As you may have figured out by now, I'm big into seasonal eating, and rhubarb is one of those shooting stars that I love all the more because it appears for such a short time (see Gingery Rhubarb Compote). A couple years ago I went through a phase of experimenting with breakfast squares, but every recipe I tried came out delicious but far too sweet. I really can't stand eating anything very sweet first thing in the morning. So as I pondered what to do with all the rhubarb I've been buying, it occurred to me that I might cut the sweetness of a typical breakfast bar with some tartness. The result is still too dessert-adjacent for me not to have a psychological block, but it has been the perfect mid-morning snack while working from home.
I've included my jam recipe here, which makes enough for about 2 batches of these bars, but you can feel free to use your own or to try a thick compote instead. Raspberries are an under-appreciated rhubarb companion in my opinion because they balance the tartness and add their own zing, they deepen the red color, and they naturally jellify without added pectin. Raspberries can also be quite expensive and have a short shelf life, but a little goes a long way in terms of flavor, so beefing it up with rhubarb gets you more raspberry flavor for your buck. I'm sure it would also be delicious with strawberry, but I would replace the white sugar with pectin-enriched jam sugar and reduce the overall sugar content. I made it with almond flour because the flavor pairs nicely, but the added bonus is that it's gluten-free (as long as your oats are certified GF)! You could make it with all-purpose flour, but I would reduce the quantity a bit.
We have strange sizes and shapes of baking supplies since our apartment came furnished, so I actually baked these bars in a loaf pan. Side bar: We bought this magical loaf pan soon after we moved in, but we didn't realized until we got home that it was EXPANDABLE. Have you ever heard of such a thing?? It's genius. I'm obsessed with it. Anywho, since we don't have a square pan, I stretched the loaf pan to roughly 25x10 cm and just sliced them into bars. I'll let you do the surface area math, but if you're baking in a square pan I would double the crumb amount just to be safe.
Ingredients
For the jam:
Makes about 1 jar, enough for 2 crumb bars
140 g/1 pint raspberries
200 g rhubarb (about 1.5 stalks) - chopped
200 g sugar
Zest of 1 lime
Juice of 1 lemon
For the crumble:
For 1 batch baked in a loaf pan of 25 cm x 10 cm (roughly 10 x 4 in). Double for a square pan of 23 x 23 cm/8 x 8 in.
Raspberry rhubarb jam
80 g/1 cup rolled oats
95 g/1 cup almond flour
45 g unsweetened shredded coconut
2-3 tbsp brown sugar
Pinch of salt
85 g unrefined coconut oil - melted
Sea salt
Handful of flaked almonds
Drizzle of honey (optional)
Steps
For the jam:
Add washed fruit and sugar to a saucepan off of heat and let sit until the fruit releases some moisture, about 10 minutes.
In the meantime, zest the lime and juice the lemon. Add to the saucepan and mix.
Put saucepan on low heat until the sugar has dissolved, and then turn up the heat so that the mixture simmers. Boil, stirring constantly, for about 15 minutes, and then turn down to a low simmer for another 15 minutes or so, until all pieces of fruit are dissolved. TIP: I'm not very scientific about jamming and it doesn't have to be very jellified to work in these bars, but you can test jam consistency without a food thermometer by putting a drop of jam on a chilled plate. If after cooling the jam feels wrinkled and has a jelly-like firmness to it, it's done.
Cool completely before using or canning.
For the crumble bars:
Preheat the oven to 170ºC/350ºF and line a loaf pan with parchment paper. (I baked mine on 150ºC, but if you have a normal oven you can be braver.)
Combine oats and almond flour first, then add in brown sugar and a pinch of salt. Make sure to crumble any clumps of brown sugar and incorporate well. Add in most of the shredded coconut, but set aside a small handful for later.
Drizzle melted coconut oil over mixture and stir in until fully incorporated. The mixture should have a crumbly texture but still have enough oil to bind together some of the mixture in clusters.
Pat half of mixture into the parchment-lined loaf pan so that it is tightly packed and even. Err on the side of more mixture in the bottom layer since the bar will fall apart if the base isn't thick/packed enough.
Spread jam onto the base, careful not to dislodge the crumb. This jam packs a powerful punch, so I keep the jam layer on the thinner side.
Crumble remaining oat mixture on top, but do not pack down. It's ok if you can see some of the jam. Sprinkle the remaining coconut on top, as well as a few flakes of sea salt. You can sprinkle the flaked almonds on top now, or wait until about 10-15 minutes into the bake to add them if you're worried about burning them. Optional: Drizzle honey in a zig zag over the bars.
Bake for about 25 minutes, or until golden brown.
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