Rhubarb Coffee Cake

Remember a few weeks ago I got some rhubarb from a co-worker? I still have some in the fridge and wanted to find ways to use them up. So I went online searching for rhubarb desserts recipes. I found a few rhubarb coffee cake recipes and this was one of them: Big Crumb Coffee Cake. I saw this recipe over at Smitten Kitchen and her scrumptious photos of this coffee cake made me drooled all over my desk(well, not really).

I made this recipe for a pic-a-nic last Saturday and it was a hit! There was no leftover at all, so the next day I made another one, except I used frozen blueberries this time instead of rhubarb. It tastes just as delicious!

Here's the recipe, adapted from Smitten Kitchen:

‘Big Crumb’ Coffeecake with Rhubarb
Adapted from The New York Times 6/6/07

Not rhubarb season? Don’t fret. I think this cake would be amazing with a blueberry, raspberry, sour cherry or any other tangy fruit filling you can think of. Simply adjust the sugar level accordingly–most of these will need far less than rhubarb does to make them palatable.

Butter for greasing pan

For the rhubarb filling:
1/2 pound rhubarb, trimmed (I didn't have a scale, so I use 2 1/2 cups of chopped rhubarb)
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

For the crumbs:
1 3/4 cups cake flour (I used All Purpose Flour and I only used 1 1/4 cup)
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick or 4 ounces) butter, melted

For the cake:
1/3 cup sour cream
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup cake flour (I used AP flour)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons softened butter, cut into 8 pieces.

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease an 8-inch-square baking pan.
For filling, slice rhubarb 1/2 inch thick and toss with sugar, cornstarch and ginger. Set aside.

2. To make crumbs: In a large bowl, combine flour, sugars, spices and salt. Add melted butter and mix it with a fork. The mixture will be slightly wet. Set aside.

3. To prepare cake, in a small bowl, stir together the sour cream, egg, egg yolk and vanilla. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add butter and a spoonful of sour cream mixture and mix on medium speed until flour is moistened. Increase speed and beat for 30 seconds. Add remaining sour cream mixture in two batches, beating for 20 seconds after each addition, and scraping down the sides of bowl with a spatula. Scoop out about 1/2 cup batter and set aside.

4. Scrape remaining batter into prepared pan. Spoon rhubarb over batter. Dollop set-aside batter over rhubarb; it does not have to be even.

5. Using your fingers, break up the topping mixture into big crumbs, about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch in size. They do not have to be uniform. Sprinkle over cake. Bake cake until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean of batter (it might be moist from rhubarb), 45 to 55 minutes. Cool completely before serving.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings.