Food & Cooking Recipes Dessert & Treats Recipes Cake Recipes Strawberry-Rhubarb Coffee Cake 5.0 (2) Just right for spring! A sweet-tart fruit filling sets this coffee cake apart. Close Credit: Jake Sternquist Prep Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 20 mins Total Time: 1 hr 40 mins Servings: 15 Jump to recipe Our strawberry-rhubarb coffee cake is a moist and tender treat that practically screams "spring." It's loaded with tangy rhubarb and sweet strawberries and finished with a buttery crumb topping. Making the batter is much like whipping up a tray of biscuits: Chilled butter is cut in rather than creamed, and this produces an uber-tender crumb. You won't need any special equipment, just a couple of bowls, a saucepan for cooking the fruit, and a standard 9-by-13-inch baking pan. It's perfect for a spring gathering or brunch, but we won't blame you if you keep it to yourself and enjoy squares of it throughout the week. 41 Rhubarb Recipes, From Sweet Custard Tarts to Savory Pork Chops Coffee Cake vs. Crumb Cake Both coffee cake and crumb cake are tender, moist, and can be served for breakfast, dessert, or a snack, but there is one key difference that sets them apart—and it all lies in the sweet and buttery crumb topping known as streusel. While you're likely to find streusel on a coffee cake, it's there as more of an accent vs. a main component of the cake itself. In fact, some coffee cakes don't even feature a streusel at all. Crumb cake, on the other hand, is as much about the streusel as it is the cake below, with most crumb cakes containing a near-equal amount of each. Equipment Needs for Strawberry-Rhubarb Coffee Cake Making this springy baked good couldn't be simpler and requires only a few pieces of kitchen equipment, including: Baking pan: You'll need a 9-by-13-inch baking dish for this recipe. You can use either a glass or metal pan, just be sure to butter it well to help the cooked cake release. If you don't have a 9-by-13-inch pan, you can split the batter between two 8-inch square baking pans or two 9-inch round pans. Saucepan: To make the fruit sauce, you'll need a medium saucepan. It should be large enough to comfortably hold six cups of chopped rhubarb and a scant three cups of sliced strawberries. A heavy-bottomed pot will help keep the mixture from scorching as it simmers. Mixing bowls: You'll need a few mixing bowls of varying sizes for this cake: three medium bowls (one to hold the cooked fruit mixture, one for making the crumb topping, and one for the liquid ingredients), and a large bowl for making the batter in. Whisk and wooden spoon: You won't need to take out your electric mixer for this coffee cake, but you will need a whisk for combing the dry ingredients and a sturdy spoon for stirring together the batter. Pastry knife (or two forks): If you have a pastry knife, use it to cut the butter into the flour mixture when making the batter. Otherwise, simply grab two forks and use them to work in the butter instead. Wire rack: Letting the finished cake cool on a wire rack—and not directly on your counter—allows air to circulate around the pan, cooling it more evenly and efficiently. To make your own buttermilk, stir together 1 1/2 cups milk and 1 1/2 tablespoons white vinegar or lemon juice. Let mixture sit until slightly curdled, about 5 minutes, before using. Directions Credit: Jake Sternquist Preheat oven and prep baking pan: Preheat oven to 350°F. Brush a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with butter, and set aside. Make fruit sauce: Combine lemon juice, cornstarch, and 1 cup sugar in a medium saucepan. Add strawberries and rhubarb; cook, stirring frequently, over medium heat, until rhubarb is soft and liquid has thickened, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl; let cool. Credit: Jake Sternquist Make crumb topping: Combine 3/4 cup sugar and 3/4 cup flour in a medium bowl. Melt 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Drizzle butter over flour mixture; using your hands, mix until crumbly. Set aside. Instead of melting the butter on the stovetop, microwave it, covered, at 50 percent power until melted, about 1 minute. Credit: Jake Sternquist Mix dry ingredients and cut in butter: Whisk together remaining 3 cups flour and 1 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Using a pastry knife or two forks, cut remaining two sticks of butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal. Credit: Jake Sternquist Mix cake batter: In a separate bowl, mix eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Pour into flour mixture; stir to combine. Credit: Jake Sternquist Assemble cake: Spread half the cake batter evenly into the prepared pan. Top with half the fruit sauce. Carefully spread the remaining batter over the fruit, and top with the remaining fruit sauce. Sprinkle with the crumb topping. Credit: Jake Sternquist Credit: Jake Sternquist Bake and cool: Bake until cake is golden brown and springs back when touched in the center, about 1 hour. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature, cut into squares. Credit: Jake Sternquist How to Store Strawberry-Rhubarb Coffee Cake Leftover coffee cake can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two days or refrigerated for up to five days. For longer storage, wrap coffee cake well in a double layer of plastic followed by a layer of foil and freeze for up to three months. Let the cake thaw in the fridge overnight before serving. Variations Cinnamon crumb topping: Try adding one-quarter teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the crumb topping for a touch of warmth. For a smaller group: Make 2 crumb cakes by spliting the batter, fruit sauce, and crumb topping between two 8-inch square pans; after baking and cooling, wrap one well and freeze to enjoy at a later date. 5 More Coffee Cake Recipes to Try Meyer Lemon Coffee Cake Cocoa-Swirl Coffee Cake With Hazelnut Crumb Sour-Cream Coffee Cake With Cinnamon-Walnut Topping Glazed Lemon Blueberry Coffee Cake Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake This recipe was originally developed by Emily Donahue for Rosey's Coffee and Tea in Hanover, New Hampshire and was featured in The decorvow Living Cookbook: The New Classics. Updated by Esther Reynolds Esther Reynolds Esther Reynolds is an experienced recipe developer, recipe tester, food editor, and writer with over a decade of experience in the food and media industries.