Rhubarb Crumble with Oats & Malted Milk Custard by Ren Behan
We’ve worked with Ren Behan for a number of years now. She is a renowned food writer and author of the cookbook Wild Honey and Rye who originally started writing her food blog in November 2010 though has since gone on to complete a diploma in Journalism with Distinction and also a Food Styling Course at Leiths School of Food and Wine. Ren’s can often been found at JamieOliver.Com the Good Food Channel and Love food.com. With her recipe for Rhubarb Oat Crumble she’s created a healthy dessert or even a warming breakfast. We hope you enjoy and thank you for sharing your recipe with us Ren!
Kids in the Kitchen
Rhubarb – Thankfully right now rhubarb is readily available in the garden. Show your children how to pick it, tear the big leaf off the end and wash it. You could talk about sour and sweet by letting them taste a piece of it raw, then dip it in a bit of sugar for them to try next.
Measuring/Mixing – One of the simplest ways to get kids involved in cooking is to measure and mix ingredients together. Scooping out into the bowl on the scale and making sure you get the correct amount is great for encouraging numeracy.
Whisking – The custard needs a lot of whisking so if you have an electric whisk make sure to use this. Children can help with this as well since it’s fun to see the liquid change consistency and thicken with time and effort, especially if using a hand whisk.
Serves: 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
For the crumble
- 100g rolled oats
- 35g pecan nuts, finely chopped
- 35g almonds, finely chopped
- 75g Demerara sugar
- 400g Yorkshire rhubarb
- 80ml honey
For the malted milk custard
- 5 egg yolks (free range, fresh)
- 50g vanilla sugar (or use caster sugar)
- 50g Horlicks malted milk powder
- 250ml double cream
- 1 vanilla pod (split in half, seeds remove)
- 250ml full fat milk
Equipment
- Copper Base 14cm Milk pan
- 20cm x 25cm oven safe baking dish
- Small bowl
- Sharp knife
- Drying Cloth
- Glass bowl
- Hand or electric whisk
Cooking Method
Yorkshire Rhubarb Oat Crumble
- Pre heat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5.
- In a small bowl, combine the rolled oats, pecans, almonds and Demerara sugar, mix well and put to one side.
- Wash the sticks of rhubarb and pat dry. Chop them into one inch pieces with a sharp knife. Put the rhubarb into an ovenproof baking dish and drizzle over the honey. Bake the rhubarb for fifteen minutes; it should be soft to the touch. Carefully remove from the oven and sprinkle over the oat topping. Pop it back in the oven for a further 15 minutes, until golden and bubbling.
Malted Milk Custard
- Put the egg yolks, vanilla sugar and malted milk powder e.g. Horlicks into a glass bowl and whisk well (a hand whisk is fine) until it is thick and creamy. Set to one side.
- In a pan, mix together double cream with the seeds of one vanilla pod and the full fat milk. Gently bring to the boil.
- Once the cream and milk have reached a very gentle boil, take the pan off the heat and slowly pour it over the egg, sugar and malted milk mixture. You can do this in three phases, mixing well each time.
- Pour the mixture back into the pan and stirring all the time, bring it back up to a very gentle boil. You don’t want to over-cook it, or it will curdle and begin to look like scrambled eggs. A low and gentle heat is fine. Keep stirring for around 5 minutes. By then, the mixture should have thickened.
- As soon as the custard has thickened, take the pan off the heat and decant into a jug. If not using straight away, cover with Clingfilm to prevent a skin from forming.
- Serve the malted milk custard with the hot rhubarb crumble.
