Sweet Tooth: Raspberry Rhubarb Coffee Cake

Sunday, Sunday….can’t trust that day.

Oh wait, that’s Monday, and it’s a good thing too because I had myself a sweet little Sunday, and I mean it literally.

In our most recent CSA share, the Hubby and I were gifted (or really we paid for it so long ago, it seems almost free now) with some beautiful rosy red rhubarb. I also might have begged my girlfriend for her share of rhubarb too in exchange for a patty pan squash. While she declined the squash, she still gave up her stalks of deliciousness, so I think it worked out pretty well…for me.

Last year when we got rhubarb in our share, I made a coffee cake out of it. I have such fond memories of this dessert like cake, which at the time was a solo experience because we never saw the rhubarb again, until last Thursday. When it popped up in our most recent CSA share, I decided I simply had to go for it and make the coffee cake one more time (hit me baby one more time).

Now before I share this recipe, I have to call a spade a spade. This one is not healthy. There’s no chickpeas, no oats, or avocado; it’s straight up butter, sugar, and flour and absolutely divine. Sometimes you just have to indulge, and Sunday morning was one of those times. Besides, other than Saturday night’s gelato (oops), I’ve been eating damn near fabulous and loving every second of it.

I did make a few minor altercations to make the recipe a little less over the top, and while it certainly helped, it’s still gluttonous but worth every bite, especially when you add a little butter to each tasty forkful.

The cake part is super moist and oozing with sweet raspberries and tart rhubarb goodness, while the walnuts add a nice hearty texture. Walnuts are super good for you, so there’s a small redeeming quality to the coffee cake, other than the sheer pleasure of eating something so wonderfully decadent, which brings me to the topping: a sweet cinnamony crispy crusty layer of crunchyness. It is heavenly and worth every calorie. So I got to enjoy a pretty indulgent start to my Sunday and have my sweet tooth satisfied, all at the same time. Two birds, one stone. Damn, that’s good.

Raspberry Rhubarb Coffee Cake

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups sugar (I used 3/4 cup of organic cane sugar and 3/4 cup of Erythritol, a natural zero calorie sweetner).
• 1 stick butter
• 1 egg
• 1 cup buttermilk (I used 1 cup of soy milk with 1 tbsp lemon juice)
• 2 cups flour (I used 1 cup organic pastry flour and 1 cup stone ground whole wheat flour) 
• 1 tsp. soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
•  1 cup rhubarb, cleaned and chopped
•  1 cup red raspberries, rinsed and dried
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Topping:

• 1/2 cup sugar (I used sugar in the raw crystals)
• 1 tsp. cinnamon

Directions

• Preheat over to 350 degrees.
• Using a hand mixer, combine the butter, sugar, egg and “buttermilk” in a large bowl.
• In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
• Fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients. Do not overmix. The batter should be thick, but pourable.
• Gently fold in raspberries and walnuts. Pour into greased 9 x 13 pan and level out.
•  Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar topping evenly over the whole thing.
• Bake at 350 for one hour (my oven rocks so I only baked it for 50 minutes), until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
• Let cool for 10 minutes and then ENJOY.