My husband was born in South Dakota and grew up eating rhubarb. My mother moved to Montana from Germany when she was a young girl and she too grew up eating rhubarb. Growing up in Los Angeles, Ca. where rhubarb doesn’t grow, had it not been for my mom’s love of the tangy “pink celery,” I am not sure I would I have grown up with it as well. She sought it out at every fine grocery store each summer and baked us pies. What is more, pairing rhubarb with strawberries is like challah and butter – they compliment each other so well! Here’s a cake I made as an adaptation of Dorie Greenspan’s “Fresh Rhubarb Upside-down Baby Cakes,” in her book, Baking with Julia. Enjoy!
Rhubarb Sour Cream Cake
Full Ingredient List (in the order you use them, not in order by weight):
15 oz fresh rhubarb, sliced medium thickness
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tbs lemon juice
1 oz freeze dried strawberries
220 g all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 stick of unsalted butter, room temperature + 4 oz of butter
150 g granulated sugar
40 oz light brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2/3 cup sour cream, room temperature
1/3 cup buttermilk, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
Preparing to Bake:
Preheat the oven to 360 degrees
Butter and dust with flour a 9 inch round cake pan
Step 1:
15 oz fresh rhubarb, sliced medium thickness
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tbs lemon juice
1 oz freeze dried strawberries
Combine all three ingredients and set aside while you keep working. Keep the strawberries for when you add the mixture to the pan.
Step 2:
220 g all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
Sift all three dry ingredients together and set aside while you keep working.
Step 3:
1 stick of unsalted butter, room temperature
150 g granulated sugar
In a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together.
Step 4:
4 oz unsalted butter
40 oz light brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
While the butter and sugar are beating together, in a small, heavy saucepan, melt the butter and then stir in the brown sugar and cinnamon. Remove from the heat and set aside for a few minutes to cool just slightly.
Step 5:
2/3 cup sour cream, room temperature
1/3 cup buttermilk, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
In a medium bowl, mix the sour cream and buttermilk together. Then, add in the eggs and mix until incorporated. Lastly, add in the vanilla and stir just a couple of times. Then, mix in the dry ingredients from Step 2 and stir just until all the ingredients have come together and there are no dry spots.
Step 6: Putting it all Together
Pour the melted sugar butter you made in Step 4 into the prepared pan. Make sure it’s evenly coating the bottom.
Add the rhubarb you prepared in Step 1 in an even layer and scatter the freeze dried starwberries on top.
Pour the batter you made in Step 5 over the rhubarb and strawberries and smooth out with a spatula.
Step 7: Baking and Flipping
Bake for about 30 minutes. Every oven is different, so check yours at 20 minutes to see if it is close to being done.
Once the cake is out of the oven, you will need to flip it onto a serving stand or plate right away. This can be tricky if you aren’t used to it. What I do is take the plate or stand I am using and place it on top of the cake pan. Then, wearing oven mits or using a tawel, I grab the sides of the cake pan with the plate or stand in my hand as well (grip them all together) and I flip.
Rhubarb Sour Cream Cake
Undeniably one of the most popular breads for delicious, thick and fluffy French toast is Challah.
Tastes Like A Memory
Easy Like Sunday Morning
This recipe takes me back to my parent’s home in Woodland Hills, CA on a brisk Sunday morning. The tea kettle is singing, signaling mom’s pour over coffee is ready to be made. The sounds of high pitch character voices stream from the living room where my little brother is watching The Rugrats. The sound of the whisk beating against the glass mixing bowl lures me into the kitchen. When I see the sliced bread and griddle pan, I know what’s about to hit the plate and like Pavlov’s dog, I’m drooling.
Growing up, I always prefered French toast over pancakes. I loved the thickness, the eggy edges and the blizzard of powdered sugar I’d shake on top. I wasn’t a fan of maple syrup until I was an adult and powdered sugar just didn’t taste the same on pancakes.
Now, I love pancakes and French toast, with powdered sugar or maple syrup. For this recipe, the maple syrup compliments the pumpkin spice flavors very well.
Ingredients
- 1 loaf Pumpkin Apple Challah (sliced thick – 8 slices)
- 1 cup Oat Milk (Oatly is my fav)
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
- 4 tbsp Unsalted Butter, for frying
- 1 tbsp Canola Oil, for frying
To make a Pumpkin Apple Challah, I modified my basic Challah dough recipe to include pureed pumpkin, cinnamon and cardamon. Then, after the first rise, I rolled out the dough to a large rectangle, smeared on apple butter and topped with diced Honeycrisp apples. I rolled it up, sealed the ends of the log and then shaped it into a round which I then placed in a greased 9-in cake pan for baking.
Soak Challah Slices
You’ll want to soak the challah slices so they are coated on both sides and soaking in the egg/milk mixture for 10 minutes. This photo shows some slices soaked which are ready and the other half not yet ready.
Fry Challah Slices
One the griddle pan is hot and the butter/oil mixture is ready, cook the challah slices for about 3 minutes on each side. You are looking for a slighlty crisp light crust and a golden color. The inside will remain soft and fluffy.
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1 – Prep
Slice the challah in thick slices and set aside.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the oat milk, eggs, vanilla and spices.
Step 2- Soak
Pour the egg/milk mixture into a shallow dish and add the slices of the challah. The bread will not be fully submerged and you may need two dishes to fit all of the bread. Turn each slice coating it in the mixture. Let the slices soak for 5 minutes and then turn and soak for another 5 minutes.
Step 3 – Fry
I learned to fry French toast with a mix of butter and canola oil from Martha Stewart. I always used just butter before reading about how she does it. I don’t use too much canola oil and butter is still the main start on the griddle. Just a little mixed with the butter is all you need.
I keep the griddle at a medium heat so the toast gets a nice light crust, cooks all the way through and doesn’t burn.
I wipe the griddle clean after each batch and add a fresh pat of butter and drizzle of canola oil.
Enjoy!