Saturday, August 16, 2008

Big Crumb Coffeecake with Rhubarb

I know that rhubarb is nearly out of season, but I was able to get some at our Farmer's Market last week. I was quite thrilled with how this turned out.

Big Crumb Coffeecake with Rhubarb

From: New York Times

For Filling:
1/2 lb. rhubarb, trimmed
1/4 Cup sugar
2 tsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. ground ginger

For the Crumbs:
1/3 Cup dark brown sugar
1/3 Cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 Cup melted butter
1 3/4 Cup cake flour (I used all-purpose)

For the Cake:
1/3 Cup sour cream
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 Cup cake flour (I used all-purpose)
1/2 Cup sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
6 Tbs. softened butter, cut into 8 pieces

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease an 8 inch baking dish. For filling, slice rhubarb 1/2 inch thick and toss with sugar, cornstarch and ginger. Set aside.

To make crumbs, in a lg. bowl, whisk together sugars, spices, salt and butter until smooth. Stir in flour with a spatula. It will look like a solid dough.

To prepare cake, in a small bowl, stir together the sour cream, egg, egg yolk and vanilla. Using a mixer with a paddle attachment, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add butter and a spoonful of the 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, scraping down the side of the bowl with a spatula. Scoop out 1/2 cup batter and set aside.

Scrape remaining batter into prepared pan. Spoon rhubarb over batter. Dollop set-aside batter over rhubarb, it does not have to be even.

Using your fingers, break topping mixture into big crumbs. They don't have to be uniform, but try to keep them about the same size (1/2- 3/4"). Sprinkle over the cake. Bake cake until toothpick inserted comes out clean of batter (it will be moist from the rhubarb), about 45-55 minutes. It says to cool completely before serving but I don't believe in that. I think it is best hot. And this would be great served with a side of homemade vanilla ice cream. YUMMY!

2 comments:

Alissa said...

I'm not sure that rhubarb is EVER in season here. But if it were, you can bet I'd be buying some!

Jenny said...

I had a friend here that said she buys hers in the freezer section year round and it is great. You should see if your store carries some.