Make this easy Rhubarb Coffee Cake for a cozy spring brunch. It’s fluffy, moist and topped with a load of streusel – perfect for Easter brunch or Mother’s Day!
This is absolutely one of my favorite recipes to bake during rhubarb season! I also make it with plums in the fall or with stone fruit during summer – it’s always so good!
Even my oldest kid who isn’t into cake at all loves this one. And that’s really saying something. It’s great as a snack cake or for a festive brunch (think Mother’s Day!). It’s really good by itself, but you can also serve it with whipped cream or Greek yogurt. Or, I mean, vanilla ice cream? I’m definitely not above that last option 😉 Enjoy!
Ingredients you’ll need
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities!
Ingredient notes
- Fruit: This cake works with many different kinds of fruit. Peaches, plums, strawberries, raspberries, apples… Change it up or use a mix, if you like! The juicier the fruit, the moister the cake will be.
- Greek yogurt: Sour cream can be used in place of the greek yogurt. Plain yogurt can be used, but you’ll need to increase the flour by a couple of tablespoons.
- Butter: The cake really works best with real butter. Especially the streusel turns out really well with it. If you don’t have butter or want to make the cake more budget friendly, stick margarine can be substituted (it will slightly change the flavor and texture of the cake and streusel). Do make sure to use stick margarine and not a spread!
- Vanilla extract: A delicious twist on the cake is using 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon almond extract in place of all vanilla in the batter.
How to make a Rhubarb Coffee Cake
1. Start by making the streusel topping: Combine the dry ingredients for the streusel in a small bowl, then cut in the sugar until crumbs form. Chill your streusel in the fridge until you’re ready to use them.
Make sure you properly cut the butter into the dry ingredients, until you have a bowl of what should resemble crumbly cookie dough. If you don’t fully work the butter into the dry mix, you will end up with a sandy/gritty topping.
Here is a little video to show how I make streusel:
2. Next, cream the butter, sugar and eggs together until light and fluffy (this takes 4-5 minutes, so be patient or your cake won’t rise). Slowly beat in greek yogurt and vanilla extract.
3. Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then gradually add to the creamed mixture while slowly beating with a hand mixer until smooth.
4. Spread the batter in a lined 9×13 inch (22x33cm) cake pan, top with rhubarb and streusel and bake!
Once the cake is done, set the pan on a cooling rack on your counter and allow it to cool in the pan. Then slice to serve!
Baking tips
- Chilling the streusel helps it to stay in thick, cookie-like crumbs during baking. So don’t skip this step! It only needs to chill while you’re making the rest of the cake, so it won’t add any additional waiting time.
- This makes a huge amount of streusel. If you prefer less streusel, cut the amount in half (for reference, I took the photos with half the amount, to make sure the rhubarb shows well in the pictures).
- Do not skip beating the eggs until fluffy. This really does take around 4 minutes – otherwise the cake will be dense and flat.
- The batter is fairly thick, don’t be alarmed by this. It needs to be sturdy to support the load of fruit on top. If it seems impossibly thick, add a couple tablespoons of milk.
Storage tips
The cake keeps at room temperature for up to 2 days. Cover it well to keep it from drying out.
Watch the recipe video
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Rhubarb Coffee Cake
Recipe details
Ingredients
For the streusel
- 1 ⅓ cups flour plus a few tablespoons as needed
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- pinch of salt
- 1 stick cold butter
For the cake
- 1 ½ sticks butter softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup Greek yogurt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Fruit
- 2 pounds rhubarb cut into ½ inch pieces
Instructions
- Prep: Line a 9×13 inch (22 x 33cm) cake pan and preheat the oven to 360°F (180°C).
- Make the streusel: Add flour, sugar, ground cinnamon and salt for the streusel to a small bowl. Mix well, then cut in the cold butter until crumbs form. Chill in the fridge until ready to use.
- Cream wet ingredients: Cream butter, sugar and eggs together until light and fluffy (this takes 4-5 minutes, so be patient or your cake won't rise). Slowly beat in greek yogurt and vanilla extract.
- Combine dry ingredients and make cake batter: Combine flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon and salt for cake in a separate bowl. Slowly mix into the egg mixture until a smooth batter forms – it will be thick.
- Assemble and bake the cake: Spread the batter in the prepared cake pan. Arrange the sliced rhubarb on top, slightly pressing it into the batter. Scatter the streusel over the cake. Bake the cake for 50-60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out fairly clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack before slicing to serve.
Notes
Baking tips
Chilling the streusel helps it to stay in thick, cookie-like crumbs during baking. So don’t skip this step! It only needs to chill while you’re making the rest of the cake, so it won’t add any additional waiting time. This makes a huge amount of streusel. If you prefer less streusel, cut the amount in half (for reference, I took the photos with half the amount, to make sure the rhubarb shows well in the pictures). Do not skip beating the eggs until fluffy. This really does take around 4 minutes – otherwise the cake will be dense and flat. The batter is fairly thick, don’t be alarmed by this. It needs to be sturdy to support the load of fruit on top. If it seems impossibly thick, add a couple tablespoons of milk.Ingredient notes
Fruit: This cake works with many different kinds of fruit. Peaches, plums, strawberries, raspberries, apples… Change it up or use a mix, if you like! The juicier the fruit, the moister the cake will be. Greek yogurt: Sour cream can be used in place of the greek yogurt. Plain yogurt can be used, but you’ll need to increase the flour by a couple of tablespoons. Butter: The cake really works best with real butter. Especially the streusel turns out really well with it. If you don’t have butter or want to make the cake more budget friendly, stick margarine can be substituted (it will slightly change the flavor and texture of the cake and streusel). Do make sure to use stick margarine and not a spread! Vanilla extract: A delicious twist on the cake is using 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon almond extract in place of all vanilla in the batter.Storage
The cake keeps at room temperature for up to 2 days. Cover it well to keep it from drying out.Nutrition
More recipe information
Recipe first published on 05/05/2020. Updated with step by step photos on 03/26/2021.
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