After you’ve got your guests settled in with a Pamplemosa, it’s time to bring out the Rhubarb Coffee Cake with Crumb Topping to keep them happy while the rest of Easter Brunch heats up. This is my go-to coffee cake- sort of. The truth is I’m a kitchen-sinker when it comes to lots of classics, so while this is a good framework for how I make coffeecake, there’s lots of ingredients I substitute in and out based on what’s in the fridge and what’s in season. Yogurt, sour cream, creme fraiche, even ricotta all work for the sour cream and I sub them in whilly nilly. And I have to admit that every since I made it with ricotta last spring… Oh man. So good. And that’s not all that changes. I make it with different fruit throughout the year, and tweak the spices. Sometime I make blueberry with lemon or orange zest and cardamom. I make fresh peach in the summer, or frozen sour cherries in the winter, but I think best of all, is the when rhubarb is in season. There’s something about the Rhubarb Coffee Cake with Crumb Topping that has my guests begging for the recipe. So here it is. In all it’s buttery, sugary glory. It’s great to make it a day ahead, and then slice it cold. I usually serve it at room temperature, or reheated in the microwave a piece at a time. I promise you’ll love this Rhubarb Coffee Cake with Crumb Topping so much you’ll be dreaming of fresh rhubarb year ‘round.
Rhubarb Coffee Cake with Crumb Topping
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature (and a little extra for the pan)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt I like sea salt
- 1 cup sugar ¾ if you use a sweeter fruit, like blueberries
- 2 large whole eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup sour cream
- 3-4 cups chopped rhubarb
Crumb Topping
- ½ cup unsalted butter cold- see notes
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Wash and chop the rhubarb.
- Butter the 9-inch pan.
- Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time beating well in between. Beat for a minute or two until very creamy. Add the salt, vanilla, powder and soda. Add in half the flour and half the sour cream.
- Add in the rest of the flour and sour cream. Beat just until incorporated.
- Fold in the rhubarb with a spatula (it’s is a very thick batter).
Spread it into the pan. - To prepare the crumb topping, combine the cold butter, sugar, cinnamon and flour in the food processor and pulse until it’s incorporated and clumps form.
- Spread evenly over the cake. Bake for 50-65 minutes or until a toothpick comes our clean when inserted into the center of the cake. Let it cool before you cut it.
- If you cut it while still warm, it will be very delicious, but won’t hold together in pieces very well. Serve it warm with coffee or tea.
Notes
Need to speed things along? Sauté the rhubarb in 1 tablespoon butter, sugar, and water until it just begins to soften. Then fold it into the cake. Now you can bake if for more like 30 minutes because rhubarb has so much water in it, it can really slow the baking time. Also, don’t want to dirty two dishes? Let the butter for the crumb topping come to room temperature as well and make the topping in the dirty batter bowl. The texture isn’t quite as perfect, but it definitely gets the job done and saves you some cleaning time.
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