Our Love for Rhubarb
It’s mid-May, which means summer is almost here. In the UK, the weather is warming up and the sun is starting to show itself a little more frequently. For us, the change of seasons always inspires more recipes! For example, the cold and snowy winter means we post lots of soups and desserts full of warming spices. The spring means lots of fresh flavors and colors, like lemon and strawberry. The summer, similar to spring, means refreshing and bright desserts with seasonal produce. Additionally, we are hoping to share some no-bake desserts this summer, so you don’t even have to open your oven to create a delicious treat! Anyway, as we find ourselves in the middle of spring and inching towards summer, we wanted to share a recipe that screams sunshine and blue skies!
Today’s Recipe
Today’s recipe is for rabarbersnitter. Now, there is a very well-loved pastry in Denmark called hindbærsnitter, or raspberry slices. We have two versions on the blog: one with lattice on top and one that is more of a sandwiched pastry with icing on top. Basically, “snitter” are slices of tender shortcrust pastry with a fruit jam filling, and the name of the fruit just goes in front of “-snitter” to give you the name of the pastry. Hence the name “hindbærsnitter” (raspberry slices) or today’s recipe, “rabarbersnitter” (rhubarb slices). We love this pastry with rhubarb, because it is such an underrated fruit (or vegetable? I’m not sure). It is super tart and has an amazing flavor when cooked down with some sugar and vanilla extract. To us, rhubarb is a spring/summer flavor, as that is also when it is in season, so we are so excited to share this recipe with you today!
How to Make Rabarbersnitter
The process of making this sweet treat is actually quite easy; I would even say it is one of our easier recipes! Start by making the rhubarb jam filling, as this needs to cool while you make the pastry dough and work on the rest of the recipe. Then, make your dough by first crumbling the butter into the dry ingredients, and then adding egg and vanilla until it comes together into a ball. Try not to overwork it, or it may turn out tough and not super tender and melt-in-your-mouth! Chill this in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Next, roll out two thirds of the dough into a rectangle and spread the filling on top. Follow the instructions in the recipe below for the lattice topping with the remainder of the dough. Brush with egg wash, sprinkle with a bit of sugar, and bake. This is such a beautiful pastry and utterly delicious – enjoy!
Rabarbersnitter (Rhubarb Slices)
Ingredients
PASTRY DOUGH
- 300 grams (2 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour
- 200 grams (14 tbsp) unsalted butter, cold
- 50 grams (~1/2 cup) powdered sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- Egg for egg wash (optional)
- Sugar/sprinkles for topping (optional)
FILLING
- 340 grams (2-3 stalks, about 3 cups chopped) rhubarb
- 150 grams (3/4 cup) granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- 1-2 hours ahead of time, make the rhubarb topping by combining rhubarb, sugar, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt in a small pot/saucepan.
- Heat over medium to low heat and cook for around 15 minutes, until the rhubarb has cooked out and the mixture reaches a jam consistency. Transfer the mixture to a container and let cool, then refrigerate so it sets even more.
- While the filling is cooling, combine flour, powdered sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse to combine. If you don't have a food processor, you can also do this by hand in a bowl.
- Add cold butter and pulse in the food processor until it looks like sand. If doing this by hand, just break up the cold butter with your fingers and crumble until you reach a sand-like consistency.
- Add egg and vanilla extract and pulse until the dough starts to come together. If working by hand, add to your bowl, mix to distribute, and gently press together until your dough forms a ball.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- After refrigerating, roll out about two thirds of your dough into a rectangle to form the base of the pastry, about 1/4 inch thick, and 9"x13" or 10"x14" in dimensions. Trim the edges, making sure to save the trimmings incase you need them for the lattice or any edges you will make later.
- Slide this base onto the baking sheet or roll the dough onto your rolling pin, then unroll onto the baking sheet for easy transfer!
- Spread the rhubarb mixture in a thin layer on top of the dough, all the way to the edges.
- Roll out the last third of the dough into a rough rectangle, and cut into strips of equal width (between 3/4" and 1"). We used a fluted pastry cutter for this, but you can definitely use a knife! We made a diagonal lattice for this pastry, so you will need strips of varying length. We tend to roll it out to about the length of the diagonal edge, then cut into about 10 strips – we find that we can use one strip for multiple different sections of the lattice by trimming the pieces as we use them. We ended up using 13 pieces of the strips in total for the lattice, all with varying lengths.
- Make your lattice – this looks way harder than it actually is! Start by laying down all the strips that are going in the same direction across the jam – we placed 7 strips going from the bottom left corner to the top right corner. Trim the edges of the strips so that they are flush with the edge of the pastry base, and be sure to save the trimmings incase you need to roll out more strips!
- This is likely going to be confusing in written form, so be sure to reference the photos! We start in the top right corner and choose which strips (that we just laid down) will overlap the strips going in the opposite direction (that we haven't laid down yet). Fold back the strip that you want to overlap (since you are in the corner, it will be only one or two strips to start with).
- Then, place your first strip going in the opposite direction, trimming off any pastry that overhangs the edge.
- Now that we have one strip laid down in the opposite direction, fold back the strip(s) that you want to overlap. The overlapping and underlapping strips should be alternating – this is what creates the weaving effect.
- Next strip: fold back the strips you want to overlap the new strip,
- Place the strip;
- Then fold back over the pastry pieces you pulled back so that they overlap the new strip.
- For the next strip, peel back the strips that you did not peel back last time, then place another strip and fold those strips back over it.
- Repeat the same process until you reach the bottom left corner. We ended up placing 6 strips going in the opposite direction! If you would like a simpler lattice that is vertical and horizontal, reference our hindbærsnitter recipe!
- Once you are done, the pattern should alternate and this creates the lattice look!
- At the end, we like to take the remaining dough scraps and roll out very thin strips to cover the edge. This is definitely optional, it just makes the edges neater!
- Optionally, you can egg wash the lattice and cover with sugar or sprinkles.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes, until lightly golden brown on top and around the edges. As every oven is different, it may need longer to cook the pastry! If the pastry is still very pale after 15 minutes, leave it in for 5 minutes at a time until it reaches a golden color. Let cool briefly before slicing. We divide the rectangle into 12 square (ish) slices. Enjoy!
