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Rhubarb is one of my favorite buys at the spring farmers market. It’s tart, juicy, and a great addition to baked goods, like this Ginger Rhubarb Coffee Cake. Luckily for me, Alaska has an extremely long rhubarb season, so I’ll get to enjoy this all summer long!
There’s no coffee in coffee cake
As a kid, I thought that coffee cake was a coffee flavored cake. Nope! Turns out it’s a cake meant to be paired with coffee. And while I’m not a coffee drinker, I do love a good cup of tea. And a sweet cake like this can definitely use the tart rhubarb to balance out the flavors so that it’s not overwhelmingly sweet through every bite.
Farmers Market Ingredients and Substitutions
Rhubarb
This extremely tart vegetable is used in desserts more often than it is used in savory dishes. When raw, it has a fibrous texture similar to celery, but it becomes extremely soft when cooked. This makes it a perfect fresh add in to baked goods, like this coffee cake.
Discard any leaves that come with your rhubarb. These contain large amounts of oxalic acid, which is toxic to humans and most mammals.
Want to know more about rhubarb? I’ve got a whole guide over here.
Ginger
This Ginger Rhubarb Coffee Cake uses both fresh and dried ginger. You can substitute dried ginger for the fresh ginger if you can’t find any ginger root, but don’t substitute fresh ginger for the dried ginger powder. It is important for the streusel topping to be all dried ingredients so that it browns and crisps up; fresh ginger will lead to a soggy topping.
Tips and Tricks
As I’ve mentioned a few times, I’m not really much of a baker. At this point, I know enough to be dangerous, which means sometimes I have epic fails (ask me about my chocolate cake experience sometime). Or I don’t have quite the right equipment, so I need to improvise.
I don’t have a huge selection of baking pans and dishes, so I got a little creative with this Ginger Rhubarb coffee cake. So, as I was looking through what oven-proof dishes I do have in my Alaskan kitchen, I decided to experiment with my cast iron pan. And it worked beautifully! Which means I’ll be able to bake this on my next camping trip too.
If you don’t have a 10-inch cast iron pan, this can be baked in a 9-by-9 glass brownie pan. But give the cast iron a try!
Serving Suggestions
My favorite way to enjoy my Ginger Rhubarb Coffee Cake is with a good cup of black tea. The bitterness of the tea balances well with the sweetness of the cake itself.
Savory Breakfast Ideas to pair with Ginger Rhubarb Coffee Cake
Whole30 Sunchoke Hash: Treat yourself to a slice of Ginger Rhubarb Coffee Cake after a hearty breakfast hash. The savoriness of the sunchoke hash won’t leave you feeling so stuffed that you won’t want a breakfast dessert.
Bacon Asparagus Hash: A lighter, seasonal option to pair with this coffee cake for dessert.
But what about the leftovers?
Not gonna lie, this recipe makes a lot of Ginger Rhubarb Coffee Cake. Like, a lot. I cut this cake into 9 large portions, but I think this could serve 12 easily. Any leftovers can be wrapped in plastic wrap and stored on the counter for one to two days.
If you want the leftovers to last even longer than that, pop the individually wrapped portions in the freezer. Those individually wrapped portions will last for up to 3 months. And whenever you want some Ginger Rhubarb Coffee Cake, all you’ll have to do is pull one out of the freezer to thaw on the counter for a few hours, or overnight. Easy.
Ginger Rhubarb Coffee Cake
Rhubarb is one of my favorite buys at the spring farmers market. It's tart, juicy, and a great addition to baked goods, like this Ginger Rhubarb Coffee Cake.
Ingredients
Streusel Topping
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 6 tbsp light brown sugar, packed
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tsp ginger powder
- ½ cup butter, cold
Coffee Cake
- ½ cup butter, softened, plus more to grease the cast iron
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp fresh grated ginger
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 cups rhubarb, chopped into ½ inch pieces
Instructions
Streusel Topping
- Mix the flour, light brown sugar, salt, and ginger powder in a small bowl.
- Grate the butter into the bowl and rub into the sugar/flour mixture until the mixture has the texture of wet sand.
- Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Coffee Cake
- Preheat oven to 375 °F. Prepare the cast iron pan by coating the entire inside surface with butter.
- In a large bowl, cream the sugar and butter together until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, vanilla extract, and fresh ginger until smooth. This is the wet mix.
- In a separate medium-sized bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. This is the dry mix.
- Add half the dry mix into the wet mix, and fold until the dry mix is just incorporated. Add the sour cream, and fold until the sour cream has been fully incorporated. Add the remaining dry mix and fold until completely incorporated, being careful not to overmix batter.
- Fold chopped rhubarb pieces into the coffee cake batter, being careful not to overmix.
- Spread coffee cake batter into the greased cast iron pan, and top with the streusel topping.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 55 to 60 minutes, or until the cake is fully cooked and the streusel topping is golden brown. A toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean when it is done baking
- Pull cast iron from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes before serving.
Notes
Streusel topping can be made the night before. Keep topping in a sealed container in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 9 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 450Total Fat: 24gSaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 103mgSodium: 488mgCarbohydrates: 53gFiber: 1gSugar: 25gProtein: 6g
Calculated nutrition values are not always accurate, but can provide a general idea for planning purposes. Please do not rely on this information as it may not be complete. Recipes that include unusual ingredients, especially scrap ingredients, will have the least accurate information with this calculator.
