yes i did think twice about calling this monster, and hence this post, rhubarb krack. in fact, at first type i had the old-fashioned name up there; kuchen.
much as i love old-fashion desserts, both in their taste and the way their names feel jolly on the tongue, i could not allow myself to do it.
because that would fail to express just how evil this really is.
speaking of evil and subsequently evil doers i have to give a big tigress-sized shout out to rebecca of the lovely blog cakewalk because she was the one pushin’ this on her blog last may. it’s been passed down from her paternal grandmother and it is pass down worthy indeed!
that is of course if you’re not afraid of a little butter, sugar and eggs (why would you be? don’t believe the hype!) or if you happen to have gobs of rhubarb waking you up at night in this fine spring season – or chickens even, layin’ around all egg happy on these long lit days. then i see no reason why you shouldn’t run to your kitchen this very minute, eggs, rhubarb, butter in hand.
except, of course, for this one small caveat; this rich n’ buttery, sweet n’ tart, custard n’ rhubarb filled krack is killer! i mean like, it be callin’ your name at night from the fridge…(insert barry white’s voice here) “tigress, tigress, yeah that’s right baby, i’m right here, you know i got what you need. don’t keep me waitin’ for you baby.”
hence, the name change. rebecca, i hope your grandma understands.
i didn’t do a whole lotta changing from rebecca’s original recipe – just a few minor fiddles. here’s what i did:
rhubarb krack
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2/3 cup cold unsalted* butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
7 eggs
8 to 9 cups rhubarb, cut into 3/4 to 1 inch slices
2 cups sugar
for topping:
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar**
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
11 inch springform pan (you can use any comparable sized pan, but i love the unveiled rustic look and the easiness of cut a springform pan affords).
1. grease and flour the bottom and sides of pan. preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. in a food processor pulse together the 2 cups flour, 2/3 cup butter and 1 egg until it forms a sand like texture and clumps together when pressed between finger and thumb.
3. press the mixture evenly into the bottom of your springform. place the rhubarb on top. your pan will be chock full o’ rhubarb if you pack in a hefty 8 plus cups. this is not a dainty dessert.
4. whisk together the remaining 6 eggs and two cups sugar and pour over rhubarb.
5. pulse the topping ingredients together until crumbly. sprinkle evenly over the entire lot.
6. bake in oven for 70-80 minutes or until topping is browned.
let cool completely – preferably overnight – before removing sides of pan.
this is just as addicting at room temperature with or without ice cream. but my favorite way is straight-up, chilled from the fridge. the cool crumble-covered custard messes so perfectly with the sharpness of the rhubarb, all of it wobbling atop a thickly padded crust. when it disappears before your very mouth, there is no doubt that it will leave you wanting more.
i’m not kidding, i think i’m in trouble.
here, have a piece.
pawnotes:
*i used unsalted butter as i always use it for baking and had some in my freezer, but rebecca uses salted and even though i cannot imagine it being any better than it is, i am inclined to try it with salted butter next time.
**rebecca’s recipe has 1 whole cup on sugar in the topping which was a bit too sweet for my taste. 1/2 cup takes it down to perfection IMO, but go to 3/4 cup if you know you like your krack sweet.
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Oh yummy my neighbor just planted two rhubarb plants up in my garden lucky me…i asked him for some and the next thing i know he is at the door with full on plants…Life is good indeed this will be my next rhubarb recipe thanx as always
i'm thanking my lucky stars i have a rhubarb plant growing away in my garden. i NEED to make this – if only to have barry white calling my name!
I am not sure it is possible to read your description and then NOT make this dessert. Yum.
rhubarb, custard, crumble – absolute bliss.
Hmmm, I'm wondering if I could make this in a muffin tin for individual servings, seems as though it could sell well at the school tag sale. I bet it could work but not sure how to figure out the cooking time.
lani – how great! watch out 'cause if it's anything like mine, if it takes, someday it will overtake you!
sweetsugarbean – you say that now, but just you wait!
karen – make it!
gloria – you too!
commonplace iris – i think it would sell very well. if you do make it in tins, definitely use those little inserts otherwise i think you may have some trouble getting them out. it's a bit loosey-goosey. hmmm, i don't have much experience with converting recipes to muffin sized, but maybe do a small test batch first. my *guess* would be test for doneness at 25-30 minutes.
