It’s funny how you can get through life without having actually cooked with a certain ingredient for so long. Sure, I’d eaten it before, but never bought it or used it. How strange. Welcome to my kitchen, gorgeous bunch of rhubarb. What shall I do with you?
I don’t make muffins too often, but I felt the rhubarb should be muffinized and shared with people. And they were a hit. Everyone loved these muffins with their subtle flavours, delicately balancing, spice, sweetness and the glorious tang of the rhubarb.
I was particularly impressed with the texture of these muffins, very moist yet soft and fluffy, not stogy or dense, which makes for a lovely contrast to the crunchy crumble on top.
This recipe yields a dozen, and they are equally as good the next day. Simply cover with a tea towel.
Ingredients
- 175g caster sugar
- 175g rhubarb, halved lengthways and then diced into 1cm pieces
- 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
- 1 free range egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 125ml milk with a squeeze of lemon
- 200g plain flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon bicarb soda
- For the topping – 50g light brown sugar
- 50g plain flour
- 25g oats
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon, plus extra for dusting
- 50g butter
Method
- Preheat the oven to 220˚C/200˚C fan-forced. Line a 12 hole muffin pan with paper cases and set aside.
- In a large bowl, place the caster sugar and the rhubarb and stir together, leaving aside while you make the topping.
- For the topping, mix the brown sugar with the flour, oats and cinnamon and then rub in the butter with your fingers, until the mixture resembles clumps of sand.
- Back to the rhubarb bowl, add the oil, egg, vanilla and lemon-milk (buttermilk substitute as buttermilk is sometimes a chore to track down) and stir through the sugared rhubarb.
- Next add the flour, baking powder and bicarb and mix throughly.
- Spoon the mixture into the cases and then top with a decent layer of crumble mix. You should use it all up.
- Bake for about 15 minutes and remove from the oven as soon as a skewer comes out clean from the centre. You want them to be deliciously moist. Cool on a rack and enjoy.
