are only low FODMAP in 65g serves per person. This means that a low FODMAP rhubarb and strawberry crumble that serves 4 people can only use 260g strawberries.
You can add more rhubarb to suit or just add 260g strawberries. I like the version that uses 350g rhubarb as it is about 1/2 crumble and 1/2 fruit in each serve. Any extra fruit is a bonus!
To keep it low FODMAP, you can serve it with my lactose free custard recipe.
Can I make this a gluten free vegan rhubarb crumble?
Yes, you can. The only ingredient that you need to change is the butter – use a plant based butter instead. I used Nuttelex Buttery because we have a terrible range of vegan butters available in Australia. It’s more of a margarine as opposed to a stick butter. It works really well for most purposes. I haven’t tested oil in place of butter.
More cosy gluten free desserts
- Gluten free vegan cinnamon rolls without yeast
- Gluten free spiced pumpkin bread
- Gluten free vegan pumpkin mug cake
- Gluten free low FODMAP ‘apple’ pie
- Gluten free sticky date pudding (with a vegan version)
Gluten free rhubarb crumble
Ingredients
For the fruit filling:
- 350 g fresh rhubarb see notes
- 50-75 g caster sugar see notes
- 250-500 g fresh strawberries optional, see notes
For the crumble:
- 60 g white rice flour
- 75 g light brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
- 100 g white rice flakes (sometimes called poha)
- 100 g soft butter regular or vegan
- Dash of vanilla extract or paste (optional)
- Pinch of salt (if your butter is unsalted)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180C/356F.
- Wash and chop the fruit into large bite sized pieces. I aim for about 4cm (1.5 inch) long pieces of rhubarb. Large chunks are good so that they are still holding a bit of shape after baking.
- Place the fruit in your baking dish and sprinkle over the sugar. You can toss it or just set it aside to make the crumble.
- Place the white rice flour, brown sugar and cinnamon in a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the white rice flakes and butter and process until a crumble forms. It’s ok if the rice flakes break up a little as they tend to be quite firm and pokey. You can also use your hands to make the crumble if you don’t have a food processor or would prefer not to get it out. See notes in the body of the post.
- If your crumble needs a bit more moisture to combine, add a teaspoon of milk or water. You can also add a dash of vanilla here if you fancy it.
- Crumble the crumble (sorry) evenly over the fruit and place into the oven for 30-40 minutes. For crumbles with more fruit, I like to put the dish on a baking sheet just to make sure it doesn’t spill over.
- Once cooked, the crumble should be browned and the fruit bright and bubbling. Remove from the oven and allow to cool a little before serving.
Notes
- This recipe was specifically designed around 1 large bunch of rhubarb from Australian supermarkets – 350g on average. It’s not a huge amount of fruit, but it serves 4 people with custard or ice cream.
- If you want to use more fruit, go for it. If you intend to use all rhubarb, you will need to add more sugar to match the tartness of the rhubarb. If you use berries, you might not need to.
- I have made a crumble with 350g rhubarb, 500g strawberries and only 50g sugar. The fruit portion was a tiny bit tart in a good way – it works perfectly with the sweet crumble and a sweet custard.
- Read the notes for FODMAP tips and recipe tips.
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