Smitten Kitchen's Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble

The prime time for early summer fruit is coming to and end.
This is my ode to fresh strawberries and rhubarb, and I think it's quite a fitting tribute.

I was going to throw together a strawberry and rhubarb crumble on my own, but then I thought better, and enlisted the help of Smitten Kitchen.

I love crumbles with lots of topping, and SK's Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble delivers just that. Everyone knows the topping is the best part of a crumble, so it's essential to have some in every bite. It's the perfect match for that sweet and tart fruit filling.

In SK's original post, she talks about her basic crumble recipe and how she makes it work for any combination of fruits. So it's customizable- you know I love that!

If you're all out of strawberries and rhubarb in your area, look this one up next summer!

Smitten Kitchen's Strawberry-Rhubarb Crumble

Yields 6 to 8 servings.

For the topping:
1 1/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons Demerara sugar (or turbinado sugar aka Sugar in the Raw)
Zest of one lemon
1/4 pound (1 stick or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:
1 1/2 cups rhubarb, chopped into 1-inch pieces
1 quart strawberries plus a few extras, hulled, quartered
Juice of one lemon
1/2 cup sugar
3 to 4 tablespoons cornstarch (some commenters found the flour option a little too, well, floury so this has been updated)
Pinch of salt

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Prepare topping: In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugars and lemon zest and add the melted butter. Mix until small and large clumps form. Refrigerate until needed.

2. Prepare filling: Toss rhubarb, strawberries, lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch and a pinch of salt in a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. (I used an oval dish this time, because they fit better in the bottom of a shopping bag.)

3. Remove topping from refrigerator and cover fruit thickly and evenly with topping. Place pie plate on a (foil-lined, if you really want to think ahead) baking sheet, and bake until crumble topping is golden brown in places and fruit is bubbling beneath, about 40 to 50 minutes.

*All comments in the recipe are copied directly from Smitten Kitchen.