Gordon Ramsay’s rhubarb crumble is pink rhubarb sautéed in vanilla sugar and butter with Japanese pickled ginger, topped with a hazelnut and oat crumble and served warm with lemon mascarpone. From Sunday Lunch, where he says “I sauté the rhubarb to enhance the flavour, add a bit of Japanese pickled ginger to give it warmth, and use vanilla-infused sugar to lend a sweet aroma.” Serves 4 to 6.
He filmed the same recipe on The F Word (1 million views) in a head-to-head against guest cook Christopher Parker. All three blind tasters chose Ramsay’s. He says “the oats absorb more of the juice than it would be if it was just flour and butter, and the butter gets it really nicely crispy.” On Cookalong Live he makes a variation where he flambées the rhubarb in rum after caramelising it, which adds a dark warmth you don’t get from the Sunday Lunch version.
The pickled ginger is what separates this from every other rhubarb crumble online. Ramsay uses sushi-style pickled ginger instead of stem ginger from a jar. On The F Word he explains why: “it’s actually quite light in pickle, got rid of that rawness and it’s not so sweet.” Stem ginger adds sweetness on top of sweetness, but pickled ginger adds a vinegar sharpness that works with rhubarb the same way lemon juice does, just with more warmth underneath.
Gordon Ramsay Rhubarb Crumble
Course: DessertCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy6
servings15
minutes25
minutes390
kcal40
minutesFrom Sunday Lunch: pink rhubarb sautéed in vanilla sugar and butter with Japanese pickled ginger, topped with a toasted hazelnut and oat crumble with demerara sugar and nutmeg. Served warm with lemon mascarpone.
Ingredients
800g (1 lb 12 oz) pink rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 4-5cm lengths
150g vanilla sugar (see tip)
Few knobs of butter
20g Japanese pickled ginger, finely chopped
- For the crumble topping:
150g (5 oz) toasted skinless hazelnuts
100g (3½ oz) plain flour
50g (1¾ oz) unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
50g (1¾ oz) demerara sugar
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
40g porridge oats
- To serve:
200g mascarpone
Finely grated zest of ½ lemon
Directions
- Sauté the rhubarb: Preheat the oven to 190°C (170°C fan / 375°F / Gas 5). Toss the rhubarb in vanilla sugar. Heat a heavy-based sauté pan, tip in the fruit with 2 tablespoons of water and a few knobs of butter. Cook for 2 minutes, then turn the rhubarb gently with a thin spoon so the pieces stay intact. Continue cooking for 3 to 5 minutes until just tender when pierced with a knife. Stir in the pickled ginger, remove from the heat and leave to cool.
- Make the crumble: Lightly crush the hazelnuts in a bowl with the end of a rolling pin. In a separate bowl, rub the flour and cold butter together with your fingertips until they form a crumb-like mixture. Tip in the demerara sugar, nutmeg, oats and hazelnuts. Mix well.
- Assemble and bake: Lay the rhubarb in a 1.5 to 2 litre baking dish, then scatter the crumble topping evenly over the top. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the topping is nicely browned. Leave to stand for about 10 minutes.
- Serve: Mix the lemon zest into the mascarpone. Serve the rhubarb crumble warm with a generous dollop of lemon mascarpone.
FAQs
Why does Ramsay use pickled ginger instead of stem ginger?
Pickled ginger has had its rawness removed by the vinegar, so it adds warmth without the fiery bite of fresh ginger or the syrupy sweetness of stem ginger. On The F Word Ramsay says it’s “actually quite light in pickle, got rid of that rawness and it’s not so sweet.”
This matters because rhubarb crumble already has plenty of sugar from the vanilla sugar and the demerara topping. Adding stem ginger in syrup would push it over the edge. Pickled ginger gives you the ginger flavour with a sharpness that cuts through instead.
Why does Ramsay add oats and hazelnuts to the crumble?
On The F Word he explains that “the oats absorb more of the juice than it would be if it was just flour and butter, and the butter gets it really nicely crispy.” Rhubarb releases a lot of liquid as it bakes, which turns a plain flour crumble soggy from underneath. The oats soak that juice up while the demerara keeps the surface crisp.
The hazelnuts go in lightly crushed, not chopped, so you get irregular pieces that add crunch between the oats and the flour. He uses the same oat-in-the-crumble philosophy in his apple crumble, where he mixes muesli into the topping for the same reason.
Can you add rum to this recipe?
On Cookalong Live, Ramsay makes a variation where he flambées the rhubarb with rum after tossing it in caramel. The flame burns off the alcohol but leaves a deep, dark sugar warmth that pairs naturally with ginger.
If you try this, pour the rum into the hot pan with the rhubarb already in it, tilt the pan slightly towards the flame to ignite, and stand well back. The Sunday Lunch version doesn’t use rum, so it’s a lighter, more delicate crumble. Both work, it depends whether you want something subtle or something with more punch.
