We have gigantic rhubarb growing in the side yard.  For most of the spring a wheel barrel was lying over top of it.  That definitely didn’t slow it down, now there is more than I could ever use. So here is my first use, Rhubarb Crumble Muffins.  Next time I will add some strawberries or raspberries to the batter.  I almost did that for this batch but thought I would give the rhubarb a chance to be the star for this one.  Unfortunately it wasn’t.  Don’t get me wrong the muffins are delicious. The rhubarb just didn’t really stand out for me.  The batter is nice and light and who doesn’t love crumble.

I was very sceptical of only adding 2 tbsp of fat to the muffin mixture.  Honestly, I really couldn’t tell.  They are absolutely a low-fat muffin and for a large portion they come in at only 210 calories.  I was pretty impressed!  I plan on packing them in out lunches for the week and hopefully I’ll make another batch on the weekend and try a strawberry-rhubarb version.

Rhubarb Crumble Muffins

Ingredients

FOR THE MUFFIN MIX

• ¾ cups sugar
• 1 ¼ cup rhubarb, small dice
• 2 tbsp sunflower oil
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ cup buttermilk
• 1 2/3 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda

FOR THE CRUMBLE

• ¼ cup light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/3 cup oats
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ¼ cup butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 390F.  Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners.  Stir together sugar and rhubarb and set aside while you make the crumble topping.
2. Mix together the brown sugar, flour, oats and cinnamon.  Then rub in the butter until clumpy.  You can use a fork or your fingers work well also.
3. Stir the oil, egg, vanilla and buttermilk into the sugary rhubarb.  Now, add the flour, baking powder and baking soda and stir well.
4. Spoon into the cases, the scatter each with a thick layer of crumble mixture.  Bake for 15-18 minutes until golden.  Cool on a wire rack.

TIP:  If you don’t have buttermilk on had put 1 tbsp of vinegar into a 1 cup measuring cup and top-up with milk.  Let rest of 3-5 minutes then use the amount require in the recipe.

SUBSTITUTIONS:  You can use a mix of fruit to go along with your rhubarb.  Just make sure that the total amount of fruit doesn’t exceed 1 ¼ cups.  Some possibilities are strawberries, raspberries or blueberries.

ENJOY!