A crowd-pleasing spring recipe inspired by my grandma’s rhubarb cake. The buttery shortbread crust is topped with a sweet and tart custard like filling of strawberries and rhubarb. The crust and crumble topping are made from the same mixture, so these delicious summer treats whip up in no time (and with less mess!). Perfect to take on a picnic or BBQ. You can even serve still warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Bars

Crumb base and topping

• 2 cups flour

• 1/2 cup butter, cubed or grated

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1 egg, beaten

Filling

• 1 cup sugar

• 1/2 cup flour

• 1/2 cup melted butter

• 1 tsp vanilla

• 2 eggs, beaten

• 2 cups strawberries, chopped

• 2 cups rhubarb, chopped

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8x8 inch pan with parchment paper.

Make crumb mixture using a fork. Combine flour, butter, salt, baking powder and egg in a medium bowl. The mixture should resemble coarse crumbs and should firm together if you squeeze in you hand. Reserve 1 cup of the mixture. Flatten the remaining mixture into the pan.

Make filing by combining the sugar, flour, butter and eggs together. Stir in strawberries and rhubarb.

Pour the filling evenly over the crumb layer. Top with remaining 1 cup of crumb mix.

Bake for 50-60 minutes. Let pan cool completely on a wire rack.