Rhubarb Cake

This is a recipe that my grandmother has made as long as I can remember. She would bake the huge 13" x 9" pan, and then send most of it over to our house because she and my grandfather couldn't possibly eat the whole thing themselves.

It's basically a coffee cake with rhubarb in it... too much sugar on top makes a crunchy coating, delicate cake kept moist by the rhubarb, which adds a wonderful tang to off-set the sugar. Or is it the other way around? Either way, this recipe will always be a favorite with me.

We grow huge amounts of rhubarb. I sell a good deal of it by just putting it down by the road, but still we have much more than we will ever use in a year. This recipe uses 1 1/2 cups chopped, but I've been thinking about trying it with even more. The amount it calls for is by no means overwhelming, and I need to use up last year's frozen crop to make way for new. It's poking out of the ground now, getting ready to grow like crazy as soon as the warm weather finally arrives.

Rhubarb Cake


1 C sugar
1/2 C packed brown sugar
1/2 C soft butter
1 beaten egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 C flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 C milk
1 1/2 C chopped rhubarb

Topping

1 C packed brown sugar
1/2 C sugar
1 tbsp flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp soft butter

Preheat oven to 350*

Cream sugars and butter; add beaten egg and vanilla. Sift in remaining dry ingredients. Make a well and add milk and rhubarb, stirring til thoroughly incorporated. Spread in a lightly greased 13 x 9 pan. Mix topping ingredients thoroughly (fingers turned out to be the most useful tool here), making sure not to leave any sugar dry. You may find a tad more butter to be helpful. Sprinkle over the cake and bake 40 minutes. Serve warm or at room temp.

I'm very tempted to wave my arm and say "Bon Appetit!" , but I'll content myself with a sorry little "Enjoy!" instead.

Enjoy!