Flo's Cakes - Strawberry Rhubarb Coffee Cake

 Just in time for spring - a new coffee cake from Flo! Our strawberry plants are just beginning to bloom and the rhubarb is sending out fresh green growth. Soon we can enjoy the first spring fruits!

Strawberry Rhubarb Coffee Cake

 

2/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup corn starch

½ cup water

2 cups chopped rhubarb

1 lb. fresh strawberries, sliced

2 TBSP lemon juice

Cake:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup cold butter

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla

Topping:

¾ cup sugar

½ cup flour

¼ cup cold butter

¾ cup chopped pecans

In a saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch; stir in water, rhubarb, and strawberries. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; stir in lemon juice. Cool.

For cake, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Beat the eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla; stir into crumb mixture just until moistened. Spoon two-thirds of the batter into a greased 9x13 baking pan. Spoon cooled filling over batter. Top with remaining batter.

For topping, combine sugar and flour. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs; add pecans. Sprinkle topping over batter. Bake at 350˚ for 45-50 minutes or until golden brown. 

Florence lives in the northwoods of Michigan with her husband and three preschoolers. Her hobbies are writing and baking coffee cakes. A few  months ago she published a book titled My First Deer Hunt. This is a children’s story about the time her husband took their oldest son (then four-years-old) to the woods for his first hunting trip.  Email Flo at foxden @emypeople.net.