Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Cake

Sweet strawberries and tart rhubarb are paired with a tender, buttery cake and sweet streusel topping in this strawberry rhubarb cake. Make this simple yet delicious cake for a spring brunch or dessert.

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I had never tried rhubarb until I was well into adulthood. In fact, the first time I made a recipe with rhubarb was my rhubarb streusel cake.

Rhubarb definitely has a unique, tart flavor. If you aren’t sure about it, try pairing it with berries! The sweetness of the berries is the perfect complement for the tart rhubarb, so recipes like raspberry rhubarb pie and this strawberry rhubarb cake just make perfect sense.

Plus, there’s a crumb topping involved! What’s not to love?

About this strawberry rhubarb cake

Rhubarb is a perennial vegetable that grows between late spring and early summer, usually April through June.

The rhubarb plant has thick pinkish-green stalks and large leaves. The leaves are inedible, so make sure you discard those—the stalks are what you want.

Rhubarb is very tart and when it is raw, it is crisp and a bit stringy. You can eat it when it’s raw, but it’s so tart that it doesn’t taste very good. I love sour candy, so I’m no stranger to eating super tart stuff. But for me, rhubarb needs sugar in its life.

Sweet, juicy strawberries are the perfect pairing with rhubarb. In this cake, they mellow out the tartness of the rhubarb. Paired with a buttery cake with the perfect, tender crumb and a sweet streusel topping, you’ve got a dessert that is definitely worth sharing.

Enjoy this strawberry rhubarb cake for dessert or slice it up and serve it with a cup of coffee for brunch or an afternoon snack. There’s really no wrong time for a slice of this cake.

How to make this strawberry rhubarb crumb cake

This is a simple “snack cake” that can be made with fresh or frozen fruit. Make it in the late spring and early summer when fresh strawberries and rhubarb pop up at the farmer’s market, or throw it together any of year with frozen fruit!

Ingredients you’ll need

This recipe has two main parts: the streusel topping and the cake itself.

The streusel is pretty similar to ones we’ve made for other coffee cakes, such as cranberry cake and easy peach coffee cake. You’ll need:

• All-purpose flour: Before you start baking, make sure you know how to measure flour correctly so your cake and streusel turn out perfect every time.
• Light brown sugar: If you’re out of brown sugar, make a simple brown sugar substitute. If yours hardened in the pantry, learn how to soften brown sugar.
• Cinnamon: Optional, but a delicious addition.
• Fine sea salt
• Melted unsalted butter

For the cake itself, you’ll need:

• Rhubarb: Chopped into 1/2-inch pieces. If you’re using fresh rhubarb, each stalk of rhubarb will give you around 1 cup of chopped rhubarb.
• Fresh strawberries: Also chopped.
• Light brown sugar
• All-purpose flour
• Baking powder
• Fine sea salt
• Unsalted butter: This time, soften the butter to room temperature. If you forget to set it out ahead of time, check out my tips for softening butter quickly.
• Confectioners’ sugar: a.k.a. powdered sugar. If you’re out, learn how to make powdered sugar and save yourself a trip to the store.
• Large eggs
• Vanilla extract: Vanilla bean paste will also work.

Making this cake

Start by prepping the streusel. Stir together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt, then use a fork to mix in the melted butter until large clumps form. Stick this in the fridge until you’re ready to add it to the cake.

Now stir together the chopped rhubarb and strawberries with the brown sugar and 1/4 cup of flour. Set this aside.

For the cake batter, whisk together the rest of the flour with the baking powder and salt. Set this aside, too.

Use a mixer to cream the butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. This will take about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla. Make sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.

Slowly add the dry ingredients, mixing the batter until it is just combined.

Spread the batter into an 8×8-inch pan that has been greased and lined with parchment paper. Top the cake batter with the fruit mixture, then sprinkle the streusel over the top.

Bake the cake at 350℉ for 45-50 minutes. It’s done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean with a few moist crumbs attached.

Let the baked cake cool completely in the pan before using the parchment to lift it out. Cut the strawberry rhubarb cake into squares. If desired, serve with a dollop of homemade whipped cream.

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Strawberry Rhubarb Cake

By: Jamie

No ratings yet

Prep: 20 minutes mins

Cook: 50 minutes mins

Total: 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Servings: 16

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This strawberry rhubarb cake features sweet strawberries and tart rhubarb sandwiched between a tender, buttery cake and a sweet crumb topping.

Equipment

• 8×8-inch Pan
• Electric hand mixer
• Mixing bowl set

Ingredients

1x2x3x

US CustomaryMetric

For the Streusel:

• ▢ 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ▢ ½ cup packed light brown sugar
• ▢ ½ teaspoon cinnamon optional
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
• ▢ 6 tablespoons unsalted butter melted

For the Cake:

• ▢ 1 cup chopped rhubarb ½-inch pieces
• ▢ 1 cup chopped fresh strawberries
• ▢ 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
• ▢ 1 cup all-purpose flour divided use
• ▢ ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
• ▢ ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
• ▢ 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• ▢ 2 large eggs
• ▢ 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions 

• Preheat oven to 350℉. Butter and flour (1) 8×8-inch cake pan. Add a piece of parchment paper across the bottom, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two of the sides. Set aside.

Make the streusel:

• In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt until well combined. Add the butter and mix with a fork until large clumps form. Refrigerate until ready to use.
  1/2 cup packed light brown sugar, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, 1 cup all-purpose flour

Make the cake:

• In a medium bowl, combine rhubarb, strawberries, brown sugar, and ¼ cup of the flour until well combined. Set aside.
  1 cup chopped rhubarb, 1 cup chopped fresh strawberries, 1 tablespoon light brown sugar, 0.25 cup all-purpose flour
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining ¾ cup flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
  0.75 cup all-purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer, beat butter and confectioners’ sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
  1/2 cup unsalted butter, 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, 2 large eggs, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• With the mixer on low, gradually add in the flour mixture, mixing just to combine.
• Spread batter in the prepared pan. Evenly top with the rhubarb and strawberry mixture, then evenly sprinkle the streusel over the top.
• Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean with a few moist crumbs attached.
• Let the cake cool completely in the pan. Using the parchment overhang, lift the cake from the pan to slice into squares for serving.

Notes

Cake will keep in an airtight container at room temperature 2-3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

If using frozen rhubarb or strawberries, do not thaw the fruit before mixing the topping together.

Recipe slightly adapted from Martha Stewart.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice, Calories: 188kcal, Carbohydrates: 28g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 11g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Trans Fat: 0.4g, Cholesterol: 47mg, Sodium: 98mg, Potassium: 74mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 8g, Vitamin A: 348IU, Vitamin C: 6mg, Calcium: 31mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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