Rhubarb Buckle with Ginger Crumb

My husband loves rhubarb and although we have had a cold spring, I figured that I could probably find some rhubarb in the store. Well I went to the store and what they had didn’t look very good. I grew up very close to Sumner, WA, which is the Rhubarb Pie Capital of the World. Ok, so I figured that I could find some good rhubarb there! My husband found Scholz Farm which is close to there and we decided to drive there and get some rhubarb.

When we drove up, the rhubarb plants were right there so we knew it would be fresh! Their rhubarb was beautiful and was really inexpensive. The farmers were there and they seemed so pleased that we were there. I love that about small places! I bought a couple of pounds and figured I used some and then freeze the rest. We were so glad that we made the trip to visit them.

I always see strawberry rhubarb recipes but my husband likes plain rhubarb, so I figured that this would be the perfect recipe. I love ginger and I thought that would be interesting with the tartness of the rhubarb. I always think buckles are more like crisps, but this one is very cake-like. A buckle is technically a cake with fruit mixed in with a crumb-like topping, so I guess this fits the definition. This was so good and I loved the ginger in this! I was never sure about how much I liked rhubarb, but I’m beginning to really like it. 

1/3 cup sugar

¼ cup flour

¼ cup finely chopped candied ginger

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1-3/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon dried ginger

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

¾ cup butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

¾ cup buttermilk, room temperature

1 pound rhubarb, trimmed and thinly sliced

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch round baking pan and line the bottom with a parchment paper round, butter the parchment.

Make the crumb: in a small bowl combine the sugar, flour, and candied ginger. Stir in the butter and form crumbs. Place the crumbs in the freezer while you make the cake.

In a small bowl combine the flour, baking powder, ginger, baking soda, and salt. In a large mixer bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating about a minute after each addition. Stir in the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour. Gently fold in the rhubarb.

Spread the batter into the prepared pan, and then sprinkle with the ginger crumb. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until lightly golden and form on top.

Allow to cool for about 15 minutes before removing from the pan to cool completely on a wire rack.

Recipe from Rustic Fruit Desserts by Cory Schreiber and Julie Richardson