Roasted Rhubarb Parfait

Roasted Rhubarb Parfait is a beautifully presented dessert with exceptional flavour! Easy to prepare, roasted rhubarb is layered with toasted cinnamon walnuts and oats, and vanilla bean yogurt. This simple refreshing summertime dessert is a healthy alternative with just enough guilty indulgence!

I don’t know about you, but I get overly excited about desserts like this Roasted Rhubarb Parfait. In any situation where a dessert or two are being served, I’m always drawn to those that look homemade, There is a time and place for over-the-top, super impressive, and complicated to-master desserts, but a simple, rustic, homestyle dessert is almost always welcomed to any table!

I love rhubarb!  It’s always been a part of my life.  Even as a little boy, I can remember the tart and bitter taste of raw, uncooked rhubarb.  My dad used to take the time to care for and harvest the rhubarb that he grew just beside our house.  Even still, he has a nice patch of rhubarb that he cuts several times each season.  I never get any of his rhubarb though, because he loves it just as much as I do and he makes it into jam for himself.

If you’ve been reading my recipes for a while, you might remember me telling you that we had a very small rhubarb patch in the back corner of our garden, which I was able to harvest twice the first summer we owned our home. That summer, we hired someone to cut our grass, and he rode his lawn mower right over the rhubarb! The second summer, we put up a small wire fence, and still, he managed to mow right over it, not once, but twice!

A couple of summers ago, we hired gardener Wendy to help us with landscaping and she advised us to move the rhubarb, which we did. We were late doing it and the rhubarb had been tortured two years in a row with a lawnmower, so there was no harvesting last year. Anyway, Wendy caught on to the fact that I love to bake with rhubarb. She has another client, Anna, who just so happens to live just down the street from us. She mentioned it to Anna who asked Wendy to harvest a bunch of her rhubarb for us. Thanks, Anna G! I’m using the last of that rhubarb today.

RHUBARB WAS PLENTIFUL

When I was a kid, growing up in Newfoundland, rhubarb was a very common and well-loved product of the summer months.  My dad grew some rhubarb and still does, but I particularly remember one family who grew the biggest rhubarb I had ever seen – even to this date, I haven’t seen rhubarb so large or taste so good.

There might be a reason their rhubarb tasted better than all other rhubarb, and I’ll share that with you, Dear Reader. As I said, this rhubarb was extremely large.  It was a fenced-in patch of rhubarb that had to be about twenty or thirty feet square.  It was located right behind their house, which made it most difficult to steal.

Yes, I said steal.  As kids, we would often slip our arms through the fence and pull out a stalk or two.  It was a perfect snack on a hot summer day.  Oftentimes, we would just so happen to be passing by when the owners were cutting down the rhubarb and they would always happily give us some.  I’m not sure why we thought we needed to steal it; had we knocked on the door and asked, I’m sure they would have given us a stalk and sent us on our way.

BLAME IT ON THE 80s!

I guess it’s just the kind of thing the kids in the 80s did.  It wasn’t just the rhubarb!  A nearby family grew crab apples and cherries, also inside a fenced-in yard, but we managed to get in there too, even if we did have to wait until after dark.  It’s been many years since I’ve been back to the small town where I grew up.  And, if I were to go back now, I’d still look for the familiar sights that were childhood favourites.

Both of the owners of these tempting gardens have passed away now.  But my memories of their delicious fruits still vividly remain.  Rest in peace Mr. & Mrs. Martin and Mr. & Mrs. Tilley.  It’s recipes like this one that remind me of you and keep my fond childhood memories alive.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED FOR THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

• Rhubarb – You will need 3-4 stalks of rhubarb cut into one-inch lengths.
• Sugar – Regular granulated sugar is all you need.
• Vanilla Extract
• Salted Butter – You can use unsalted butter too, just be sure to add 1/4 teaspoon of salt to the melted butter and stir it in.
• Greek Yogurt – I like to use plain yogurt, but you can use vanilla-flavoured yogurt as well. Greek yogurt works best here because of its thick consistency.
• Vanilla Bean Paste – This has a strong vanilla flavour and has vanilla beans in it. It’s a more economical way to get the little black flecks of vanilla beans into baked goods without buying expensive pods!
• Oats – I’m using quick-cook oats.
• Walnuts
• Ground Cinnamon

HOW TO MAKE ROASTED RHUBARB PARFAITS

Wash and chop the rhubarb. Transfer it to a mixing bowl along with the sugar, vanilla extract, and melted salted butter. Toss well to coat and set aside for 10 minutes. In the meantime, preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Transfer the rhubarb mixture to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 30 minutes.

While the rhubarb is roasting, measure the oats, chopped walnuts, and cinnamon into a shallow frying pan. Over medium heat, stir the oats and walnuts to combine and toast until fragrant – about 4-5 minutes. Stir continuously to avoid burning. Once the oats and walnuts are toasted, transfer them to a bowl to cool.

Remove the roasted rhubarb from the oven and allow it to rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Finally, stir the vanilla bean paste into the Greek yogurt until well combined.

To assemble, measure two tablespoons of the oat and walnut mixture into a parfait glass. Top that with one-third cup of yogurt. Spoon three to four pieces of the roasted rhubarb onto the vanilla, followed by another tablespoon of the oat and walnut crumbs. Top with a tablespoon of yogurt and more roasted rhubarb. Sprinkle the tops of each parfait with oats and walnuts. Serve immediately.

LAYERED DESSERTS ARE THE EASIEST AND THE BEST!

Layered desserts have been popular for many, many years. For those of us who were not blessed with the ability to decorate elaborate cakes or whip up a choux pastry or even master the art of a good meringue, there are layered desserts. Think about it! The popularity of desserts like no-bake cheesecakes, trifles, and tiramisus is proof.

I like to think that a layered dessert can certainly be just as elegant if prepared the right way. Make it simple. Overcomplicated desserts are no fun to prepare or eat. Choose two or three flavour combinations, because too many will just become muddled and the flavours will compete with each other. That’s what I think of trifles. I do like them, but I don’t care for them if they have cake, fruit, jello, pudding, whipped cream, etc. Too many ingredients and too many layers are certainly not the way to go.

If you are looking for more layered desserts, look no further! I’ve got you covered right here. Try these Stacked Vanilla Strawberry Shortcakes, for example. Or a breakfast version using waffles! Speaking of strawberry shortcakes, you have got to try these puff pastry flakies – they are probably my favourite dessert of all time. Of course, you can’t go wrong with the classic no-bake cheesecake either!

VANILLA BEAN PASTE

What is vanilla bean paste anyway? Have you used it before? I’ve only just learned of it myself about a year ago. I was reading through a dessert cookbook and it seemed like every third recipe had vanilla bean paste as one of the ingredients. I was intrigued.

Vanilla bean paste is a mixture of vanilla bean seeds, sugar, vanilla extract, and some type of thickener. In most cases, it’s corn syrup. It is a pourable substance, but not like water. It is more like molasses! The best part about it is that the vanilla flavour and scent are more intense, so if you love vanilla, try it! It is certainly a less expensive way to get those characteristic black flecks of a vanilla bean into your baking. Buying and scraping whole beans is not only tedious but expensive too.

If you don’t have any, or if you don’t want to buy any for this Roasted Rhubarb Parfait, you can simply use regular vanilla extract.

QUESTIONS?

If I have not answered all of your questions in the text above, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! You can contact me by sending me a message in the comments section further down the page. I will try my best to answer as soon as possible! You might reach me even faster by following me on Facebook and sending me a private message. Scroll down below the recipe card to find my Follow Me on Social Media box and never miss another recipe!