Fresh fruits and veggies are one of the greatest parts of summer. To help you celebrate all that is juicy and ripe this season, consider this recipe for rhubarb gooey butter cake bars from Betty Crocker. It will surely help you put your farmer’s market purchase to good use, as it calls for fresh stalks of rhubarb to go straight into the batter.
Rhubarb is known to have a somewhat sour taste, which is why it pairs so well with sugar-y desserts. (It’s all about balance, people.) Considering these bars also call for a Betty Crocker yellow cake mix, cream cheese, powdered sugar and butter, the end result is bound to be a tart, yet sweet thing of dreams.
Instead of following the cake mix directions, you’ll start by combining the cake mix with butter and an egg before spreading this layer down in a well-greased pan to form a crust.
Next, you’ll create a filling consisting of the rhubarb (you can use fresh or frozen rhubarb technically, but if you want to fully embrace the summer season then fresh is best!), cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter and eggs.
From there, the bars are ready to go in the oven and bake for around 40 minutes. When they’re fresh out of the oven, not only will your home will smell amazing, but the bars will be ready to devour:
Dust with powdered sugar and complete with a dollop of whipped cream, if you’d like a little extra sweetness. Yum!
Betty Crocker’s got plenty of recipes that will help you put that rhubarb to use, too. So, if these bars are a hit, keep the rhubarb coming for your loved ones with any of the suggestions the brand has to offer.
This recipe for a strawberry-rhubarb crisp, for example, can be cooked in your slow cooker. Not only will it be absolutely delicious, but it’ll require minimal work on your end!
All you have to do is add sliced strawberries and rhubarb to your slow cooker before topping with a mixture of cake mix, oats and cinnamon. Then close the lid and let the appliance to the cooking for you.
When it’s ready to eat in a couple of hours, top with whipped cream and dig in!
If you’d like to enjoy the flavor of rhubarb without the calories that come along with dessert, you can sip it instead. That’s right — have your rhubarb in cocktail form thanks to Boodles’ rhubarb and strawberry-flavored gin.
Rhubarb should be a staple in your kitchen for the summer season, so pick a recipe and let the baking (or cocktail drinking) begin!
This story originally appeared on Simplemost. Checkout Simplemost for other great tips and ideas to make the most out of life.
