I posted a photo of this Polish Rhubarb Crumb Cake – Ciasto z rabarbarem i kruszonką on my Instagram account before I wrote up the recipe. I have never had so many people request a recipe on IG! It was equally popular when I took a tray of cake to our weekly staff meeting at the church.
Many of the folks requesting the recipe mentioned having a rhubarb patch and an abundance of the colorful red stalks. That sounds like such an interesting predicament that I had a look to see if it would grow here in USDA Hardiness Zone 9, no luck!
I’ll have to keep buying mine at the supermarket and making only a reasonable number of rhubarb dishes rather than feeding the entire neighborhood with rhubarb coffee cake.
If you want to grow rhubarb, you should know that the leaves are poisonous. Historically, rhubarb stalks and roots have been used for medicine. It was one of the first Chinese medicines to make its way to the West.
Rhubarb looks like a red version of a green celery stalk. It has a very sour, tart taste. Mix it with a little sugar, and the sweet and tart taste is wonderfully fruity, even though we would classify rhubarb as a vegetable.
Rhubard was not something commonly used as I was growing up in Arizona. I saw it so much more living in Poland.
So many of my Polish and European friends were baking with it. Cafes and coffee shops were advertising rhubarb cake. I did try my hand at making a rhubarb sauce.
The rhubarb sauce is from years ago. The photo makes me shudder; I’d like to think my photography has improved.
This Polish Rhubarb Crumb Cake – Ciasto z rabarbarem i kruszonką is based on one I found at Mały Cukierenka, a beautiful Polish food blog. I think the name means little sweets. As you would expect of a Polish dessert, it’s only lightly sweet.
The original recipe called for ground hazelnuts or almonds in the cake. I had pecans on hand, so that’s what I used. I think you could use whatever you have in the pantry.
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If you have or can find some rhubarb, bake a couple of Polish Rhubarb Crumb Cake – Ciasto z rabarbarem i kruszonką. Cut a slice, take a photo with a Polish pottery coffee cup, pop it up on Instagram. People will notice; be sure to tag me!
Smacznego!
Lois
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Polish Rhubarb Crumb Cake – Ciasto z Rabarbarem i Kruszonka
Description
Polish Rhubarb Crumb Cake – Ciasto z rabarbarem i kruszonką, lightly sweet and with tart rhubarb
Ingredients
for filling:
4 stalks rhubarb (roughly 3 cups)
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup flour
for crumb topping:
5 tablespoons butter, melted
2/3 cups light brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch salt
for the cake:
3/4 cup sour cream
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch salt
3/4 cup butter, room temp
2 cups nuts
3 tablespoons flour
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350° F
Prepare two 8-inch pans, grease with butter and line bottom with parchment paper
for the filling:
Trim ends of rhubarb and slice into 1/2 inch pieces, toss with powdered sugar and 1/4 cup flour, set aside. The rhubarb will release juices while you prepare the other components
for the crumb:
Combine butter, brown sugar, 1/3 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, teaspoon vanilla, and a pinch of salt
for the cake:
Combine the sour cream, eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla
In another bowl, combine 2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and a pinch salt
Work in butter and add wet ingredients
In a food processor, process nuts with 3 tablespoons flour until fine, add to the cake batter, stirring until uniformly combined
Spread batter in prepared pans, top with rhubarb mixture, and crumble crumb topping over the rhubarb
Bake 50 – 55 minutes (internal temp 210° F), cool before serving
An accountant by trade and a food blogger since 2009, Lois Britton fell in love with Polish cuisine during the years she lived in Poznań, Poland. As the creator of PolishHousewife.com, she loves connecting readers with traditional Polish recipes. Lois has a graduate certificate in Food Writing and Photography from the University of South Florida. She is the author of The Polish Housewife Cookbook, available on Amazon and on her website.
Manya
No such thing as too much rhubarb! Did you know that it freezes beautifully? Just chop it up into pieces about an inch long, put it in a freezer Ziploc bag and toss it in the freezer. This way you can have lovely rhubarb desserts in the middle of winter. This recipe is a nice one.
polishhousewife
Good tips, Manya; many thanks!
Dianne Scott
Love rhubarb. Reminds me of my childhood visits to my grandfather. I would entertain myself by sitting next to his garage where there was a patch of rhubarb. I would break off stalks & I mean stalks, wipe them off on my clothes & sit in the shade & eat them. I would always go home with a bag full. My mom would make this, rhubarb syrup, rhubarb jam, and strawberry rhubarb pie. She would freeze some for the winter. My mom has a small patch in her backyard now. She still freezes lots for me since I’m 300 miles away. Can’t seem to grow it here. Found some in supermarket. Bought several bunches. Made jam & a couple of strawberry rhubarb pies. My oldest son’s favorite pie. He devoured it without letting his 4 kids have any. He hid it. Haven’t found anymore.
polishhousewife
Thanks for sharing your memories, Dianne. I hope you find some more!
Tish
Making the topping and I think the 5T butter should not be melted! More like a thick liquid then a crumb topping:(
Tish
Wow, wish I could say this cake was great, but… it is not. First off, do not melt the butter for the crumb topping. Secondly it takes longer to bake through and in the process over bakes. A very expensive cake to make for such poor results. Wish I could say I was a novice baker, but I should have really read through the recipe first and I would have been skeptical of the outcome.
Christine Martin
I made this today – baked it in a 9×13 pan, followed all instructions, and used walnuts cuz I had lots of them. Turned out absolutely perfect! My whole family loved it. The objections others had were not at all apparent to me! I love it when recipes meet or exceed expectations! This one far exceeded mine! YUM!!!
polishhousewife
I’m happy to hear it worked well for you Christine. Thanks for taking the time to comment! 🙂
marywallis soetebier
sometimes I have a hard time getting fresh rhubarb, can you use frozen, that is thawed? Thanks
polishhousewife
I think it should work just fine.
Cynthia Pastula
I made this cake today. I followed the recipe exactly with the exception of baking it in a 9″x13″ cake pan lined with parchment and did add a few minutes to the baking time just to make sure it was golden brown and cooked through. I will definitely be making this again.
I always enjoy a “good” dessert on the weekend, but if I make and keep the dessert at home, I will eventually eat the entire thing. Now, I bake something special on Saturday, slice the 2 or 3 slices my husband & i will eat on the weekend, and bring the remainder of the dessert to church on Sunday to share during our coffee hour after 8:00 service. I am excited to bring this cake to share tomorrow. Thank you for a change-up to my baking line-up
Valerie Krusinski
I’m a little confused. Would I be making 2 cakes and do you use round or square pans
Lois Britton
I used two eight inch square pans, round would be OK. The cake is served in a single layer, so yes, you do have two cakes.