Two of the season’s best treats – strawberries and rhubarb – combine to make a luscious topping for Scrumptious Strawberry Rhubarb Bars with a rich buttery shortbread base.
Step 1 – Making the Strawberry Rhubarb Juice
The first step is to make the strawberry rhubarb juice needed for the topping. This is a matter of cooking rhubarb and strawberries with a bit of lemon juice and zest and then straining the mixture to extract the juice. A large spoon can be used to gently press the mixture through a fine wire mesh sieve to extract as much juice as possible. I recommend a second straining through a clean sieve to ensure all bits of the pulp solids are strained out.
The exact amount of rhubarb/strawberry juice extracted from the rhubarb and strawberries is hard to predict with 100% accuracy because so much depends on the quality and age of the rhubarb and strawberries and their water content as well as their growing conditions. If the strained amount of juice is slightly less than the ½ cup required for the topping in this recipe, up to ½ tbsp of fresh, strained lemon juice can be added to bring the quantity to ½ cup. If the amount of strained juice results in more than ½ cup, only use the ½ cup called for in the recipe as it has been tested to achieve the optimal texture of the topping. Adding more juice than called for in the recipe without proportionately adjusting the amount of thickener will yield a topping that is too runny to cut and plate well. If you are not sure on the quality of the rhubarb and berries and how much strained juice they are likely to yield, you may wish to cook an additional ½ – 1 oz each of rhubarb and strawberries when initially making the juice to be sure you have enough to equal ½ cup strained juice.
Step 2 – Making the Shortbread Base
The lovely buttery rich shortbread base for these bars is par-baked then cooled slightly before the topping is added. I use my KitchenAid stand mixer to make this base but a food processor could also be used. Once the base has been pressed into the pan, be sure to prick the base with the tines of a fork to allow steam to release as the base bakes and to eliminate air pockets from forming.
The base will bake for approximately 20 minutes or just until the edges of the crust start to turn very pale golden in color and start to show signs of slightly pulling away from the sides of the pan. Be careful to not overbake the crust as it will be going back into the oven when the topping is added and, if overbaked, the tender crust will become hard.
Let the base cool for about 15 minutes on a wire rack before adding the topping. There is no need to let it cool completely. Leave the oven going at 325°F so it will be temperature-ready when the pan goes back into the oven.
Step 3 – Preparing the Topping
The eggs are whisked with the strawberry rhubarb juice along with the sugar and cornstarch until completely smooth. This will be a salmon-colored mixture. If you prefer a brighter, more rosy color, add a smidgeon of pink food coloring until the desired color is obtained. The photos of the bars in this posting have had a small amount of pink icing gel color added.
The topping mixture is poured over the still-warm base and baked for approximately 30-35 minutes, just until the filling is no longer jiggly in the center and is barely set.
Let the bars cool, in the pan on a wire cooling rack, at room temperature for a couple of hours then transfer them to the refrigerator to chill and fully set for at least four hours before cutting. Dip a knife in warm water and wipe dry to cut the bars, starting with trimming off all four sides of the bars. This will give lovely clean edges to every piece. I recommend dipping the knife in warm water and drying it between each cut to keep the bar edges clean and tidy.
The bars can be cut into squares or rectangles of desired size. To cut them into triangles as shown in the photos, cut the bar into four equal squares then cut each square into four triangles.
Dust each cut bar with sifted icing sugar just at the time of serving so the powdery sugar does not dissolve into the bars and create a murky looking top.
These bars need to be kept refrigerated and will keep for up to three days in an airtight container.
This is a lovely dessert and pairs well with a fine cup of tea or coffee. It’s also a lovely addition to an afternoon tea dessert plate. In fact, I included the Strawberry Rhubarb Bars on the dessert plate for my Platinum Jubilee Afternoon Tea.
Scrumptious Strawberry Rhubarb Bars
Ingredients:
Strawberry-Rhubarb Juice:
5½ oz red rhubarb stalks (weighed after leaves and root ends removed), cut into 1/2″ pieces
5½ oz strawberries, hulled and mashed with potato masher
1½ tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
Shortbread Base:
½ cup butter, cubed into 1” pieces, room temperature
2 tbsp granulated sugar
2 tbsp icing sugar (aka powdered sugar or confectioner’s sugar)
½ tsp pure vanilla
1¼ cups all-purpose flour (or gluten-free 1-to-1/cup-for-cup baking flour, if needed)
¼ tsp baking powder
Pinch salt
Topping:
2 large whole eggs, room temperature and lightly fork beaten
1 large egg yolk, room temperature and lightly fork beaten
½ cup strawberry-rhubarb juice (recipe above)
¾ cup + 2 tbsp granulated sugar
2½ tbsp cornstarch
Pinch salt
Pink food coloring (optional)
Icing Sugar for dusting Bars
Method:
Strawberry-Rhubarb Juice:
Combine rhubarb, mashed strawberries, and lemon juice into a pot. Cover and bring mixture just to the boiling point over medium heat then immediately reduce to a simmer. Cook slowly, stirring occasionally, for approximately 12-15 minutes, or until rhubarb and strawberry mixture is soft and mushy. Add the lemon zest for the last five minutes of cooking. Using a potato masher, mash the mixture to further break down the rhubarb and strawberries as much as possible.
