I’ve taken over the birthday baking role at work. I took it over from the grocery store. I made my epic chocolate cake for the first few birthdays, but once summer birthdays started and I started biking to work, things had to change. The first summer birthday was chocolate chip cookies, the second will be Rhubarb, Lemon, and Ginger Squares.
These cute little squares are a wonderful combination of sweet and sour. The rhubarb is nice and tart, the lemon really brightens things up, and ginger adds a bit of a zing. The whole deal is nestled on top of a lovely short-bready crust. And they’re great with ice cream (though what isn’t?).
The recipe is from an old cookbook of my mother’s from the 1970’s (though the ginger addition is mine). It includes recipes for breakfast eggs with rhubarb, so I think it’s safe to say not everything in it is worth trying. But these are.
Rhubarb, Lemon, and Ginger Squares
1 cup flour
¼ cup white sugar
½ tsp ground ginger
½ cup cold butter, cubed1 cup white sugar
3 tbsp flour
2 eggs
1 tsp lemon zest
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup diced rhubarb
½ cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp ground gingerPowdered sugar, to sprinkle on top
Preheat the oven to 350° and grease an 8″ square pan.
Mix the flour, sugar, and ground ginger. Cut in the butter and combine well with your fingers. Press into the greased pan and bake for 15 minutes.
While the crust bakes, whisk everything else together. Pour on top of the hot crust once the 15 minutes are up and then bake for another 30 minutes.
Let cool in the pan before cutting into squares and serving.
