Rhubarb Coffee Cake

makes one 9 x 13 inch coffee cake

recipe slightly adapted from Bubby’s Brunch Cookbook

for the cake:

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3 cups packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 extra-large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 5 cups diced rhubarb (1/2 inch pieces)

for the topping

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1  1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly butter a 9 x 13 x 2 inch baking pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Butter the parchment paper.

Make the cake:

Stir the flour, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl and set aside.

Using a mixer set on medium speed, beat the brown sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl for 3 minutes, or until light and creamy. Beat in the eggs on at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and buttermilk. Continue to beat for 2 minutes, or until smooth, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl.

Mix the flour mixture into the batter one-third at a time, beating briefly after each addition. Fold in the rhubarb until it is well distributed.  Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Use a rubber spatula to smooth it out to the edges of the pan. The batter will be very thick.

Make the topping:

Stir together the granulated sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the batter.

Bake the cake for 40-45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. My cake took about 50 minutes, so be sure to keep checking. Remove the cake from the oven and transfer to a wire rack. Cool for 1 hour before cutting the cake into squares to serve.  Serve with strawberries & ice cream if you so desire.