Big-Crumb Rhubarb Fruit Coffee Cake Recipe | Foodal (2024)

If you want to make coffee cake with a fresh, vibrant twist, consider adding one of my favorite warm weather fruits: rhubarb!

I’ve often been inspired by this tart fruit from my mother’s garden for much of the baking I do in the summer. Recently, the fresh, colorful rhubarb she gave me as a gift provided the beautiful base for a sweet crumble, the one we ate warm with vanilla ice cream.

And with the crumble completely gone, my family and I have been craving even more sweet treats!

Ready for more rhubarb, Mom!

With a quick walk to her garden, I snipped a few stalks, firm and strong, some mostly green with flecks of pink at the bases, others bright red, pulling away their leaves and stacking them in a bowl to get ready to clean in the kitchen sink.

While I was tempted to just make the crumble again, I knew I wanted to stretch my creative cookery wings and make a coffee cake instead, for everyone to enjoy in the early hours of the mornings we’d be spending together.

It’s honestly the best I’ve had. I almost can’t describe it in too much detail – my mind gets all fuzzy and my tongue gets tied, and I’m all “mmm” and “wow,” scooping big crumbs from my plate…

This fairly simple recipe yields a moist and flavorful coffee cake with three basic components: the sweet and spongy cake on the bottom, the tart fruity center, and the thick top layer of chunky, lightly spiced crumbs.

While most would argue that the sum makes something so much greater than the parts, I’m a bit partial to a particular layer, much like I am with a buckle or streusel-topped muffin. If you ask me, it’s the crumbs – big, chunky pieces made of sugar, spices, butter, and flour – that will have you reaching for piece after piece.

By the way, if you want further endorsem*nt, I’ll add that I gave this to three typically timid eaters who all loved it in the end.

One was hesitant, one wasn’t sure she liked rhubarb, and one, after tasting a bite of someone else’s, asked me to cut a very, very large slice because, in her words, “This is the best thing you’ve made – a 10.”

I might have to agree.

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Cooking by the Numbers…

Step 1 – Prep and Make the Fruit Filling

Preheat your oven to 325°F. Grease and line an 8-inch-square baking pan. Set it aside.

With a sturdy cutting board and sharp knife (rhubarb tends to be fibrous and difficult to cut if your knife is not properly sharpened!), chop the fruit into bite-sized pieces.

In a small bowl, mix together the chopped fruit, granulated sugar, cornstarch, and ground ginger. Set aside.

Step 2 – Mix Together the Crumb Topping

Whisk together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, and salt in a large bowl. Mix until all the clumps of brown sugar are gone and the mixture is completely uniform.

What are those dried up clumps of brown sugar? Learn how to prevent your brown sugar from drying out!

Add the all-purpose flour and continue whisking to combine.

Add the melted unsalted butter and mix with your hands. It will start to look like a crumbly mixture that you can press together with your hands into a semi-solid dough. Push it all into the bottom of the bowl, set it aside, and leave it pressed while you make the batter.

Step 3 – Make the Batter

In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract. The mixture will be chunky at first, but will become very smooth as you continue mixing.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine all the dry ingredients: the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Add the butter and a spoonful of the sour cream mixture. Mix on medium speed until the flour is a little moistened. Increase your speed slightly and beat for another 30 seconds.

Add the rest of the sour cream mixture in two batches, beating for 20 seconds after each addition, and scraping down the sides of bowl with a spatula.

Mix until a thick and creamy batter develops. Do not overmix, or the cake will not be as light and fluffy. You don’t want to develop that gluten too much!

Step 4 – Assemble

Lightly grease an 8-inch-square pan with cooking oil spray. Line the bottom with parchment paper and lightly grease.

Scoop out about half of the batter into the prepared pan, and spread it evenly on the bottom. It will create a thin layer.

The rhubarb mixture will have developed some liquid while it was macerating. Strain the rhubarb chunks from the liquid before evenly distributing the chunks over the batter.

Spread the rest of the batter over the rhubarb. No worries if it is not neat! You’ll be covering it up with a thick layer of crumb topping!

Speaking of which…

Using your hands, break up the crumb topping into larger chunks and evenly distribute over the batter.

Step 5 – Bake

Bake until the top starts to brown and a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, for about 45-50 minutes. You can also gently press on the top of the cake – if it springs back slightly, it’s ready!

Cool for a few minutes in the pan before serving warm, or cool completely at room temperature. Enjoy!