While I write this entry, it is sleeting, and miserably cold. It was 40* earlier this week, and last weekend we had a big snow storm. So, there you go New England weather…Good times.
I don’t mind the cyclical movement of the seasons, there is something absolutely beautiful in each, and there is a reminder that things change. Winter brings about a certain type of darkness and quiet that I do not get in the summer.
Which is all a gift. I’m more apt to be comfortable in my own skin during the warmer productive months. Summertime brings long days outside working either in my own yard or my other job (which I love- working on a local flower farm). I am up really early, am outside later, and I go to bed tired. I like the long hours of sunlight. I like the sound of crickets and birds.
So during winter, I have found, I am not good at sitting still. I’m working on it, but it’s not something that comes naturally. I kind of envy the people that slowly ease into their day or sit on a sofa on a Saturday morning just to watch TV. It is just not who I am. I had a friend who could nap anywhere. What a talent! Winter is nice for a few weeks, but it is wearing out its welcome. Winter is just too quiet.
No matter the weather today, I have to remember that soon the days will get longer and the plants will send forth their shoots, and the world will be green again. It will happen, I mean, in a few months or so…but still. A girl can dream.
I planted four Rhubarb plants over the course of the last few years, and they are always a welcome reminder that spring is coming. They pop up with their little “hello world” selves and my heart is so happy. Four rhubarb plants provide enough for multiple recipes, even being newly established.
In Pennsylvania, my children’s great grandparents -affectionately called “Grandma and Grandpa Choo Choo” (because he had built an elaborate train set in his basement) had a real-deal victory garden. He had served overseas in WWII, they had known what it was like to live without during that time. He would tell stories of having to ration items, to make due with what they had. Every year their garden was sizable and productive.
They had rhubarb plants so big you could hide in them. Or maybe that’s just my memory.
What I loved most about that garden was, whenever you needed rhubarb, Grandpa would hold back the leaves, grab an old knife hidden/stuck in the ground near the base of the plant, and whack off a few stalks. It was genius. Maybe not super safe according to today’s standards, but it worked.
I know rhubarb isn’t an ingredient well loved by all. It’s a sour-celery sort of thing. But when it is baked into a cake with strawberries, it provides the moist, bursts of flavor that balance a sweet cake and definitely the cinnamon sugar buttery topping.
There are a few renditions of this recipe out there in the recipe world, the original one I found was the New York Times recipe that is straight up rhubarb. I added the strawberry. You can add or substitute as you see fit. It might be really good with blueberry or without anything extra.
The cake batter comes together quickly and is the top and bottom layer for a generous fruit filling.
Now, the crumb topping is out of this world. When you make it and set it aside as the cake bakes, you think…did I do this right? It may appear stiff and clumpy. The answer is yes, yes you did. The buttery cinnamon and sugar goodness is so complimentary to the strawberry rhubarb/cake part of this recipe. Don’t skimp.
When this bakes up the crumb topping stays in chunks, and it is glorious.
Now if we could just get the weather to agree and move on to spring. Soon, soon, soon.
I hope you enjoy this recipe, and as always, I thank you for coming to the table.
Love, Chrissy
PrintBig Crumb Strawberry Rhubarb Coffee Cake
This perfect spring dish combines the tart tangy rhubarb and the sweet bright taste of strawberry. Topped with a big crumb cinnamon brown sugar streusel, this coffee cake is a winner. Originally in the New York Times, my version is made in a bigger pan due to the increase in ingredients and addition of strawberries. I hope you enjoy it!
Ingredients
- Butter, for greasing pan
FOR THE STRAWBERRY RHUBARB FILLING:
- 2 Cups rhubarb, chopped into small dice
- 2 Cups sliced strawberries
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger (I used fresh)
FOR THE CRUMBS:
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup melted butter
- 1 ¾ cups flour (original recipe called for cake flour but I used all purpose)
FOR THE CAKE:
- ½ cup sour cream
- 3 large eggs
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup flour (cake or All purpose)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons softened butter, cut into small pieces
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease an 9×11” baking pan.
For filling:
Slice rhubarb and strawberries 1/2 inch thick and toss with sugar, cornstarch and ginger. Set aside.
- To make crumb topping, in a large bowl, whisk together sugars, spices, salt and butter until smooth. Stir in flour with a spatula. It will look and feel like a solid dough. Set aside.
- To prepare cake, in a small bowl, stir together the sour cream, eggs, and vanilla.
- Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- Add butter and a spoonful of sour cream mixture and mix on medium speed until flour is moistened. Increase speed and beat for 30 seconds. Add remaining sour cream mixture in two batches, beating for 20 seconds after each addition, and scraping down the sides of bowl with a spatula. Scoop out about 1/2 of batter and set aside.
- Scrape remaining batter into prepared pan. Spoon strawberry and rhubarb mixture over batter. Dollop set-aside batter over rhubarb; it does not have to be even.
- Using your fingers, break topping mixture into big crumbs, about 1/2 inch in size. They do not have to be uniform, but make sure most are around that size. Sprinkle over cake. Bake cake until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean of batter (it might be moist from rhubarb), 45 to 55 minutes. Cool completely before serving.