Written By Catherine Parrott

When reading about the longstanding debate of a Cobbler vs a Crumble (you didn’t know about that mad rivalry? Where you been?), I came across a Buckle. Essentially a cake and a crumble in one.Which is when you layer the fruit on top of the raw batter before baking to add moisture to the cake batter and creating a denser, creamier texture reminiscent of a very thick custard. I made it. It didn’t do anything about the debate. But it was delicious.

RECIPE:

MARINATED RHUBARB

  • 400g RHUBARB

  • JUICE OF 2 ORANGES

  • 50g CASTER SUGAR

OAT CRUMBLE

  • 100g DEMERARA SUGAR

  • 150g PLAIN FLOUR

  •  100g UNSALTED BUTTER (Cold and Cubed)

  • 50g OATS

BUTTERMILK SPONGE

  • 190g PLAIN FLOUR

  • 230g CASTER SUGAR

  • 75g  UNSALTED BUTTER (Cold and Cubed)

  • 5g BAKING POWDER

  • 2 MEDIUM WHOLE EGGS

  • 190g BUTTERMILK

  • Zest OF 2 ORANGES

ORANGE CUSTARD

  • 200ml WHOLE MILK

  • 200ml SINGLE CREAM

  • 2 ORANGES (Zest)

  • 115g CASTER SUGAR

  • 1 MEDIUM WHOLE EGG

  • 2 MEDIUM EGG YOLKS

  • 2 Tbsp (25g) CORNFLOUR

BEFORE YOU START…

  • Preheat your oven to 160c (Fan Oven- 170c for other, less powerful ovens)

METHODS:

FOR THE MARINATED RHUBARB…

Chop the rhubarb to about 5cm in length and then in half lengthways (or like don’t, I’m not watching. Just chop is small and fairly regular), combine with the sugar and orange juice and leave to macerate for at least 2 hours. Drain the juices, reduce in a pan until syrup and set aside for later. (I used mine in the custard by adding it to milk and cream before cooking)

FOR THE OAT CRUMBLE…

Sand everything together by hand until it forms chunky breadcrumbs (YOU PREFER A FINER CRUMBLE? THEN MIX IT LONGER AND MAKE IT FINER MY LOVE.), set aside until needed. *

Both the crumble and sponge can be made gluten free, try either using rice flour or cornflour and even substituting in 20-30%  ground almonds into the mixture if you’re fancy.

FOR THE BUTTERMILK SPONGE…

Sand the flour and butter together until there are no lumps of butter, mix in the sugar and baking powder.

Add the eggs gradually to the mixture (It'll super thick like a dough, so mix slowly)

Add the buttermilk gradually along with the zest, mixing until nice and smooth.

TO COOK THE BUCKLE…

Pour the batter into your cake tin, cover with the rhubarb and then finish with an even layer of the crumble mix.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the crumble is golden.

FOR THE ORANGE CUSTARD…

Heat the orange peel, milk and cream together until steaming.  

Meanwhile whisk the sugar, yolks and cornflour until smooth. Once the cream, milk mixture is steaming pour over the egg yolk mixture and whisk until smooth. Return to the pan and cook on a low heat, stirring continuously, until thickened.

I fucking LOVE this format. You can use any fruit (the moisture does NOT matter), you can use different crumbles with different nuts and SUCH LARK, all on top of a lovely rich sponge. WITH CUSTARD!? SO FIT.

Serve piping hot, to a room full of smug faces after they’ve tried one delicious mouthful.

Catherine Parrott
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