So our rhubarb adventures continue. After our success with the Blueberry Rhubarb Crisp, Rose and I did a little more research and discovered that the ultimate combination for rhubarb is when it is paired with strawberries. Apparently it’s a classic.
This original recipe for Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Cake came from the site Visions of Sugar Plum. She develops her own recipes and came up with this delicious way of combining the dynamic duo.
The cake turned out moist with a crumbly topping. Both the strawberries and the rhubarb broke down enough in the baking process that you didn’t get an overwehlming taste of either in a bite.
This was another fantastic way to use rhubarb. It went perfect as an after dinner dessert with an espresso.
- How good does that look???
When all was said and done, we had a few stalks of rhubarb left over and Rose suggested we make a compote. We cut up the talks into 1/2 inch pieces and threw it into a pot with about 1/3 cup of sugar and about 1/4 cup of water and set it on the stove. It cooked for about 10 minutes, until the rhubarb broke down and became this lovely jammy spread. While it did retain the tart taste of the rhubarb, the sugar cut into most of that adding a sweet flavour to it.
I’m loving rhubarb. And there are tons of ways to use it. So I think rhubarb is going to have to find it’s way into my garden next year. In the meantime, I’ll be cutting a few more stalks to freeze and store for the winter months. Needless to say there are a few more trips to the neighbour’s yard planned in the coming evenings.
Strawberry-Rhubarb Crumb Cake
Recipe by Visions of Sugar Plum
Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup milk
1 cup sliced strawberries
2/3 cup finely chopped rhubarb
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
5 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 1 (9-inch) round cake pan.
In a medium mixing bowl, sift together 1 cup flour, baking powder and salt.
In a large mixing bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, beat together 6 tablespoons butter and granulated sugar until creamy, about 1 minute; beat in yolks (and a drop of yellow food coloring, optional) and vanilla until combined. Gradually beat in flour mixture, alternating with milk until combined, about 1-2 minutes. Spread cake batter evenly into prepared pan.
Top batter with strawberries and rhubarb. Bake for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the crumb topping: Combine brown sugar, 1/2 cup flour and 5 tablespoons butter; knead together using fingertips or a fork until well combined and mixture starts to clump together. Keep in freezer until ready for use.
When cake has baked 20 minutes, top evenly with crumb mixture. Continue baking for an additional 15-20 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into cakes comes out with moist crumbs attached. Cool for 30 minutes before running a knife around outside edges and inverting. Invert again onto platter.
