It is rhubarb time here in Iowa and I am excited!! So, what does rhubarb have to do with a travel blog? Absolutely nothing! But, like most everyone else I have time on my hands these days. Baking and blogging are some ways I am keeping busy, so I thought I would combine the two and share a few recipes!
Spring is definitely the best time when my rhubarb starts to grow! As soon as the snow melts I am out looking for the first leaf to pop through the ground and then I can’t wait until the rhubarb is ready for picking and ultimately baking!!
What is Rhubarb?
Rhubarb is actually a vegetable but many think of it as a fruit and bake it in pies, cakes, jams, crumbles and more!! As a matter of fact, the most unusual way I have had rhubarb served to me was in a slushy with a bit of syrup and vodka. Surprisingly, it wasn’t bad!! A bit sour though! My dad used to make rhubarb wine years ago, but I was too young to try it!! Although, I have heard it was good!!
Rhubarb eaten in its natural state is quite sour, but add sugar and spices and you have yourself a sweet treat! It is important to remember, only the stalks are eaten as the leaves are poisonous. You can find Rhubarb with either green or red stalks. Personally, I prefer the red, as it looks more appealing when used, but the green is just as tasty. In addition, rhubarb is a good source of Vitamin K, antioxidants and fiber.
Growing Rhubarb
Rhubarb needs a cold winter to thrive so it grows well here in Iowa and when the weather starts to warm it is time to grow. I have grown rhubarb for years and still enjoy it. As a matter of fact, growing rhubarb is very easy. First of all, you start by planting a rhubarb crown (root), usually in the spring. In addition, you will need to water it well and don’t use or cut any of the stalks the first year. By the next spring, you will have enough rhubarb for a loaf or two of bread and maybe a pie. Each year not only will your rhubarb will return, but equally important, it will become more plentiful! After planting and watering it the first year, mine required no other maintenance! Very easy, which I like!
Recipes
So like many in the midwest, I grew up eating rhubarb goodies when springtime came around. I have accumulated many great recipes over the years or came up with my own and the following are a few of them. I like to add strawberries or blueberries to my rhubarb recipes as I don’t care for straight rhubarb. These recipes can be varied by substituting strawberries with blueberries or by just using all rhubarb. Rhubarb time also means baking time!
Sour Cream Strawberry Rhubarb Coffee Cake
My mom made a lot of coffee cakes and they were so good! The ladies in the neighborhood would to get together for coffee some mornings and I remember Mom making these delicious breakfast cakes! While going through her old recipes I found many of her coffee cake recipes, although, this is my favorite!!
Ingredients
Cake
- 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups rhubarb (chopped fine)
- 1 cup strawberries (chopped fine)
Topping
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 Tablespoon butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Grease or spray a 13 x 9 inch banking pan.
- Beat butter and sugar until smooth.
- Add eggs and beat well.
- Stir in sour cream and vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and the salt.
- Fold dry mixture into creamy mixture.
- Add rhubarb and strawberries, stir until covered.
- Pour into pan.
- Mix all of the topping ingredients until the mixture is crumbly.
- Sprinkle the topping mix evenly over the top of the cake mixture.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes or until done.
- Serve warm with whipped cream.
- Refrigerate leftovers.
Strawberry Rhubarb Bread
Quick breads are a fun and easy treat to make! As a matter of fact, they also freeze well and thaw quickly so are handy to have around! I have been making this recipe for years. It’s a combination of a few different recipes and I have tweaked it many times over time! Always a favorite!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
- 2/3 cup corn oil (I recently started using olive oil)
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 rounded teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 scant teaspoon cloves
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup rhubarb, chopped (about 1/4 inch thick or less)
- 1 cup strawberries, chopped.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
- Grease and flour, or baking spray 2 loaf pans
- Beat sugar and oil until creamy.
- Add egg and vanilla and beat until well mixed.
- In separate bowl, mix flour, salt, cinnamon, cloves and baking soda
- Add flour mixture alternating with buttermilk to the egg mixture, mixing after each addition.
- Mix until just moist.
- Fold in the fruit.
- Pour into baking pans.
- Bake 50-60 minutes.
- Cool for 10 minutes in pan.
- With knife, slide around the edge of pan and remove bread to wire rack and cool.
Blueberry Rhubarb Bread
This is the same recipe as above excerpt substitute blueberries for the strawberries! Equally as good!! You can use all rhubarb instead of the berries and have just rhubarb bread.
Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
My mom used to make the best crisps, whether it was apple, berry or rhubarb and for the most part she used the same ingredients yet she never used a recipe. I remember watching her make the crisp and I remember which ingredients she used but never paid attention to how much of each. After many trials and errors I finally came up with what I feel is Mom’s crisp recipe! You can substitute the strawberries with blueberries if you like or instead you can use all rhubarb.
Ingredients
Filling
- 6 cups rhubarb
- 2 cups strawberries (you can add an extra cup of strawberries per your preference).
- 2 cups granulated sugar.
- 3/4 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
Topping
- 2 cups flour
- 2 cups packed brown sugar
- 1 cups oats
- 1 cup butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit
- Grease and flour or use baking spray 9 x 13 inch pan.
- In a large bowl, mix rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, flour and vanilla until rhubarb and strawberries are well coated.
- Pour into pan.
- In a separate bowl mix the flour, brown sugar and oats.
- Pour melted butter over flour mixture and mix until crumbly.
- Sprinkle evenly over filling.
- Bake for 35-45 minutes or until bubbly.
- Serve warm with whipping cream or ice cream.
- Refrigerate leftovers.
Conclusion
Thanks for reading along about rhubarb time! It is a fun time of the year for me and also a great first sign of spring! Although the coronavirus has stopped many of my activities, baking my rhubarb has kept me especially busy this spring.