Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble with Captain Crunch

Warm fruit crumble is begging for a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble

I’m sad to say that we’re coming to the end of strawberry season here in North Florida. Unlike most areas of the country, we get our strawberries from Plant City between December and March. This week, I wanted to release a couple of recipes dedicated to my favorite fruit starting with this beautiful crumble that uses one of my favorite childhood cereals, Captain Crunch.

I absolutely adore pairing strawberries with corn ever since I had a cereal strawberry milk ice cream at Milk Bar in NYC. There’s something about sweet strawberries paired with buttery corn that makes me think of summer. Instead of oats, I use Captain Crunch in the crumble topping which gets nice and crispy when baked.

At the end of baking, do not be tempted to scoop into the crumble right away. Since cornstarch is used to make a thick sauce from the fruit juices, it needs a bit of time to cool down and set. Give it at least 30 minutes before digging in and serving with vanilla ice cream.

Ingredients for the Captain Crunch Topping

• 1 1/2 stick unsalted butter

• 1 cups light brown sugar

• 1 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 cups lightly crush Captain Crunch

Ingredients for the Crisp

• 1 pound rhubarb stalks, sliced into 1/2-inch thick pieces

• 2 pounds strawberries, hulled and sliced

• 1 1/4 cups sugar

• 3 tablespoons cornstarch

• Juice and zest of 1 lemon

• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Serves 10

Special Equipment

• 9-inch x 13-inch casserole dish

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350℉. In a large bowl, toss the rhubarb, strawberries, granulated sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla bean paste together. Allow the fruit to sit in the sugar for 15-20 minutes while you get the topping ready.

2. Combine all of the ingredients in a medium bowl. Using a pastry blender or your fingers, mix the ingredients together until pea-sized crumbs form. Place into the fridge to cool for ten minutes.

3. Transfer the fruit mixture to a large, buttered casserole dish. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the filling and bake for one hour or until the fruit filling is bubbling all around the edges and the topping is golden brown.

4. Allow the crisp to rest for 30 minutes before serving it. This will allow the juices from the cobbler to set. Otherwise, it may be runny when you scoop into it. Serve with vanilla ice cream and drizzle with some of the juices from the crisp.