The ripple effect: rhubarb ripple cake

Last year, I wrote on May 1 of my love for rhubarb, and how its first appearance of the season always makes me giddy. I know this is a sign that I need a life, but hey, we all need our jollies somewhere.
The recipe that follows is actually the recipe that really got me into the swing of using rhubarb. It's a recipe that has been with me for 13 years. That's a testament to how good I think this is. During the winter, when I simply cannot bear the thought of another baked pear, or another apple based dessert, I pull out a bag of the rhubarb that I have craftily frozen since the spring of the year before, and make this cake.
Rhubarb seems, these days, to almost be a generational thing. If you put a rhubarb based dessert in front of someone who is over 40 (I guess it was "30 something" when I started making it), they will love you immensely. Put it in front of a younger one and they will ask "what's that?" There is also another interesting phenomenon I have observed with rhubarb. It seems that moving out of the 50-60 something group, people like their rhubarb sweeter than you'll find it in this cake. Whilst we were in San Francisco, one of the desserts available at Chez Panisse is their definitive rhubarb compote, where the rhubarb is baked, and served with a rhubarb syrup. I had it myself. It is not unsweet, but it is not sticky sweet, and you DO know that it's rhubarb. That is the way I like it; however, there was an older couple sitting next to us, who needed to send it back for more sugar. I have seen that happen before. To each their own, but I warn you ahead of time, that if you want a sweeter dessert, you will want to add more sugar to the filling.
Another word on the filling: the one I use is pure rhubarb. You could modify this as you like. For example, when it's done cooking, you could add some sliced strawberries. They will cook down almost immediately. If you have some candied kumquats around, by all means, stir them in. Also, fresh ginger, or candied ginger would work, as would a diced apple. You could also use some frozen or fresh blueberries, if you happen to have local ones available. Around NY, the time when the two overlap is limited, so you really have to use the frozen ones. The color may not please you, though. It will come out looking something like a bruise.

I can say, uncategorically, that this is my favorite cake to eat, and it's up there with favorite ones to make. So here we go.

Let's start with the basic filling. You need either a pound of trimmed rhubarb or about a pound and a quarter of the untrimmed stuff. When you buy rhubarb, you should be getting it in full stalks. The bottom, and the top of it, will be too tough to cook, and you'll have to cut those sections off. That's what you use for syrup if you decide to make it. Once you have the rhubarb trimmed, cut it into half inch pieces, or bigger ones, if you would like more texture in your cake. Mix that fruit with 3/4 cup of white sugar and 3 heaping TABLESPOONS of cornstarch. Now, that's a lot of cornstarch, but you'll need it. Rhubarb is very wet, and you need a thick filling.

Put this into a heavy bottomed pot, cover it, and cook it at low heat for about five minutes. At this point, you are sweating the rhubarb to get some of the liquid moving. After the five minutes, uncover it and turn up the heat a bit. Get your spoon, and start stirring, and watch what happens, it's kinda neat. First, the rhubarb begins to collapse. Also, you'll see the cornstarch go from white, to clear, as it heats up, mixes with the liquid and thickens. Cornstarch needs heat to work. It's quite obvious when it happens.

Look at the texture when you have that thickened mass. If you want to get smaller pieces of rhubarb, lower the heat and cook it some more. I usually don't. I just let it cool down, uncovered, while I make the cake. And if you like easy cake, this is for you.

You need 2 cups of flour, 3/4 cup of sugar, and a stick and a half of butter, unsalted, to begin. I use the food processor and pulse it to a fine mass. When you've done this, separate out a cup and a half of the stuff. Then, turn the processor on again, and add a teaspoon of baking powder, half a teaspoon of baking soda, half a teaspoon of salt, one egg, and then 3/4 of a cup of "dairy." My original recipe calls for either buttermilk or soured milk. I almost never have buttermilk in the house, and while there is milk in the house sometimes, I can't guarantee it's there. There IS always yogurt, however, and that works just fine. If you do this in the food processor, you will get a thick, somewhat liquidy mass. You can flavor this with things like cinnamon, or orange rind or oil, ginger, etc. I like it just plain.

Get your pan ready, and preheat your oven, to 350. I prefer to use a 9 inch spring form, but you can do this in any pan. Spray it or otherwise grease it really well . You'll probably want to use your hands for the next step, so make sure you take the blade out of the processor before you get in there. Slop out about 2/3-3/4 of the batter and spread it across the bottom, and as far up the sides as you're comfortable. You don't have to be precise about this, and you don't have to worry about not coating the bottom completely; you'll be fine. After you've done that, spoon the rhubarb filling over it. Finally, dollop (ain't that a great word), the remaining batter on the top, however you want to do it , and then sprinkle the reserved crumbs over the top. Put the whole thing in the oven, and bake it for 45 minutes.

This will brown unevenly, which is fine. When it comes out, run a knife around the perimeter, and then wait until it cools completely, because hot rhubarb will burn you. It's very easy to slice, and when you do slice it, you'll see why this is called "rhubarb ripple cake. "

The recipe is said to serve 12, which is about right if you like a big portion. I find that 16 is more like it, especially if you put it with one of rhubarb's natural accompaniments, which are all dairy products that don't have too pronounced a flavor. Vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, creme fraiche, are all good. That's the way you should go with this cake.

I made one for my boys in Uptown Express tonight. It's to celebrate. We have many things to celebrate, so it's not for anything in particular. Maybe it's just because they're singing and I'm listening and, to quote Stephen Sondheim, with just a little variation "We're still here."