Lavender smells lovely and looks totally pretty, but eating it…really? I was in a farm shop a couple of weekends ago just outside Perth, which sells all sorts of goodies for cooking and baking, when I came across a too-adorable-not-to-buy jar of lavender. I’ve also always wanted to try baking with lavender, even though after opening the jar it still reminded me of perfume.

After doing some research online I discovered that lavender goes really well with rhubarb…only one of my favourite fruits! What better vehicle for consuming rhubarb is there than crumble? That would be none, you’re dead right.

Here the lavender provides background notes of floral sweetness which mellows out the tartness of the rhubarb. The lavender is incorporated into the mix with the rhubarb and sugar, before the whole lot is topped with a simple crumble mixture flavoured with some orange zest. (Talking of oranges, I have also found out during my research that lavender goes really well with citrus and have an orangeage recipe in mind to try it out further..experimentation! )

So on to the crumble…

I kept the crumble topping fairly simple, as I was testing out a new flavour, so combined flour, oats, brown sugar and orange zest with some butter and a little cinnamon.

Get your hands in there, it’s the only way!

The rhubarb is cut up into 3cm chunks and combined with caster sugar and the lavender.

I just used half a teaspoon of lavender in my crumble this gave a very delicate background flavour, which was really nice. I think if you were feeling bold you could easily get away with a full teaspoon.

Ready for the oven.

And done! Enjoy with ice cream, cream or creme fraiche (if you’re feeling very healthy)!

Rhubarb & Lavender Crumble

makes enough for two, in a 20cmx12xm dish

For the crumble:

80g plain flour

20g light brown sugar

30g rolled oats

pinch of cinnamon

zest of 1 orange

30g softened butter

pinch of salt

For the filling:

250g rhubarb, chopped into 3cm chunks

30g caster/granulated sugar

1/2 to 1 tsps lavender

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

To make the crumble topping, add all ingredients to a bowl and rub together with your fingers until crumbly. I like to press some bits together so I get crispy chunks when it bakes.

For the filling wash the rhubarb stems and chop into 3cm chunks. Place the rhubarb in an oven proof dish and toss with the sugar and lavender until even distributed.

Sprinkle the crumble mixture on top and bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown on top and the fruit is softened.