Strawberry Rhubarb Coffee Cake Recipe

The cake used in this recipe is the same recipe that I use to make my streusel coffee cake but in the center of the coffee cake is some deliciously sweet strawberry and rhubarb mixture that just makes this strawberry rhubarb coffee cake heavenly.

Ingredients:

Filling:
3 cups of fresh or frozen rhubarb, sliced into 1 inch pieces
2 pints of fresh strawberries; 1 pint mashed, 1 pint left whole
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 cup of sugar
1/3 cup of cornstarch

Cake:
3 cups sifted of all purpose flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup of sugar
2/3 cup of melted butter
1 cup of milk
2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Topping:
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sifted all purpose flour
1/2 cup of butter at room temperature
2 teaspoon of cinnamon

Instructions:

You will want to take a large saucepan and add in your rhubarb, strawberries and lemon juice and mix your ingredients together.  Then place it over a medium heat, cover the pan and then cook for 5 minutes.  At that point take a small bowl and whisk  together your sugar and cornstarch and then stir your cornstarch/sugar mixture into your rhubarb/strawberry mixture.  Bring to a boil over a medium high heat and cook for 2 minutes or until thickened.  Make certain that you stir constantly during this period.  Then remove from the heat and set aside for use later.

Now preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

You will want to mix the sifted flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl and mix until combined.  In a medium bowl, beat together the egg, the sugar and the melted butter.  Next, add the milk and vanilla to the mixture and mix until well combined.  Lastly, stir in flour mixture and mix until well until all the ingredients have combined together.   This mixture will be the batter for the cake.

Now, spread half of the batter evenly into a greased 13 x 9 inch baking dish and then carefully spread your filling on top of the batter.  You will then want to carefully pour in the remaining batter a little at a time over filling.

You now want to make the topping.   To do this, take a small mixing bowl and combine the brown sugar, flour, butter and cinnamon. Blend the ingredients with a fork until the mixture is crumbly.  Then sprinkle your crumbly mixture over the batter.

You will now want to lay some foil on lower rack in your oven to catch any juice fruit spillovers.  Then place your baking dish on the middle rack of your preheated oven and bake at 350 degrees F. for 40 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean and your cake is golden brown.  Cool your strawberry rhubarb coffee cake on a wire rack.  You will want to cut your cake into squares before serving.