A Quick Rhubarb Coffee Cake

Rhubarb season has started early this year, so I had enough for some kind of coffeecake to take to Easter breakfast along with the hot cross buns. I was looking for something easy and quick and wanted to try a recipe without the support of strawberries or other fruit. Scrolling across the web, I found a much copied recipe from the New York Times ( http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/06/dining/061arex.html?_r=1 ) but it was a little more elaborate than I had hoped.

Underneath, it was very similar to the streusel kind of coffeecakes I have made for years. Two recipes from an old (over 50 years old) Better Homes and Garden cookbook have been the basis for these quick breads using blueberry, peach, and just about any other fruit combination you might think of. Surely I could adapt this coffeecake receiving rave reviews to my easier version.

I kept the mixing of the rhubarb with some sugar and cornstarch, avoiding the tendency of fruit to sometimes leave sticky, gummy places in the dough. The original did not mix the rhubarb into the cake, instead spreading it over the top, with a saved cup of batter to be spread "evenly" over the top. Since the "evenness" of that last step has always been a problem for me, I decided to just mix the rhubarb mixture into the batter and spread the whole thing into the pan at once.

Though most of my other fruit coffeecakes stick with cinnamon or perhaps a little nutmeg or mace, the ginger was just right with the rhubarb, so that stayed in. And the cake is just a little lighter with yogurt instead of sour cream.

The result was wonderful, though I would go to a 9 inch square pan next time, making the pieces a little shorter even though it would spread the crumbs out just a little more. My own rhubarb is mostly green, so I imagine that the newer varieties that are much redder and sweeter would have even more color.

The resulting cake was super moist, dense and sweet. For those with lots of rhubarb in the backyard, this is a nice addition to your collection of recipes using the "free" fruit. 

Crumbly Rhubarb Coffee Cake 

Fruit Mixture
2 c (8 oz) diced rhubarb
1/4 c sugar
2 t cornstarch
1/2 t ginger
1/2 t cinnamon

Cake Batter
1/3 c butter, melted
1/2 c sugar
1/2 t vanilla
1 egg
1/2 c plain non-fat yogurt
2 c flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
3/4 t baking soda

Crumbs
1/4 c butter, melted
1/2 c brown sugar
3/4 c flour
2 t cinnamon
1 t ginger

1.   Toss together the rhubarb, quarter cup sugar, cornstarch, ginger, and cinnamon until well mixed. Set aside while making the batter.
2.  Cream together the butter, sugar, egg, yogurt, and vanilla.
3.  Sift the flour and baking powder and soda together and add alternately to the batter with the rhubarb mixture, stirring gently but well after each addition.
4.  With a fork, mix the butter, brown sugar, and spices until well blended. Add the flour and continue to mix just until large crumbs form.
5.  Generously oil an 8 inch square pan. Pour in the batter and spread evenly. Using your fingers, distribute the crumbs evenly over the top, pressing them into the batter just slightly.
6.  Bake at 350 (325 for a glass pan) for 45 to 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
7.  Allow to cool. If desired, dust the top generously with powdered sugar.

Makes about 16 servings.

Easter--Hot Cross Buns and More

Because we have long attended churches with Easter breakfasts, our family tradition has not really included a large Easter dinner. On the day before Easter, however, the house is almost always full of the fragrance of Hot Cross Buns. This is also the time for lots of egg dishes and early spring desserts. This year, our early Minnesota spring has brought a crop of rhubarb ready to go with the strawberries on special at almost every grocery store in town.

The link to my Hot Cross Buns recipe is at
Hot Cross Buns

Some rhubarb recipes are at
 Fructose-Free Rhubarb Crisp
Rhubarb Apple Crisp

Strawberry Rhubarb Cake Mix Cake

And of course, fresh fruit is always great to brighten up any menu. Oranges, strawberries, even pineapples were all on sale this week, so add these to your table--no need for recipes--just pay a little attention to the presentation and fresh fruit will take center stage all on its own.

In another post, I will be including some ideas for using boiled eggs. For now, happy baking and a blessed Easter to you all!

Rhubarb Again, for a Spring Day

The fragrance of the lilacs in the vase on top of the refrigerator, the cinnamon-y smells from the oven, the thrill of actually having a little asparagus from the garden big enough to harvest-spring is again giving us a sensory overload, even in the house.

Not enough asparagus yet for any real recipe, but I can cut it, still uncooked, into a wonderful fresh tossed salad. (I still prefer raw asparagus anyway!)

On the other hand, the rhubarb is sprawling across its patch in the lawn. Mine is not as red as some varieties, but it still works fine for spring desserts--for other people, since I'm still not a fan.

I am baking for a friend who can eat very little dairy and has to stay away from fructose, so honey and even some fruits have to be avoided. Plain old sugar works fine, however, as do berries and rhubarb, so a rhubarb crisp will be fine.

Today's recipe uses a method I hadn't tried before, preparing a cornstarch thickened sauce to spread over the fruit before baking, a little extra step that has given a juicy but not too runny filling.

Fructose-free Rhubarb Crisp

4 c diced rhubarb
1 to 2 c diced strawberries

3/4 to 1 c sugar, depending on the sweetness you desire
2 T cornstarch
1 c water
1 t vanilla

Topping:
1/2 c packed brown sugar
1/2 c flour
2 T oil plus 2 T butter OR 1/4 c margarine
1 1/2 t cinnamon
3/4 c rolled oats

1. Mix the fruits and spread in a 7 X 11 (OR 9 inch square) baking dish.

2. Stir the sugar and the cornstarch together in a small saucepan until evenly mixed. Stir in the water. Cook over medium to high heat until translucent and bubbly, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.

3. Pour the cornstarch mixture over the fruit, mixing well.

4. Stir all the topping ingredients except the rolled oats until evenly mixed. Blend in the oatmeal and spread the topping evenly over the fruit.

5. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes, until the fruit is tender and the crisp is bubbly and golden.

First Rhubarb, Stretched

Rhubarb and lilac and tree buds and all those other harbingers of spring are late here in Minnesota this year, so my three plants still had only a few still short stalks ready when I wanted to pick some for a coffee dessert today. No strawberries in the house to fall back on the many strawberry-rhubarb recipes either, but I did have a half package of strawberry gelatin left from earlier baking, so here is the result.

Rhubarb and Apple Crisp

Filling:
1 1/2 c sliced rhubarb
2 to 2 1/2 c thinly sliced apples--I used HoneyGold
1/2 package strawberry gelatin (about 1/4 cup)
2/3 c sugar
1 t cinnamon

Topping:
3T butter
1/3 c brown sugar
1 t cinnamon
1/4 c flour
1 c old fashioned oatmeal

1. Toss all filling ingredients together until well mixed. Turn into a greased 8 or 9 inch pie pan.














2. Cut the butter into the sugar and cinnamon until well blended. Stir in the flour and oatmeal until all is well mixed. Spread over the filling, being sure to cover all the fruit.















3. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes, until the fruit is tender and the mixture is bubbly. (Insert a knife in the center to test for the tenderness of the fruit.) If the topping browns too quickly, loosely cover with aluminum foil for the last 15 minutes or so.

Serve warm or cold. Serves 5 to 6.