Growing up in the Midwest, my maternal grandparents (who lived just a couple of miles from us) had a massive garden. Each year I looked so forward to the wonderful bounty of carrots, broccoli, lettuce, strawberries, sweet corn, wax beans, peas, potatoes, tomatoes, raspberries and rhubarb. Oh how I LOVED the rhubarb! It's tart taste was always so enjoyable to me and my favorite way to eat it was to simply cook it down with some sugar and serve it hot over ice cream.
Now I live in the Deep South where it's hot most of the year where winter is typically comprised of a few days with temps hovering around freezing so rhubarb doesn't typically grow well. Grandpa told me that the plant needs a hard freeze and a period of super cold temperatures to "do its thing" below ground each year in order to bring about a great harvest of juicy, red stalks. So.....no rhubarb for my Georgia gardens.
This year, I have been SOOOOO grateful for a cousin's exceptionally large rhubarb crop because she has sent me 2 huge batches. Y'all, I cannot begin to describe the sheer bliss of having garden fresh rhubarb for the first time in nearly 15 years! (Side note......I purchased some at an organic grocery store a couple of times but the stalks were pale, tasteless and so expensive that I am positive Grandma and Grandpa rolled over in their graves). With the first batch, she also sent the recipe for my Auntie JoAnn's favorite rhubarb dessert and I eagerly transformed the recipe to accommodate my food allergies.
When I posted this picture of my dessert,
hot and fresh out of the oven, I got numerous questions for the recipe. Since I am always happy to oblige, here y'all go: (note: this post contains affiliate links and I earn a small commission at no additional cost to you when you shop through the links)
2 C. Gluten Free flour (I use Pamela's brand and y'all can get it here: https://amzn.to/3csn7g0)
1 t. baking soda
1/4 t salt
1 1/4 C Brown sugar (I used this monk fruit brown sugar substitute and it worked pefectly)
2 eggs
1 t vanilla
1 c milk of any kind (I used oat milk)
2 1/2 cups of rhubarb (I found that I wanted more rhubarb so I will do at least 3 cups next time)
Mix all ingredients together and add rhubarb. Pour in greased 9x13 pan and top with:
1/3 c sugar
1 t cinnamon
Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes and enjoy! You can serve with whipped topping or ice cream but I am not able to eat those food items so I enjoyed my rhubarb dessert with a nice cup of tea.
If you try this recipe, leave a comment and tell me how you liked it.