Rhubarb Cake

I bet I can make you cry.

This is one of those things that uses subtle color to send the senses thumping.  Rhubarb is one of hundreds of thousands of food/plant items that was used first for medicinal purposes and then later in food.  It aids in digestion.  I don't know which business end of the digestion it aids... whether in stomach issues or rear end issues.  But hell I can't be bothered with the specifics, it's tasty and that is the business end I'm about.

I was that kid who when I saw an upside down anything cake...I truly believed adults were magic.  All that was wrong in the world would be fixed and Lions would lay with lambs.  More like Castle Grayskull and Barbie might get along, at least until I was finished with a slice.   Plums, pineapple, it didn't matter.  A blond cake and a fruit top with soaked cake bits  in between in a well lit summer kitchen was heaven.  Only difference now is I get to control my heaven!

Rhubarb is everywhere right now and so it makes so much sense that heaven this time would be rhubarb related. Rhubarb, do you peel it or not?  Well the answer is Yes if it is woody, NO if it is young, fresh, or the skin isn't tough.  After baking in most cases you wont really taste the difference. It depends on how supple you need the rhubarb to be. 

Before jumping in, get your butter out meant for cake so it comes to room temp. Preheat your oven to 350 and butter whatever type of pan you're using.  If doing upside down then a single layer of a layer cake pan is in order with enough room for ingredients.  2 inches tall at least and around 9 inches in diameter.


Now for the cake to make you cry:

The upside down part (if you flip this puppy):

• 1-1 and 1/2 pound(s) rhubarb washed and diced. Approx. 3 heaping Cups or 5-8 stalks depending on size. You can get fancy and diagonal cut them or strips or tiny bits everywhere. You just don't want the bulby end (rhizome) or the leafy end toxic oxalic acid.
• I believe you can't over due the rhubarb.  I used about 2 cups for my cake and it really was NOT enough.  It does cook down quite a lot and for as good as the cake and crumb portion is, the fruit layer is the most important so don't skimp.
• 1/2 - 3/4 Cup vegan sugar as long as each piece is thoroughly coated, you're good.
• Toss the rhubarb bits to coat itself in the sugar and let it hang out.

The cakey part:

• 1 and 3/4 Cup unbleached white flour (you know I'm really getting serious when I don't recommend whole wheat)
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• pinch sea salt
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 Cup sugar
• 1 stick butter (room temperature so it beats nicely)
• 1 Cup whole milk yogurt like a greek style ( I use Fage, but the most important part is whole milk - if you use a yogurt with low fat or soy you're upping the msg for the family as it is broken proteins and shouldn't be cooked furthering the breakdown) You can also make a thicker version of the thinner whole milk yogurts but we'll get into that later on.

Blend dry ingredients into one another reserving sugar and vanilla for the wet ingredients.  Beat butter and combine sugar and vanilla with the butter to cream,  adding eggs scraping bowl sides add a little flour then yogurt beating and repeating until all is combined.  Scoop this thick batter over your rhubarb and smooth the top as needed to bake evenly.

The crumb layer (last to go on and will act as a crust once flipped): 

• 3/4 - 1 stick Cold salted butter blended with
• 1/2 - 3/4 Cup flour (I'll adjust as needed and save my extra crumb topping in the freezer for  other treats like cupcakes, muffins and crisps) No one complains if you use all of it on one cake!
• 1/2 - 3/4 Cup vegan sugar the sugar ratio should match your flour ratio.
• 1/4 tsp coarse sea salt or more this is the zinger and should not be skipped.

Cut in the sugar and salt to the butter until crumbly and loosely toss until the batter is covered with little butter rocks of it.

And yes OF COURSE you can make this cake with other fruits.  I don't recommend citrus because of its ability to break proteins like a kung fu master.  If a citrus cake you need?  Then Nigella Lawson has the best Clementine cake I've ever had and the almonds in it make it somewhat troublesome in the broken protein factor.  But if you're going to be bad this is the way to do it - not through a hot pocket or the dollar menu.

Bake the cake for 40-50 minutes for a bundt pan, 30 for a layer pan (approximately) until a toothpick comes out clean or the cake bounces back when pressed. The larger the diameter and thus the thinner the cake batter then the less the time.
 

Gorgeous, but... obviously needs more rhubarb.

I used a bundt cake pan, I recommend if you'd like to make it an upside down cake that you use a 2 inch tall (at least) X 9 inch round pan.  As bundt anything does NOT like to be flipped over.  The crumbs make an excellent show so I can't complain about my pan choices. 
This cake is high on the share-o-meter as it is rich in the creamy department and you may feel guilty for not sharing.  At my house... we just skip real meals and pile on the cake.  This can EASILY feed 10-12.