I am very upset..my rhubarb didn't survive this winter…takes a couple of years to be pick worthy for new plants…nuts!
Oh my goodness. I love it! Gonna make it tonight, or tomorrow.
Oh, man. I wish I had some of this right now…
I made this and it lasted 2 days in my house. Thanks for the great recipe!
This didn't set for me…..baked it longer on second attempt and chilled it longer and still has mostly liquid with no set custard.
Is it missing something?
rhonda – I warned you!
anonymous – oh no! that is not good. the recipe is not missing anything. I wonder if your rhubarb is holding more water? wash them before you chop them not after, and you can even just wipe them with a wet cloth. make sure you are slicing them in large enough pieces and you could try taking the quantity down a bit. whenever something like this happens to me I am inclined to check Tyne temperature of my oven my placing an oven thermometer in there – home ovens are usually not 100% accurate and that can make a difference. good luck!
oops sorry anonymous – I see spell check mangled that sentence. what I meant was: I check the temperature of my oven by placing an [oven safe] thermometer in there.
This looks delicious. I have rhubarb on my list for the farmers' market now — thanks!
Do you think this would work using blueberries? What other fresh fruits? Not everyone loves rhubarb (imagine!) and I would like to serve these on a dessert buffet. Thanks!
anonymous – i have not tried it with berries yet. i am planning to try with gooseberries soon, and i imagine blueberries could work well. i would be concerned about the water content of a strawberry though. let me know how it goes if you do try it!
Do you think frozen rhubarb would work? If so, would you use it frozen or let it thaw first? I'm guessing letting it thaw first would make the rhubarb too mushy, but maybe I'm wrong.
Hey, I made this dessert (alas, I didn't love it, I found the w/w flour made the crust too heavy for me), and I foolishly stored the leftovers in the frig on the metal springform pan base and totally f-ed up the surface of the pan base. Where it had been shiny (a thin coating of shiny, apparently), it's now a flat grey, like auto paint primer. Do you happen to know if a springform pan base that has had some of the shiny coating worn off is still safe to use? It could be that I just bought a cheap pan (bought it so long ago I have no memory of its origin) and need to invest in a better one, but I figured it couldn't hurt to ask. Thanks!
darx – oh no! sorry you weren't a fan. did you use whole wheat pastry flour? there's a big difference between regular whole wheat and pastry flour. gosh, I don't know what to tell you about the pan, that's a bummer. it really depends on what you are baking on it and what type of metal it is etc. if you can't call the manufacturer you may want to invest in a new one.
Ah, that's what I figured about the pan– thanks! I probably was just using regular w/w flour– that's what I get for not reading closely! The truth is I have a rhubarb dessert I love already (my grandma's pie recipe), so any new rhubarb dessert has a high bar to cross!
My rhubarb is still just a bunch of little nubby things the size of the tip of my pinky finger. Do you know if there are any kind of dances and chants you can do to make rhubarb grow faster? I need this now!
i must know it somewhere in the back of my brain, because my rhubarb are beasts! someday yours will be too, in time. and you do need this now, go bother your neighbor, there must be someone by you with beasty rhubarb already!
I made this with oat flour (was out of whole wheat pastry flour) and it is deelish!! I let mine sit in the fridge overnight and am eating it now with my coffee. Yummm!! Thank you Tigress
I loved the look of this recipe; what a great springtime dessert when the hens are a-laying and the rhubarb patch is going crazy. The final result was a little less than I was hoping, though. It looked beautiful, but when I cut into it the the eggs had curdled. The taste was great, but the custard needs work, I think. When I thought about it more afterward, I got to thinking – most custards use only the yolks, or mostly yokes, and aren’t they usually started on the stove or cooked in a water bath?
I might try this again with some adjustments…although I’d have to research the custard part. I love the idea of a recipe that uses lots of rhubarb and eggs!
Hey there, love your site. Was wondering if frozen (by me) would work for this recipe?
Thanks,
Kevin
yes, i make this with frozen rhubarb all of the time and it is amazing!