Rhubarb-strawberry tray bake
Need an afternoon tea treat? Something to take to a family gathering? A cake/slice/dessert hybrid to serve with ice-cream for pudding? Taa-daa. Buttery, crumbly and fruity, this strawberry-rhubarb tray bake is exactly the simple pleasure you’re craving.
Rhubarb and strawberry make a delicious combo, and we love how you don’t need to pre-cook the fruits either (well, the ‘fruit’ and ‘veggie’ to be precise, as rhubarb is technically a vegetable); you just scatter them, chopped up, over the base in the tray, then you go in with the sugar and cornflour. The cornflour is to thicken the juices as the mixture cooks and releases juice, preventing the base becoming a soggy mess. We think feijoa and banana would be another winning combination to use here, as would apricots and plums, or raspberries and peaches. Some of these combos might require less sugar because rhubarb can be jolly tart. Use walnuts or chopped hazelnuts instead of the almonds, or use pistachios instead, which would be very gala.
MAKES A 20 x 30cm SLICE
375g (2½ cups) plain flour
200g caster sugar
1 tsp baking powder
225g unsalted butter, chopped
1 large egg, beaten well
60ml (¼ cup) buttermilk
90g (⅔ cup) slivered almonds
Filling
450g strawberries, hulled and chopped
250g (about 6 thin stalks) rhubarb, finely chopped
125g caster sugar
5 tsp cornflour
Preheat the oven to 180C. Lightly grease and flour the sides of a 20 x 30cm slice tin and line the base with baking paper.
Combine the flour, sugar and baking powder in a large bowl and whisk to combine well. using your fingertips, rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Make a well in the centre of the mixture, then add the egg and buttermilk to the well. Using a fork at first and then your hands, mix just to combine; do not knead (the mixture will be a little crumbly and should not be kneaded to a smooth dough).
Remove about 2 cups of the mixture to a small bowl, then scatter the remaining mixture over the base of the lined tray, and use your hands to press it evenly over the base. Scatter over the strawberries and rhubarb, then evenly scatter over the sugar and cornflour. Using your hands, crumble the reserved dough evenly over the top, then scatter with the almonds. Bake for 45 minutes, or until deep golden and the filling is bubbly. Cool the slice in the tin, then cut into pieces to serve. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator; it will keep for 3-4 days.
