Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Cake
Updated April 28, 2011
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We bought a house at the end of last summer, soon after we were married. I love our home, but I had no idea how many projects would pop up. For the past two weeks we have been putting in a sprinkler system. Ok, I really shouldn’t say we, Josh has been putting in the sprinkler system. I am lucky to have such a hard working husband, he is very handy:)
Well, it is almost done. Yahoo! The hydroseed is going in on Tuesday and hopefully our grass will be up in no time. Next on the list, our garden. We’ve planted some tomatoes and flowers, but we have more to do!
We did discover four huge rhubarb plants in our yard. The previous owners must of planted them and I am SO glad they did. I have fallen head over heels for rhubarb. I know I’ve tasted it before but I don’t remember being too fond of it. I didn’t want the rhubarb to go to waste, so I decided to try out some new recipes.
I tried a Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Cake that I saw on Sugar Plum’s blog. I figured this would be a safe one to start with. The cake part was very basic. I scattered the sliced strawberries and rhubarb over the batter. I loved their bright red color. I also added a crumb topping, after it baked for awhile.
I wasn’t really sold on the rhubarb idea, so I had Josh taste it. He LOVED it so of course I had to have a bite and WOW! I was surprised at how good it was. I loved the tartness of the rhubarb paired with the sweet strawberries and sugary, crunchy crumb topping. This cake is a winner! We took it to a BBQ and our friends are now big rhubarb fans!
I still have a lot of rhubarb to use up. If you have any favorites, please share! What can I say? I have a new crush:)
Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Cake
Adapted from Sugar Plum
(Printable Recipe)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 ¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon (I added this)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
½ cup granulated sugar
2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup milk (I used skim)
1 cup sliced strawberries
2/3 cup finely chopped rhubarb
Crumb Topping:
¾ cup firmly packed brown sugar
½ cup all-purpose flour (I used ¼ cup flour)
⅓ cup old fashioned oats (I added these)
1 teaspoon cinnamon (I added this) 5 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces (I only used 4 tablespoons)
Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 1 (9-inch) round cake pan.
In a medium mixing bowl, sift together 1 cup flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. In a large mixing bowl, beat together 6 tablespoons butter and granulated sugar until creamy, about 1 minute; beat in yolks and vanilla until combined. Gradually beat in flour mixture, alternating with milk until combined, about 1-2 minutes. Spread cake batter evenly into prepared pan. Top batter with strawberries and rhubarb. Bake for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the crumb topping: Combine brown sugar, flour, oats, and 4 tablespoons butter; knead together using fingertips or a fork until well combined and mixture starts to clump together. Keep in freezer until ready for use. When cake has baked 20 minutes, top evenly with crumb mixture. Continue baking for an additional 15-20 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into cakes comes out with moist crumbs attached. Cool for 30 minutes before running a knife around outside edges. Remove cake from pan and cool on a rack.
That’s so nice to find rhubard. I love it. What a great cake you made.
I’m bookmarking this cake – it looks fabulous! We had rhubarb in the side yard when I was growing up, but I haven’t eaten it very much in years. I saw (on Twitter!) that Dorie was working on a rhubarb recipe yesterday, and I think David Lebovitz too? So you’re in great company!
This looks delicious! I love rhubarb… my mom always used to make a strawberry rhubarb salad. One of my favorites. I’m starring this one for later! 🙂
So glad to have this recipe. We made a strawberry rhubarb pie last week. I love that flavor combo, but always struggle with what to make besides pie. This is great!
I am sad to say I have never had rhubarb
Thanks Helene!
Nancy-I will have to check Dorie’s site for a recipe. Hopefully she will share:)
Jen-A salad sounds good!
Lori-My dad loves strawberry/rhubarb pie, too bad he is far away:(
I’ve been looking forward to your posts about the rhubarb after seeing your tweets about them 🙂 This looks fantastic! Sadly, I don’t think I’ve ever had rhubarb. I’ll have to keep my eyes peeled at the store next time I’m there.
Maria, this cake looks fabulous. You know, I’ve never had rhubarb, but it’s certainly been popping up around the food blog world. I really need to get my hands on some–perhaps I will try it in this cake! Sorry that I’ve been an absent commenter; I just finished up my law school exams and am finally getting around to my google reader.
I have never had rhubarb before, but you have completely convinced me that I need to find it and try it! This crumb cake looks FABULOUS – I bet the sweet/tart combo is to die for!
YUM! Looks and sounds delicious. For some reason I’m not seeing rhubarb at the farmers’ market. I guess I’ll have to buy some from the store.
Oh look how moist this is, fantastic!
Looks great! Glad you liked it.
I am very, very jealous you have rhubarb plants.
I’ve been wishing I had a rhubarb plant in my garden. Lucky you. The cake looks delicious! My favorite is strawberry rhubarb crisp.
