Rhubarb and Raspberry Streusel Bars
Makes 12 bars, in a 9 inch by 11 inch pan
Adapted from Bake to the Roots
For Filling:
12 ounces (350g) rhubarb, cleaned, cut lengthwise down the middle, and diced (look for rhubarb that’s dark red at the base)
1.8 ounces (50g) raspberries, smashed
½ cup (100g), plus 2 tablespoons, sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
¼ cup (30g) all-purpose flour
For Streusel:
1 cup (230g) unsalted butter, in small pieces, from the fridge, plus more for greasing the pan
2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour, sifted
½ cup (100g) sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For Lemon Glaze (Optional):
3.5 oz. (100g) confectioners’ sugar
½ lemon juiced, about 2-3 tablespoons (more if you want it a bit more tart)
2-3 teaspoon milk, to taste
½ teaspoon vanilla
In medium mixing bowl, add the rhubarb and the smashed raspberries and sprinkle the 2 tablespoon of sugar over top. Mix the fruit together until the sugar is evenly dispersed. Cover the bowl and let sit for about 1 hour.
While the rhubarb is marinating, grease an 11 inch by 9 inch glass baking pan with butter. Set aside and begin preparing the streusel.
In a large mixing bowl, add the sifted flour, sugar, and salt and mix to combine. Add the butter, in small pieces, and the vanilla extract and mix everything with your hands until you get different sized streusel – make sure there is no more flour on the bottom of the bowl.
You don’t want to knead the batter together like you normally would, meaning your end result shouldn’t be a dough ball. But rather, loosely fold together the dough until no more flour is at the bottom.
If you don’t end up with exactly the streusel you want, when you add them to the bars later, you can break them into smaller streusel pieces as you go along.
Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
Take a little more than half of the streusel and transfer it to the prepared baking pan. Press them into the bottom and corners of the pan to get one even layer for the base. Prick the bottom several times with a fork. Place the pan, along with the remaining streusel, in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.
Bake the crust for about 15 minutes until it gets some color around the edges. Remove the crust from the oven and lower the temperature to 350°F (180°C). Let the base cool down for a few minutes before adding the fruit.
Drain most of the accumulated liquid from the bowl with the fruit, but leaving some liquid is ok. Add the lemon juice and sugar to the bowl and mix to combine. Sprinkle the flour on top and mix until everything is well combined.
Pour the filling on top of the baked crust and spread evenly. Sprinkle the streusel from the fridge over top and bake for 40-50 minutes or until the streusel have a nice golden color and the filling is bubbly. The edges might get dark, but focus more on the streusel on top to gauge when the bars are done.
If you want to add the lemon glaze on top, prepare it while the bars are cooling down. Whisk together the confectioners’ sugar, the lemon juice, 2 teaspoons of milk, and vanilla extract until the consistency is thick and not too runny. Add more milk if the glaze needs more liquid.
Drizzle the glaze over the bars. Lift the pan up and tilt everything from one side to the other to help evenly disperse the glaze. Let the glaze harden before slicing.
Enjoy!