Rhubarb Buttermilk Coffee Cake
Rhubarb Buttermilk Coffee Cake is a nice breakfast snack or dessert–a light buttermilk coffee cake, delicious served with fruit and coffee!
Do you have an abundance of fresh rhubarb sitting on the counter or in your garden?
Just in time for summer guests, this Rhubarb Buttermilk Coffee Cake is made with rhubarb, which is dangerously good! So good, you may just want to “test” the center piece and make sure that you like it :)
Rhubarb Buttermilk Coffee Cake
A rhubarb growing season is short, so make all your favorite rhubarb recipes while you can. There’s a nice balance of tart and sweet in each bite in this coffee cake. It reminds me of my mom, who would cross our little creek and walk into the orchard to gather fresh rhubarb.
Why we love this recipe
- It’s a simple homemade cake that uses summer rhubarb.
- Delicious for breakfast brunch, snack, or dessert.
- It tastes great the first day it is made, and it tastes better on the second.
This cake recipe should be in everyone’s repertoire, but if you love peach or cherry or blueberry, then these are great breakfast cakes as well.
Buttermilk Coffee Cake
This recipe is essentially a Buttermilk Coffee Cake, but with the added tartness of rhubarb! And if you love buttermilk, try my old-fashioned Buttermilk Raisin Bran Muffins and Buttermilk Cake with Bacon Maple Glaze – woot woot!
What is rhubarb?
What is rhubarb, anyway? I’ve always thought it was a fruit, but evidently there’s been quite the discussion about whether it’s a fruit or vegetable.
Rhubarb is the thick leaf stalks (reddish-green) of a cultivated plant of the dock family.
The stalks are long and quite pretty!
Gather these ingredients
- Fresh rhubarb
- Butter
- Dark brown sugar
- Buttermilk
- Eggs
- Vanilla
- All purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Salt
Topping:
- Butter
Cinnamon
Nuts: we use pecans
How do you make Buttermilk Coffee Cake?
- Spray a 9×13 inch baking dish and set aside.
- In bowl (using electric mixer), add the butter, dark brown sugar, buttermilk, and eggs. Mix until light and fluffy. Add in rhubarb and vanilla.
- Add flour, baking soda and salt and mix until just combined. Spread into prepared pan.
- In a small bowl, mix together the remaining dark brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, and chopped nuts.
- Sprinkle top with the topping mixture.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
It’s tart (doesn’t the rhubarb look like apples?) and sweet at the same time. So good made with dark brown sugar.
One of my favorite rhubarb recipes. It’s delicious for breakfast as well as for dessert.
Happy summer!
More rhubarb recipes to try:
More rhubarb recipes: Strawberry Rhubarb Crunch [Barefeet in the Kitchen] and Rhubarb Sherbet [Pint Sized Baker].
Get the Recipe:
Rhubarb Buttermilk Coffee Cake
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups fresh rhubarb, cut in small pieces
- ½ cup 1 stick of butter, softened
- 1 cup dark brown sugar, divided
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- TOPPING: 1 Tbsp. butter
- ½ tsp. cinnamon
- ½ cup chopped nuts, I used Trader Joe's candied pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9×13 inch baking dish and set aside.
- In bowl (using electric mixer), add the butter, ½ cup dark brown sugar, buttermilk, and eggs. Mix until light and fluffy. Add in rhubarb and vanilla.
- Add flour, baking soda and salt and mix until just combined. Spread into prepared pan.
- In a small bowl, mix together the remaining ½ cup dark brown sugar, 1 Tbsp. butter, cinnamon, and chopped nuts.
- Sprinkle top with the topping mixture.
- Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Notes
Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
It looks too yummy. Will definitely try it
Thanks to you for sharing it.
Hi,
It looks amazing and tasty!
Thanks for sharing!
I made this 2 times and found that I had to bake much longer then 30min, more like 45 min. I has been a hit at my house, and a scoop of vanilla ice cream really hits the spot!
I know, so good. I added that into the recipe, that it may take longer. :)
If it’s a Rhubarb Buttermilk Coffee Cake, why don’t your instructions include when to add the rhubarb?
Just a mistake, Barb. You add it in with the butter and egg mixture (recipe is fixed!)
That looks amazing. Definitely going on my list to make! YUM! I am an extrovert, though there have been times I just feel so “out of place” in a situation that I become more introverted, but that’s rare. My hubby likes when I come to work events with him because I help with the conversation..lol.