Yum! I recently took a dinner demo class and the chef made strawberry rhubarb crisp for dessert. It was divine! I liked the fruit more than I thought I would and the crisp on top was amazing. (I can send you the recipe if you want it.)
I love rhubarb too. We grew up eating it all the time because my grandpa grew it and now my dad does.
The way we ate it the most was just cooked in the microwave with a bit of sugar, to taste, and water. You can do it on the stovetop too. It becomes kind of like a compote, but it is good enough to eat plain by the bowlful. I also like it spread on whole wheat toast.
Here is a post-http://maresfoodandfun.blogspot.com/2008/08/rhubarb-treats-stephs-rhubarb-filled.html
where I did rhubarb filled cupcakes (YUM!), rhubarb mini-pies (the filling was amazing), and prudy’s rhubarb coffee cake, which is similar to my grandmother’s rhubarb cake, which we had just the other day, but I haven’t blogged about it.
I have also made rhubarb-strawberry muffins, pie, and cobbler.
Lots of rhubarb experience here! Sorry this is such a long comment. Can’t wait to see what you do with it next!
(It is also yummy-raw, dipped in sugar)
A delicious looking cake! I love that flavor combination…
Cheers,
Rosa
Looks really yummy rhubarb cake.
How lucky to have it growing in your yard! I know what you mean about all the projects, I spent all day working in the yard yesterday. 😉
VERY cool that the older owners planted the rhubard! I still have yet to try it, but it looks just gorgeous in this crumb cake!!
rhubarb is a huge favorite around here & that cake looks great. I like it in so many desserts. its wonderful mixed with sour cream for a pie filling
This cake looks scrumptious! Love strawberry and rhubarb!
This cake looks so delicious! I really like strawberry rhubarb and love all the yummy crumbs on this cake 🙂
This looks wonderful! You can make a strawberry/rhubard jam and also a syrup for topping ice cream.
My mom always grew rhubarb and made pies with it. I saw some at the store the other day, I hope it is still there, because I want to try this cake. I planted one rhubarb plant last year and it is just now coming up. You are lucky to have four plants, that is a lot of fruit.
This cake looks yummy and I too am a sucker for anything rhubarb.
Just yesterday I made up a batch of Strawberry Rhubarb Jam: http://doctordomestic.com/2009/05/17/strawberry-rhubarb-jam/
And I also love making simple rhubarb sauce (with or without strawberries) where you just cook down rhubarb with a tiny bit of liquid and some sugar. Its like applesauce but the rhubarb- plus it freezes beautifully!
http://doctordomestic.com/2009/05/04/rhubarb-sauce/
Thanks for another great recipe!
I also LOVE rhubarb! I am also looking for new recipes. I just made this strawberry-rhubarb shortcake if you’re interested: http://sugarcrafter.net/2009/05/13/strawberry-rhubarb-shortcake/
Oooh, this looks so good, don’t you love finding new delicious recipes!
That looks wonderful! I love any kind of crumb cake.
Thanks for all of the rhubarb suggestions. Now I wish I had 10 plants!!
What a pretty cake! It looks marvelous, moist and very tasty!
I can’t help you with the rhubarb question, but I can help you finish the cake if there’s any left! 😉
I love rhubarb plants and it is another one of those plants I can just sit there and chow on while gardening.
Been in my house for 8 years and I still stuck in project hell. Last weekend was spent mulching and designing a planter holder. I wish I could put a sprinkler system in but my yard is full of flipping tree roots.
Nicely done and strawberry and rhubarb are best friends.
That cake looks delicious. I’m fascinated by rhubarb but I’ve only had it a couple of times. It’s way too hot for it to grow in Texas but I keep hoping that I’ll stumble upon some at the market in DC. Hopefully I will and then I can make this cake!
OH my I can’t decide between the lime bars or rhubarb! Thanks for the great ideas. This ideas are AMAZING!
Kasha
http://grubandstuff.blogspot.com/
That looks perfect the neighbors just brought over a bag of rhubarb they know I am the only one who cooks thanks for sharing. I will do the same.Looks perfect. Look around maybe you will find some asparagus.
I saw this over at Emily’s site and thought it looked amazing – now it’s confirmed! It turned out so beautifully! And lucky girl finding rhubarb plants in your yard!
My husband loves strawberry/rhubarb pie so I am sure he would REALLY love this. Looks great!
Rhubarb is one of my favorites. You were lucky they had good plants already established. They take 3 years here before you can get any production:(
that topping Maria! ohhh that topping!
I will be printing this one out.
Awesome!
how lovely! the crumb looks perfectly crumbly and the cake looks properly moist and fruit-happy. bravo!
HA HA HA!!! You said RHUBARB!!!
Okay. Got that out of my system.
I love trying other bloggers recipes. I swear I do more pilfering than I make my own recipes these days. Nice job with this one.
I love Emily’s blog and always want to make her cakes and cookies. Yours looks wonderful. I so want to try this too. I haven’t had rhubarb in sooo long!!!
