Controversially, I am not the biggest fan of cake, BUT, my favorite type of cake is a crumb cake, and more specifically, one with a lot of crumb. A 1:1 crumb to cake ratio is ideal! We’re talking about some serious BCE (Big Crumb Energy)! This cake is a great way to use rhubarb in the spring; it’s tangy and a little bitter, so the brown sugar crumbs balance it out perfectly. Rhubarb can still be elusive, even when it’s in season, so if you can’t find it, you can sub in any other tart fruit (think sour cherries or raspberries) or a sweet fruit and halve the sugar they’re tossed in (think strawberries or blueberries). The cardamom and cinnamon balance out all the sweetness and tang beautifully. I love a slice of this in the morning for breakfast, or when that midafternoon snack craving strikes!
1. What’s Rhubarb?
Rhubarb is considered both a fruit and a vegetable. Botanically, a fruit contains seeds and vegetables consist of leaves, stalks, and roots. That definitely makes rhubarb a vegetable, but the U.S. Customs Court legally classified rhubarb as a fruit in 1947.
2. Make Ahead
Yes! Crumb cakes arguably taste better a day or two after you bake it. Store it loosely wrapped in foil on the counter for up to a week, or ziploc and freeze for 2 or 3 months!
3. Reverse Creaming
Most cakes ask you to cream room temperature butter and sugars together before adding other ingredients. Reverse creaming asks you to cream room temperature butter into flour before adding other ingredients. This coats the dry ingredients in fat, and gives the cake a slightly denser, more even crumb (exactly what you want to stand up to the rhubarb and thick crumb layer!).
Big Crumb Rhubarb Cardamom Snack Cake
Ingredients
For the Crumb Topping:
- 1 1/4 cups (160g) cake flour
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed dark brown sugar
- 1/3 cup (67g) sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
For the Rhubarb Filling:
- 1/2 pound (about 1 ½ cups) rhubarb, ends trimmed and diced
- 3/4 teaspoon cardamom
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ cup (50g) dark brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
For the Cake:
- 1/2 cup sour cream, room temperature
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons half and half, whole milk, or dairy-substitute of choice
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups (192 g) cake flour
- 1/2 cup (100 g) sugar
- 1/4 cup (50 g) dark brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugars, cardamom, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Drizzle butter over, and mix until fully combined. It should look and hold together like cookie dough. Reserve.
- Line an 8×8 baking dish with nonstick spray and parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350℉.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together sour cream, milk, eggs, and vanilla until very well combined and no streaks of egg yolk or white remain. Set aside.
- Next, in bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, or a bowl with a hand mixer, add flour, sugars, baking powder, baking soda and salt, and mix on lowest speed until well combined. Increase speed to medium-low, and add soft butter a tablespoon at the time, mixing until butter is fully incorporated in between each addition. Mixture should resemble wet sand after all butter has been added.
- Next, make the rhubarb filling. Place rhubarb in a large mixing bowl and sprinkle with sugar, cardamom, cinnamon and cornstarch. Stir to coat rhubarb well, then set aside.
- Add wet cake ingredients to dry in two batches on medium-low speed, scraping sides and bottom of bowl with a rubber spatula in between additions. After second addition, mix until batter is well combined, 1-2 minutes. Final batter should be fairly smooth, but a few lumps are fine, and be careful not to over mix.
- Pour about ¾ of batter into prepared pan and spread out evenly. Sprinkle rhubarb all over, then dollop remaining batter evenly on top. Gently spread batter with the back of a large spoon or offset spatula until all rhubarb is covered. Finally, take reserved crumb topping and break it into large, 1/2-inch chunks before sprinkling all over the top of the cake. Concentrate crumb on outside edges, being careful not to crowd the middle, as it could prevent the cake from rising and baking properly.
- Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely, then slice and serve. Cake freezes well, or will keep for 2-3 days in a resealable container.
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