Strain rhubarb/strawberry mixture through a fine wire mesh sieve into a heatproof bowl to extract the juice. Use the back of a large spoon to gently press the pulp to extract more juice. Discard the rhubarb/strawberry pulp. Straining the juice a second time through a clean fine wire mesh sieve to refine it further and remove any traces of the fruit pulp impurities is recommended. Discard any remaining pulp and solids. This should equal ½ cup of strained strawberry-rhubarb juice needed for the recipe. If it strains out more than ½ cup of juice, only use the ½ cup called for in the recipe. If it strains out slightly less than ½ cup of juice, up to ½ tablespoon of strained freshly squeezed lemon juice may be added. (See Note below)
Shortbread Base:
Line 8”x8” baking pan with parchment paper, leaving enough paper overhang on sides to grip and lift baked bar from pan for cutting. Spray parchment paper lightly with non-stick cooking spray.
Position oven rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 325°F.
Mix flour, baking powder, and salt together in bowl. Set aside.
In bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter at medium-high speed. Reduce speed to medium low and blend in sugars. Add vanilla. Beat for approximately 45 seconds. Scrape sides of bowl with rubber spatula if necessary to ensure all ingredients are fully blended. With mixer set to lowest speed, gradually add the flour mixture. Once all the flour has been added, increase speed slightly to medium-low and blend mixture just until ingredients are incorporated.
Press mixture evenly into prepared pan. Prick base all over with tines of fork to allow steam to release as the base bakes and to eliminate air pockets from forming.
Bake base approximately 20 minutes, or just until edges of crust start to turn very pale golden in color and start to show signs of slightly pulling away from pan sides. Do not overbake or crust will be hard. Transfer pan to wire rack to cool for about 15 minutes before adding topping. Keep oven on at 325°F.
Topping:
Combine and whisk the sugar, cornstarch and salt together in small bowl. Set aside.
While the base is cooling slightly, begin to prepare the strawberry-rhubarb topping by whisking the whole eggs and egg yolk together in a medium-sized bowl. Whisk in the strained ½ cup of strawberry-rhubarb juice along with the sugar-cornstarch mixture until mixture is smooth. To achieve a bright rosy color, add a small amount of pink food coloring, if desired, and mix well into topping ingredients so color is evenly distributed.
Pour mixture over slightly cooled, but still warm, crust. Bake at 325°F for 30-35 minutes or until topping is no longer jiggly in the center and is barely set. Cool bar at room temperature for a couple of hours in pan on wire cooling rack then transfer bar to refrigerator for about 4 hours to fully set before cutting.
To Cut Bars:
Using the excess parchment paper as handles, lift bar from pan and transfer to cutting board. Peel away and discard parchment paper. With a sharp knife, cut off rough edges on all sides of bars, rinsing knife in warm water between each cut. The bar may be cut into squares or rectangles of desired size. Or, to cut into triangles, cut the bar into four equal squares and then cut each smaller square into four triangles.
Dust tops of squares, rectangles, or triangles with sifted icing sugar just at the time of serving.
Store bars, tightly covered, in refrigerator for up to three days.
Yield: 1 – 8” pan
NOTE: The exact amount of rhubarb/strawberry juice extracted from the rhubarb and strawberries is hard to predict with 100% accuracy because so much depends on the quality and age of the rhubarb and strawberries and their water content as well as their growing conditions. If the strained amount is slightly less than the ½ cup required for the topping in this recipe, up to ½ tbsp of fresh, strained lemon juice can be added to bring the quantity to ½ cup. If the amount of strained juice results in more than ½ cup, only use the ½ cup called for in the recipe as it has been tested to achieve the optimal texture of the topping. Adding more juice than required without proportionately adjusting the amount of thickener called for in the recipe will yield a topping that is too runny to cut and plate well. If you are not sure on the quality of the rhubarb and berries and how much strained juice they are likely to yield, you may wish to cook an additional ½ – 1 oz each of rhubarb and strawberries when initially making the juice to be sure you have enough to equal ½ cup strained juice.
