Forced rhubarb from Yorkshire is in season, so it’s the perfect time to make a fruit crumble

Fruit filling

400 g rhubarb

2 ripe pears

75 g golden caster sugar

1 piece of crystallised ginger, chopped finely

Juice and zest from 1 large orange

1 tsp vanilla essence (or the seeds scraped out of a vanilla pod)

Crumble topping

100 g cold unsalted butter, cubed

150 g plain flour

50 g light brown muscovado sugar

50 g oats

Pinch of sea salt

Method

1. Set the oven at 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
2. Trim the bases off the rhubarb stalks and cut into 2 inch pieces. Peel and core the pear, then cut into large chunks.
3. Place rhubarb, pear and crystallised ginger in an ovenproof pie dish.
4. Mix the vanilla with the orange juice and zest, then pour over the fruit. Sprinkle the sugar over the top.
5. To make the topping, rub the flour and butter together with your fingers until you have a soft, crumbly topping. Now add the sugar, oats and salt, mixing together with your hands. Scatter the topping (loosely) over the rhubarb and bake for 30 mins or until golden brown on top and the fruit is starting to bubble up and become caramelised and sticky at the edge of the dish.
6. Serve with double cream, ice cream or (my favourite) vanilla custard.