Sister has been making this cake like weekly since rhubarb came in season.  She was telling me how much Chris likes it even though he’s not normally that interested in baked goods.  So I knew I needed to try it.  We’re a big fan of rhubarb pie in this household, but our usual pie is pretty sweet, so I was hoping for a different way of displaying the wonderful flavors of rhubarb.

This cake does an excellent job of highlighting rhubarb.  The cake is fluffy and moist, the rhubarb is tart and flavorful turning into a creamy center layer, and then it’s topped with just the right amount of crumble, giving it just a hint of brown sugar and cinnamon that doesn’t overwhelm the light tart rhubarb.  This will definitely be another go-to recipe when rhubarb is in season.  You can also halve the recipe and bake it in an 8″x8″ pan if you don’t want to have quite so much.

Rhubarb Snacking Cake

Serves 18 at least

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Cake:

• 4 cups rhubarb, sliced
• 1 1/3 cup granulated sugar, divided
• 1 lemon, juiced and zested
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/3 cup sour cream (I only had Greek yogurt on hand, so that’s what I used)

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Spray your 9″x13″ pan with cooking spray and then line with parchment paper leaving enough paper hanging over the edges so you can use that to pull the cake out of the pan when it’s done.

Stir together rhubarb, 2/3 cup sugar, and lemon juice; set aside.

In a large bowl, beat together the butter, the remaining 2/3 sugar, and the lemon zest until light and fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time, beating until well combined.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and ginger in a small bowl.  Add one-third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, stir until just combined.  Add half the sour cream, stirring until just combined.  Alternate with the remaining flour and yogurt, ending with the flour and making sure to stir until just combined.

Spread the batter into your prepared baking dish in an even layer.  Pour the rhubarb mixture over the top of the cake, spreading into an even layer.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.  Use a fork to stir in the melted butter until a crumb forms.  Spread the crumb evenly over the top of the rhubarb.

Bake for 50-55 minutes, until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.