Rhubarb Snacking Cake

Rhubarb is an exciting seasonal thing, but it's usually paired up with strawberries, and also, I've never been a hugely into pies. (GASP.) So while I honor and respect all folks who love strawberry rhubarb pie, the two aren't inextricable in my mind. THAT SAID, I have never been and will never be somebody who passes up a limited edition/seasonal thing, EVER. So I bought rhubarb, and now I am making Smitten Kitchen's Rhubarb Snacking Cake. I've made it once before, and I remember liking it. So yeah, totally making it again.

As before, please visit Smitten Kitchen for the recipe details. I will confess, I'd forgotten I bought rhubarb weeks ago, so I didn't actually need to pick up these shockingly gigantic stalks of rhubarb at the market yesterday.



I did some prep the night before I planned to bake, chopping up the rhubarb and tossing them with sugar and lemon juice.





I probably shouldn't have done this so early, as in the morning, the rhubarb was floating in a pile of sugary water. Should have taken a picture, now that I think about it. Whoops.

Mixing things up in the stand mixer is always delightful.







To prep the pan, I used baking spray and parchment paper. I really should wean myself off baking spray. Butter is so expensive, though. Maybe I should invest in a tub of margarine for greasing pans?



The cake dough itself is pretty stiff, since it doesn't include any liquids (aside from the eggs).





Since the rhubarb had liquified somewhat, I spread the rhubarb over the batter, then drizzled some of the sugar water over it.



Then for the crumble! I know crumble topping can be done fairly easily with forks or pastry cutters, but I've gotten into the habit of doing it by hand. Partly because it's the best way to ensure the butter is evenly distributed, but also, it's fun.







And into the oven! I think it turned out pretty beautiful. And delicious.