In celebration of the fact that Bake From Scratch is finally available in stores here in the UK todays recipe is one of mine that appears in the current 'British Issue' that I guest edited. The recipe in the magazine is for a more classic rhubarb and ginger crumble but todays version is infused with two of my favourite flavours fennel and cardamom both of which go beautifully with rhubarb. I grew up in Bradford which is on the border of the Rhubarb Triangle, the area in Yorkshire famous for its forced rhubarb, it really is still where the beat rhubarb comes from. 

This is just a quick post today as I am manically trying to get all of my work out of the way before I head off to the US next week to start the Bake From Scratch tour where we will be visiting San Francisco, Minneapolis and NYC. I am so excited for the tour and cant wait to see you guys out there, so any last minute tips of what I should check out whilst there let me know in the comments. 

Rhubarb Crumble

Cardamom Crumble
150g plain flour
100g caster sugar
80g jumbo rolled oats
130g unsalted butter, diced and chilled
1 tsp ground cardamom

Rhubarb Mixture
600g cups rhubarb, cut into 1 inch pieces
85g-125g caster sugar (depending on how sharp you like your rhubarb)
2 tbsp cornflour
1 tsp ground fennel seeds
2 tsp vanilla bean paste

Custard
600ml whole milk
6 large egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
1 heaped tbsp cornflour
50g caster sugar

Preheat the oven to 190C (170C Fan).

To make the crumble mixture place the flour, sugar and cardamom into a bowl and mix together to combine. Add the butter and toss to coat in flour. Use your hands or a pastry blender to cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Stir through the oats and set aside for the moment. At this point you can put the crumble into a ziplock bag and freeze for a couple months. It can be used straight from the freezer making it incredibly quick and simple to get dessert on the table. 

For the rhubarb mixture toss the ingredients together in a large bowl and tip into a 9x9 roasting tin or cake tin. The exact size doesn't matter, depending on what you have available you can have a crumble with thicker or thinner layers (I often divide this into two large pie plates and freeze one of the crumbles assembled, ready to bake). 

Bake in the preheated oven for about 45-60 minutes or until the crumble is golden and the filling is bubbling. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving. 

Whilst the crumble is baking quickly make the custard. Whisk everything except the milk together in a large bowl, until smooth and fully combined. Add the milk to a medium sized saucepan and bring to a simmer. Once at temperature pour the milk over the egg yolk mixture whisking constantly to prevent it from curdling. Pour the custard back into the pan and whisking contantly cook until the mixture comes to a boil and has thickened enough that it can coat the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat and pour into a jug. Serve whislt still warm.