I had a local fellow come looking for just enough rhubarb to make rhubarb coffee cake. We had a little chat and found he was a prairie boy and he had a hankering for some rhubarb coffee cake, which I remember my mom making when the neighbours were coming for coffee or the Watkin’s man was expected. The Watkin’s man became quite round with all the ladies testing out their baking on him. Here is the recipe I remember and make when the first fruit is ready, the rhubarb.
Wash and chop about 2 lbs. of rhubarb. Put the chopped rhubarb in a medium size cake pan.
Sprinkle 1 cup brown sugar on the rhubarb and cube 1/4 cup of butter and spread over sugar and rhubarb. Sprinkle a little cinnamon on top.
Beat together in a separate bowl; 1/4 cup butter or oil, 1 egg, 1/4 cup sugar, pinch of salt and vanilla. Add 2 cups flour, 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder, alternately with 1 cup of milk, more or less to make the dough a little less stiff than regular cake batter. Spread the dough over the rhubarb and bake at 350’F for about an hour, until the rhubarb juice bubbles up through the batter. Remove from oven and serve warm with fresh farm cream if you have, if not store cream will suffice.
Submitted by Ellen Lewers