Strawberries are officially in season in this part of the world, and a good friend dropped off a bag of rhubarb from her backyard this weekend. I know strawberry and rhubarb is one of those love-it or hate-it combinations, and I’m definitely in the love-it camp. We were responsible for bringing dessert to a dinner this weekend, and this Strawberry Rhubarb Cake was the perfect thing to make.
The strawberry rhubarb cake is perfect on it’s own, but for a special dinner party a few accoutrement were in high order. The way I figure it, at this time if year you can never have too much strawberry and rhubarb, so a few spoons of strawberry rhubarb sauce and a dollop of whipped cream were added to take this cake from delicious to simply amazing.
In addition to being really tasty, this strawberry rhubarb cake is also made with whole grain flour and sweetened naturally with maple syrup – no sugar added. While cake is not exactly a health food, this is pretty close to being both good and good for you.
The recipe calls for whey as the liquid to use for the strawberry rhubarb cake, though milk can also be used. I make a weekly batch of the Chef in Disguise’s Homeade Labneh and that means a whole lot of whey to use up. Turns out it’s great for baking, so if you want to give Labneh a try you can use up the whey in a recipe like this strawberry rhubarb cake.
Strawberry Rhubarb Cake
Prep Time: 15 minutes for the cake + 15 minutes for the sauce
Bake Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 6
Ingredients
For the Strawberry Rhubarb Cake
1¾ cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
2/3 cup maple syrup
1 large egg
½ cup whey or milk
6 tbsp. (¾ stick) unsalted butter
1 cup sliced strawberries
½ cup thinly sliced rhubarb
For the Sauce
¼ cup maple syrup or honey
¼ cup orange juice
½ tsp rosewater (optional, but good)
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 cups sliced strawberries
1 cup sliced rhubarb
Directions:
For the Strawberry Rhubarb Cake
- Preheat the oven to 400F. Butter and flour either a 12″ bundt pan, 2 loaf pans, or 2 8″ round cake pans and set aside (my favorite is a bundt pan, but only because it’s pretty).
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir to combine and set aside.
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until just melted. While the butter is melting, beat the egg in a small bowl until well mixed, then add the whey and maple syrup. Stirring constantly, slowly pour the melted butter into the egg mixture until well combined.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients all at once. Mix until just combined. Fold in the strawberries and rhubarb until well distributed.
- Transfer the cake batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until crispy and golden brown on the outside and a cake tester comes out clean.
- Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Transfer to a cake rack and cool completely before serving. Serve the strawberry rhubarb cake on its own or with the sauce below, whipped cream and/or vanilla ice cream.
For the Sauce
- Prepare this sauce while the cake is baking. Combine the honey or maple syrup, orange juice, rose water and cornstarch in a medium saucepan. Blend until smooth. Cook over medium-low heat until it begins to thicken and bubble, stirring constantly.
- Add the strawberries and rhubarb and continue to simmer for 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the fruit is softened but the rhubarb is not yet falling apart.
- Cool and serve. This sauce is great with the strawberry rhubarb cake, and can also be used on pancakes or crepes, ice cream, and other dishes.
Strawberry Rhubarb Cake is one of my favorite strawberry/rhubarb combinations. What are yours?
Thank you kindly for the shout out
I am really glad you liked the labneh and it is a weekly regular in your house
I am always looking for new ways to use whey and this sounds like a very tasty one