This easy Strawberry Rhubarb Bars recipe features a base of rich, tender vanilla cake that's topped with a sweet-tart layer of jammy strawberries and rhubarb, plus a buttery crumb topping. A beautiful spring and summer dessert!
Ingredients
Crumb Topping
½cupunsalted butter,gently melted and then cooled a bit (plus a bit more room-temperature butter to grease the pan)
¾cuppacked light brown sugar
¼teaspoonMorton kosher salt
1¼cupall-purpose flour
Bars
½poundchopped (½" pieces) fresh rhubarb
½poundfresh strawberries,hulled and sliced ¼" thick
2tablespoonspacked light brown sugar
1½cupsall-purpose flour,divided
¾teaspoonbaking powder
½teaspoonMorton kosher salt
¾cupunsalted butter,at room temperature
1½cupspowdered sugar,plus a bit more for dusting over the finished bars
3large eggs
2teaspoonspure vanilla extract
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9'' square baking pan with butter, then line with a parchment paper sling, leaving an overhang on 2 sides. Butter and flour the parchment paper and pan, tapping out the excess flour. Set aside.
Crumb Topping
Whisk together butter, brown sugar, and salt. Add flour and cut with a rigid pastry cutter or fork until large crumbs form. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Bars
In a medium bowl, combine rhubarb, strawberries, brown sugar, and ¼ cup of the flour.
In another medium bowl, whisk the remaining 1¼ cups of flour, baking powder, and salt.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Then beat in the eggs, one at a time. With mixer on low, beat in vanilla, then the flour mixture.
Spread batter evenly into prepared pan. Top with rhubarb and strawberry mixture, then top with streusel crumb topping. If you like to have some of the pretty red of the rhubarb and strawberries show on top (I do!), poke a few pieces up through the streusel.
Bake 50-55 minutes, or until topping is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a bit of moist crumbs attached. If crumb topping is browning more than you like and the cake is not yet fully baked, lay a piece of foil loosely over the pan while it continues to bake.
Remove pan from oven. Let bars cool completely in pan. Run a knife around the edge of the pan and, using the parchment paper overhang, lift cake from pan. Cut into bars; dust with powdered sugar if desired. Serve as is, or with dollops of fresh whipped cream.
Nutrition Information:
Calories: 212kcal
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by Spoonacular. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee accuracy. If your health depends on nutrition information, please calculate again with your own favorite calculator.