Big Crumb Rhubarb Coffee Cake

Oh man. You must make this. I found this recipe while searching around the internet for ways to use up my rhubarb. The recipe comes from the New York Times June 6, 2007, but I tweaked the oven temp and baking time.

I actually have made this a few times this past month, but never quite to my satisfaction. So I went back to the original recipe, read carefully, noted that you must use DARK brown sugar and an 8X8 square pan. Those types of details can turn an average baker into a great baker..... when in doubt, read the directions, eh?

You remember my monster rhubarb patch, don’t you? From this:

Embarrassing, really.....

To this:

I can feel better now..... 

I’m pretty proud of myself for using up so much rhubarb, but I must say, this was my favorite! Try it.

Here’s what you need:

For the Rhubarb Filling:

½ lb rhubarb

¼ C sugar

2 t cornstarch

½ t ground ginger

For the all-important crumbs:

1/3 C DARK BROWN sugar (notice the caps – there’s a reason for that)

1/3 C granulated sugar

1 t cinnamon

½ t ground ginger

1/8 t salt

½ C melted butter

1 ¾ C flour

For the Cake:

1/3 C sour cream

1 egg

1 egg yolk

2 t vanilla

1 C flour

½ C granulated sugar

½ t baking soda

½ t baking powder

¼ t salt

6 T softened butter, cut into 8 pieces

1.       Slice rhubarb in ½ inch pieces, toss with sugar, cornstarch and ginger. Set aside.

2.       To make the awesome crumbs, whisk together the sugars, spices, salt and butter until smooth. Stir in the flour. Set aside.

3.       To make the cake stir together the sour cream, egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. Using a mixer, mix together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add butter and continue to mix. Add the sour cream mixture in two batches, mixing gently for about 30 seconds. Scoop out ½ of batter and set it aside.

4.       Scrape out the remaining batter into a greased  8 inch square pan (don’t use a bigger pan!)

5.       Spoon rhubarb mixture over bottom layer.

6.       Dollop set-aside batter mover rhubarb – it does not need to be even.

7.       Crumble the topping over the top of the batter. It should be in ½ -3/4 inch pieces. Use your fingers to get it all in place. They do not need to be uniform in size or shape.

8.       Bake at 350 (original recipe calls for 325) for about 45 minutes (or longer if the middle of the cake is still too moist.)

9.       Cool completely before serving. 

Check out the size of this rhubarb leaf! Fantastic! 

big leaf!

(printable recipe)