Old-Fashioned Rhubarb Coffee Cake
Every cook has a story about when and where they found their love for cooking. My path was not unusual. Like many others, it started in my grandmother’s kitchen, actually in both of my grandmother’s kitchens. Spending a week or so at a time with them during the sticky Wisconsin summers, our warm days began with picking berries or rhubarb for a pie, baking cookies, or shucking peas from the garden to add to a simmering pot of chicken and dumplings for lunch.
There was always plenty to do at Grandma Luella's because she had a large working farm, and there seemed to be uncles and cousins passing through the kitchen at all hours, always hungry and always able to find something delicious to snack on.
When I was twelve, I received my first cookbook for Christmas, the Charlie Brown and Peanuts Cookbook. I still have it, and it’s fun to see my tiny sticky fingerprints on the pages. But my first solo culinary adventures began before that at home, usually on Sunday mornings when everyone was still in bed. I thumbed through Mom’s red and white gingham binder of her slightly worn and stained Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook.
Chapter Four was my home for several years, the Bread chapter. It began with the easier items, quick breads, coffeecake, muffins, biscuits, and pancakes; and later progressed to yeast breads, and raised rolls, which were out of my reach for a few years.
Quick breads were easier, took less time and were mostly leavened with baking powder or baking soda, a great place to start. The batter didn’t take long to prepare, I didn’t have to wait for the batter to rise before baking, and I could clean up my mess and set the breakfast table before my masterpieces came out of the oven.
I made banana bread, muffins, pancakes, waffles, and biscuits. But my favorite was coffee cake (which generally did not contain coffee; but was made to enjoy with coffee). Our BHG book had recipes for four coffeecakes. Blueberry Buckle, (plain) Coffee Cake, Cowboy Coffee Cake and Kaffee Kuchen. I made all of them over and over, over the years.
But my favorite coffee cake was from my mom’s dear friend Arlys’ Rhubarb Cake aka Coffee Cake. We also had this one for dessert on summer nights. It is quick and easy to prepare, and it is especially good while still warm.
Old-Fashioned Rhubarb Coffee Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup room temperature unsalted butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sour cream (or 1 cup unsweetened plain Greek yogurt or 1 cup buttermilk)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups diced rhubarb (about ½ in dice), about 12 ounces trimmed stalks
For the topping:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Directions
Lightly spray oil a 13” x 9” baking pan. Preheat oven to 350°F.
Combine dry ingredients well to ensure there are no lumps. Set aside.
Prepare the topping in a small bowl. Set aside.
Cream sugar and butter in bowl of mixer. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Mix in sour cream (or yogurt or buttermilk).
Add dry ingredients just to combine. Do not overbeat.
Stir in chopped rhubarb and pour batter into prepared pan.
Sprinkle topping over cake before placing it in the preheated oven and bake at 350°F for 34 – 38* minutes, or until a toothpick in the middle comes out clean.
Let it cool completely before cutting it.
*If you choose buttermilk over sour cream or yogurt, the looser batter may take a few more minutes to bake.