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Scrumptious Strawberry Rhubarb Bars
Ingredients
Strawberry-Rhubarb Juice:
- 5½ oz red rhubarb stalks (weighed after leaves and root ends removed), cut into 1/2″ pieces
- 5½ oz strawberries, hulled and mashed with potato masher
- 1½ tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
Shortbread Base:
- ½ cup butter, cubed into 1” pieces, room temperature
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp icing sugar (aka powdered sugar or confectioner’s sugar)
- ½ tsp pure vanilla
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour (or gluten-free 1-to-1/cup-for-cup baking flour, if needed)
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- Pinch salt
Topping:
- 2 large whole eggs, room temperature and lightly fork beaten
- 1 large egg yolk, room temperature and lightly fork beaten
- ½ cup strawberry-rhubarb juice (recipe above)
- ¾ cup + 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2½ tbsp cornstarch
- Pinch salt
- Pink food coloring (optional)
- Icing Sugar for dusting Bars
Instructions
Strawberry-Rhubarb Juice:
- Combine rhubarb, mashed strawberries, and lemon juice into a pot. Cover and bring mixture just to the boiling point over medium heat then immediately reduce to a simmer. Cook slowly, stirring occasionally, for approximately 12-15 minutes, or until rhubarb and strawberry mixture is soft and mushy. Add the lemon zest for the last five minutes of cooking. Using a potato masher, mash the mixture to further break down the rhubarb and strawberries as much as possible.
- Strain rhubarb/strawberry mixture through a fine wire mesh sieve into a heatproof bowl to extract the juice. Use the back of a large spoon to gently press the pulp to extract more juice. Discard the rhubarb/strawberry pulp. Straining the juice a second time through a clean fine wire mesh sieve to refine it further and remove any traces of the fruit pulp impurities is recommended. Discard any remaining pulp and solids. This should equal ½ cup of strained strawberry-rhubarb juice needed for the recipe. If it strains out more than ½ cup of juice, only use the ½ cup called for in the recipe. If it strains out slightly less than ½ cup of juice, up to ½ tablespoon of strained freshly squeezed lemon juice may be added. (See Note below)
Shortbread Base:
- Line 8”x8” baking pan with parchment paper, leaving enough paper overhang on sides to grip and lift baked bar from pan for cutting. Spray parchment paper lightly with non-stick cooking spray.
- Position oven rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 325°F.
- Mix flour, baking powder, and salt together in bowl. Set aside.
- In bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter at medium-high speed. Reduce speed to medium low and blend in sugars. Add vanilla. Beat for approximately 45 seconds. Scrape sides of bowl with rubber spatula if necessary to ensure all ingredients are fully blended. With mixer set to lowest speed, gradually add the flour mixture. Once all the flour has been added, increase speed slightly to medium-low and blend mixture just until ingredients are incorporated.
- Press mixture evenly into prepared pan. Prick base all over with tines of fork to allow steam to release as the base bakes and to eliminate air pockets from forming.
- Bake base approximately 20 minutes, or just until edges of crust start to turn very pale golden in color and start to show signs of slightly pulling away from pan sides. Do not overbake or crust will be hard. Transfer pan to wire rack to cool for about 15 minutes before adding topping. Keep oven on at 325°F.
Topping:
- Combine and whisk the sugar, cornstarch and salt together in small bowl. Set aside.
- While the base is cooling slightly, begin to prepare the strawberry-rhubarb topping by whisking the whole eggs and egg yolk together in a medium-sized bowl. Whisk in the strained ½ cup of strawberry-rhubarb juice along with the sugar-cornstarch mixture until mixture is smooth. To achieve a bright rosy color, add a small amount of pink food coloring, if desired, and mix well into topping ingredients so color is evenly distributed.
- Pour mixture over slightly cooled, but still warm, crust. Bake at 325°F for 30-35 minutes or until topping is no longer jiggly in the center and is barely set. Cool bar at room temperature for a couple of hours in pan on wire cooling rack then transfer bar to refrigerator for about 4 hours to fully set before cutting.
To Cut Bars:
- Using the excess parchment paper as handles, lift bar from pan and transfer to cutting board. Peel away and discard parchment paper. With a sharp knife, cut off rough edges on all sides of bars, rinsing knife in warm water between each cut. The bar may be cut into squares or rectangles of desired size. Or, to cut into triangles, cut the bar into four equal squares and then cut each smaller square into four triangles.
- Dust tops of squares, rectangles, or triangles with sifted icing sugar just at the time of serving.
- Store bars, tightly covered, in refrigerator for up to three days.
Recipe Notes
Yield: 1 – 8” pan
NOTE: The exact amount of rhubarb/strawberry juice extracted from the rhubarb and strawberries is hard to predict with 100% accuracy because so much depends on the quality and age of the rhubarb and strawberries and their water content as well as their growing conditions. If the strained amount is slightly less than the ½ cup required for the topping in this recipe, up to ½ tbsp of fresh, strained lemon juice can be added to bring the quantity of juice to the required ½ cup. If the amount of strained juice results in more than ½ cup, only use the ½ cup called for in the recipe as it has been tested to achieve the optimal texture of the topping. Adding more juice than required without proportionately adjusting the amount of thickener called for in the recipe will yield a topping that is too runny to cut and plate well. If you are not sure on the quality of the rhubarb and berries and how much strained juice they are likely to yield, you may wish to cook an additional ½ - 1 oz each of rhubarb and strawberries when initially making the juice to be sure you have enough to equal ½ cup strained juice.
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