Yesterday was Theo’s 2nd birthday! I can’t believe another year has passed. The first year crawled by, but the second just flew. We didn’t have a big event this time, just a little picnic on the grass by the beach. We tied a balloon to Oliver’s collar and called it a party.
(It was actually pretty funny, because he’d disappear out of sight to take a dip in the ocean, and reappear minutes later with other dogs chasing him trying to catch the balloon. We only prayed he wouldn’t try to out-swim the balloon as it floated behind him… ha!)
I made a chocolate cake, but you don’t need to see that again. I still wanted to share a cake recipe to celebrate, so made another one – this Strawberry Rhubarb Cake.
I am so fully obsessed with rhubarb. I love tangy desserts. But it might also be because it is the first “fruit” (technically a veg) to appear at the market in the spring, signalling the start of a glorious pie-filled summer.
(P.S. If you love rhubarb recipes, you must also try my Rhubarb Cookies, Rhubarb Muffins, Rhubarb Hand Pies, and Easy Rhubarb Crisp.)
I paid through the nose for it at the first farmer’s market of the year, but it has since surfaced at the regular markets and grocery stores. We’ve been eating it a lot.
Growing up, my mom would simmer down the ruby stalks to a smooth sauce, which we’d pile on buttered whole wheat toast. I treat it the same way now, but prefer to spoon it onto plain yogurt… or ice cream.
This tender yogurt cake is laden with juicy strawberries and rhubarb – the batter really just holds it all together. A buttery brown sugar streusel is marbled over top, creating rustic-looking caramel-ly streaks that sink into the surface.
It’s delicious warm from the oven with ice cream, but great at room temperature, too. It’s very moist and stays that way for a few days. What? Someone eats it for breakfast?! Not me… *shifty eyes*
Strawberry Rhubarb Yogurt Cake
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup yogurt
- 2 cups chopped rhubarb
- 1 ½ cups chopped strawberries stems discarded
- ¼ cup butter
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a 9x13" baking pan with parchment or grease well. In the large bowl of a standing mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in egg, then vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. With the mixer speed on low, beat in half of flour mixture, followed by yogurt, then remaining flour mixture.
- Remove bowl from standing mixer, and fold rhubarb and strawberries into cake batter. Spread into prepared baking pan. In a small bowl, combine remaining 1/4 cup butter with cinnamon and brown sugar. Sprinkle over top of cake. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until centre is set and springs back when lightly touched. Cool in pan set on top of wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
