strawberry rhubarb crumb cake

Before you say anything... I know. I am SO on a blogging roll. Three days in a roll, whooop! Am I making it too obvious that my boss is out of town this week and I don't have work? Oops. I do not care. I love baking and baking loves me and I love to share this with you guys. :) And now, I will tell you a story. I went to the health-food store with my mom last week and bought several stalks of rhubarb thinking about Smitten Kitchen's rhubarb snack cake. Well, lo and behold, I completely forgot about the sad little rhubarb dying in my fridge until just a couple days ago when I had those black bean brownies in the oven. Of course I remembered as something else was already baking. Lucky for me, those brownies were gone in a little over a day, which left me free to make something else. Namely, this.

Holy yum. Say hello to this strawberry rhubarb crumb cake. This is the perfect summery dessert. It is a little sweet and a little tangy and full to the brim of crisp rhubarb and juicy berries. The cake base is perfectly lemony and buttery, and the brown sugar crumble topping just seals the deal. I had never baked with rhubarb before, and I had only tasted it once... and it was with strawberries. I was a little scared of making this cake with only rhubarb, and I added some berries as I remembered about our last encounter. I think this may have saved my cake, as we could barely taste the rhubarb! I did not even tell my picky brothers this was anything besides a strawberry crumb cake. I am just sneaky like that. :)

I also added strawberries because I had not bought nearly enough rhubarb. I bought 6 stalks, which seemed like plenty at the time, but when I checked the recipe, it said I needed over a POUND of rhubarb. Say what?! I hardly had half of that! So, berries saved the day. Maybe someday I will be brave enough to bake with rhubarb alone, but for now... I stay in the safe zone. I have not crossed over to the dark side yet! Besides, my family might kill me if I make more desserts with weird stuff in them. My dad and brothers have seriously gotten in the habit of asking, "Is anything weird in this?" before tasting any of my desserts. Oops. 

Yum yum yum! Make this cake! I promise it is anything but weird, and totally delicious.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Cake
Adapted from Patent & the Pantry {SmittenKitchen's site was down, she saved the day!}
Yields: one 9x13 cake

for the cake:
about 1/2 lb rhubarb (5-6 stalks), cut diagonally into chunks
1 heaping cup fresh strawberries, cut into medium chunks
1 1/3 cup white sugar, divided
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 medium lemon's zest + juice (tip: zest first!)
2 eggs
1 1/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 heaping tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup sour cream (any fat content is fine)

for the crumb topping:
3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
4 tbsp salted butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a 9x13 baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the rhubarb, strawberries, lemon juice, and 2/3 cup of the white sugar. Mix together. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter, lemon zest, and remaining 2/3 cup of sugar until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs and beat well, then add the vanilla. In another medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking soda. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredient mixture to the egg and butter batter, followed by half of the sour cream. Then, add half of the remaining dry ingredients, followed by the rest of the sour cream, followed by the last of the dry mix. Remember to scrape the sides of the bowl! Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan, using a spatula to get it in the corners and to smooth it out. Pour the strawberry and rhubarb mixture on top, making an even layer. In a small bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, and butter for the crumb topping, and mix with a fork until lumps form. Sprinkle on top of the fruits.
Bake in your preheated oven for 55-60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center yields little to no crumbs. Let the cake rest in the open, turned-off oven for several minutes to prevent it from immediately losing all volume, then let cool the rest of the way in the pan. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.