I have never had rhubarb! What does it taste like? I’m feeling like I have to go get some soon and try it! Your cake looks fantastic!
Now that is AMAZING!!! You had rhubarb in your backyard?! You are so lucky! I actually have always feared rhubarb for some reason – never even heard of it before last summer when I moved to DC. But the other night, I had a rhubarb gelee at a restaurant and now I can’t stop thinking about it! I’m going to get some tonight!!! This recipe looks fantastic and if all goes well, I’ll make this soon, too!!!
I’ve only had one good experience with rubarb and of course I lost the recipe. I’ll keep this one handy and try it again!
Love your blog! We love rhubarb at our house too. We usually get it from grandma’s house, but planted two plants this year. I often make rhubarb bread (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Rhubarb-Bread-I/Detail.aspx). It is amazing. I substitute egg beaters for the egg and applesauce for all of the oil. It still turns out great!
I know that I have never cooked Rhubarb and I’m not sure if I’ve ate it before. You sure did make it look yummy.
I can’t take my eyes off the first pic! Looks sooo good! Too bad my hubs hates rhubarb =( I’ve been dying to try cooking that.
Strawberries and rhubarb = double yum!
You are seriously lucky to have those plants!! I need to plant one in Johns backyard when he’s not looking 🙂
I was waiting for this post ever since your twitter about it! It looks delicious and I love rhubarb!
What a beautiful cake! I need to use the rhubarb I got today so I am bookmarking this idea!
Ooh, this looks yum. Will have to pick up extra rhubarb at the farmer’s market this weekend.
Oh, this looks good. I’ve only had rhubarb once or twice and I can’t say I liked it all that much…but I know people who love it, and maybe they will do my laundry or wash my car in exchange for a rhubarb cake! Probably not. (I might make this for them anyway. Then I can have a piece and become a convert.)
That’s so great you’re starting a garden, how fun! We live in an apartment, but we have a small little herb garden we just started. The rhubarb crumb cakes looks really tasty!
Your cake looks perfect! I’ve never had it before, but can’t wait to try it. It’s all over the blogs, and everyone seems to love it.
Lucky you – I can’t wait until I can have a house instead of a tiny apartment, even with all the chores. That cake looks awesome (I’ve been waiting for it since you mentioned it on Twitter), but here’s a tip – Smitten Kitchen’s Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble. Pure awesomeness.
Oh man you have a sprinkler system? I’m super jealous 🙂
The crumb cake looks great. I love the crumb topping, and you can’t go wrong with any of Emily’s recipes.
I usually just make a rhubarb bread, kinda like how you would make a banana one. You just need a little bit more fat or moisture to bind it together, because ya know… there’s um no bananas 🙂
I have a new crush too, this is lovely.
It needs a big ol’ scoop of vanilla ice cream though 🙂
Looks good. I’ve never had rhubarb before. I think I’d like it as I like things that are tart and tangy.
~ingrid
I love strawberry and rhubarb together, so lucky to have mature plants in your yard!
LOVE rhubarb, and the strawberry pairing is classic 🙂 i was eyeing this cake, too!
Thanks everyone for the nice comments and suggestions. Come back for more rhubarb later this week:)
What a fun surprise in your yard! We are working a sprinkler system right now, too… yikes. Good luck to you guys! 🙂
You won me over with the oats in the topping. This looks to be a great cake. Must go out and get some rhubarb now!
So jealous about the rhubarb plant, I think I want to make just about everything you post!
I LOVE the crumb on this cake. we’ve bought a ton of oats and i guess this is a great use for them 🙂
I’ve never had rhubarb. This looks great though!
Oohh this looks great! I have to share this with my mon, she loves rhubarb!!
That sounds fabulous! My parents have a bumper crop of rhubarb every year and they always share with us. I can’t wait to try this recipe!
I adore rhubarb and this cake looks awesome. I haven’t ever tried strawberry and rhubarb together like this.
I love any and all kinds of crumb cake – this looks delicious!
It looks amazing Maria. I saw this on Em’s blog and it looked good.
This looks gorgeous Maria!!!!!
Oh.. oh how delish.. Rhubarb, I have not had it in so, so very long!!!!
hi,
I love your blog…I've been reading all your posts when ever I find time. I love your recipes…and have quite a few in my 'to do' list. u guys are doing a great job.
Happy blogging.
Rgds
TC
I just had rhubarb for the first time ever the other day. I made a strawberry rhubarb pie and instantly fell in love with rhubarb. I bet this crumb cake is delicious!
This screams summer to me and looks absolutely fabulous!
I’ve never seen rhubarb cake – this looks awesome! Can’t wait to try it.
This looks so good! Hopefully my rhubarb will be big enough next week for picking!
This looks UNBELIEVABLE! I have to make this soon.
love this cake it is the best cake in the world!are family loves it! p.s if you need help cleaning your plate call me!