Easy Rhubarb Coffee Cake Recipe With Crumb Topping
This Easy Rhubarb Coffee Cake is a classic family recipe that is sure to impress!
Fresh rhubarb is mixed into a light cake dough for a tender crumb texture. Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon on top of the cake; you seriously can’t go wrong!
This coffee cake is made for sharing and perfect for the Spring and Summer seasons.
The only coffee cake you need for Spring brunch
You can find me cooking up rhubarb recipes like my Strawberry Rhubarb Toasted Oat Sundaes or my Strawberry Rhubarb Hand Pies as soon as rhubarb is in season.
Rhubarb stalks on their own can be fairly tart and sour; however, when it’s cooked rhubarb displays it’s amazing taste which adds to the sweetness of the cake.
This recipe is from my Mom’s archives and I changed up the ingredients just a bit with the main swap being greek yogurt for sour cream.
While this Rhubarb Coffee Cake is delicious on the day you bake it, it’s even better day two! And if my past experience of ‘sharing’ this cake in a family of four is any indication, it will be gone really quick so make sure to enjoy the cake ASAP!
What ingredients do you need to make a rhubarb coffee cake?
The ingredient list for this rhubarb coffee cake recipe is fairly straightforward. Please see my notes below on substitutions and how to use frozen rhubarb in this cake.
For the cake:
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Salted butter
- Granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- Pure vanilla extract
- Whole milk greek yogurt **can substitute with sour cream
- Chopped rhubarb (fresh)
For the topping:
- Brown sugar
- Ground cinnamon
What is the secret to a good coffee cake?
- Full-fat butter and Greek yogurt: It’s important to use full-fat ingredients because the cake needs the moisture for it’s tender texture.
- Fresh rhubarb: Use fresh rhubarb where you can; nothing beats the flavor of fresh! See my tips below if using frozen rhubarb.
- Don’t over mix: When combining the wet and dry ingredients in a large bowl, take care to fold the ingredients together until just combined. Over-mixing the mixture can produce a too dense cake.
- Parchment paper: Lining the pan with parchment paper allows you to easily remove the cake from the baking pan once fully cooled if desired.
- Cooling time: Let the cake cool fully in the baking pan on a wire rack before cutting into pieces; this will give you cleaner / more uniform pieces of cake.
How to bake a delicious rhubarb coffee cake
- Pre-heat the oven to 350F. Line a 9×12 inch pan (or rectangular baking pan) with parchment paper OR grease well with butter.
- Make the topping and set aside.
- Combine the wet and dry ingredients into a thick cake batter. Stir the rhubarb into the batter until just combined. Then, add the batter to the pan and pat down to make sure it’s spread out to all the corners. Top with the brown sugar & cinnamon topping.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Leave in the pan to cool fully.
Rhurbarb cake serving suggestions
- Greek yogurt: I love serving this cake with a dollop of greek yogurt too. But also delicious on it’s own!
- Coffee: It’s not a coffee cake without a cup of coffee by it’s side.
- Vanilla ice cream: Serve this coffee cake as dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Variations and substitutions
Butter: Substitute the salted butter with unsalted butter BUT make sure to add 1/2 tsp salt to the dry ingredients in the cake batter if using unsalted butter.
Greek yogurt: You can substitute the plain Greek yogurt for an equal amount of sour cream.
Blueberries: If you can’t get your hands on fresh rhubarb, substitute for blueberries for an epic blueberry coffee cake!
Can I use frozen rhubarb in a coffee cake recipe?
I prefer to use fresh rhubarb in this cake. However, here’s now to use use frozen rhubarb in this cake recipe if desired:
- Defrost the rhubarb at room temperature. I like to place the rhubarb in a strainer over a bowl and to let it defrost.
- Once defrosted, drain the rhubarb of excess liquid and then measure the required amount of rhubarb for the coffee cake. once defrosted.
Rhubarb Cake FAQs
Yes! If using frozen rhubarb, you must thaw it before baking. See my notes above for the proper way to thaw rhubarb before adding to a cake.
This cake batter will make approximately 18-20 muffins. Be mindful of the cooking time as they will not take as much time to bake (start with 20-22 minutes in the oven and increase the baking time from there until a toothpick comes out clean). Alternatively, you can try my Strawberry-Rhubarb Muffins recipe.
How to store coffee cake
- Room temperature: Keep the rhubarb cake at room temperature in the prepared pan covered with plastic wrap for up to 1 day. Or, slice the cake and store in an airtight container for 1 day at room temperature.
- Refrigerator: Store this cake in an airtight container or in the pan wrapped with plastic wrap for up to 4 days in the fridge.
More rhubarb recipes to love from the blog
- Quick and Easy Puff Pastry Rhubarb Tart Recipe
- Strawberry Rhubarb Muffins with Streusel Topping
- Easy Strawberry Rhubarb Hand Pies with Lemon Icing
Easy Rhubarb Coffee Cake Recipe With Crumb Topping
Ingredients
For the cake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup salted butter, melted
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup whole milk greek yogurt **can substitute with sour cream
- 2 1/2 cups chopped fresh rhubarb
For the topping
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 350F. Line a 9×13 inch baking pan with parchment paper OR grease well with butter.
- In a small bowl mix together the brown sugar & cinnamon for the topping and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the flour and baking soda and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk melted butter with sugar until combined and a smooth paste forms.
- Into the butter-sugar mixture, whisk in the egg, vanilla extract and yogurt until combined and smooth.
- Add in the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and stir with a spoon or spatula until just combined. (The batter will be quite thick).
- Stir chopped rhubarb into the batter until just combined. Then, add the batter to the pan and pat down to make sure it's spread out to all the corners. Top with the brown sugar & cinnamon mixture.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Leave in the pan to cool fully before cutting and serving.
Notes
- Butter: Substitute the salted butter with unsalted butter BUT make sure to add 1/2 tsp salt to the dry ingredients in the cake batter if using unsalted butter.
- Greek yogurt: You can substitute the plain Greek yogurt for an equal amount of sour cream.
- Frozen rhubarb:
- Defrost the rhubarb at room temperature. I like to place the rhubarb in a strainer over a bowl and to let it defrost.
- Once defrosted, drain the rhubarb of excess liquid and then measure the required amount of rhubarb for the coffee cake. once defrosted.
Fantastic recipe! So simple and quick. Thanks for the cooking time for cupcakes. I cooked them for 22mins and they came our perfect. The only change I made was to use strawberry Greek yogurt which I feel enhanced the flavor even more!
My new go to recipe fir rhubarb!
Hooooray Sonia! I love that you were able to turn this recipe into cupcakes – BRILLIANT idea!! I’ve included it in my recipe notes for others to use too!
So in love with this cake! The tangy rhubarb is the highlight of this moist and delicious cake and I love that it’s simple, without any difficult to find ingredients, thanks!
Thanks for the recipe love Sabrina! It’s honestly one of my fav cakes of the season; so simple and delicious, it definitely doesn’t last long when I make it 🙂 Thanks for stopping by the blog!