Rhubarb Custard Cake

This cake is my final goodbye to rhubarb for the season.  I hope you can still find some to make this recipe because it’s such a perfect showcase of rhubarb.

This is a stand mixer-free wonder: you just need a couple bowls and you’re set.  The lemony cake batter complements the tart rhubarb perfectly.  I sprinkled a crap-ton of sugar on top because I love when soft-tender and crispy-crunchy play together in the same recipe.  If you take your cake out towards the 45-minute mark, you’ll be rewarded with a soft, custardy interior and a crunchy exterior.  Leave it in towards the 55-minute mark, and you’ll have a delicious but more firm cake.  Your choice.

Try I did to get the rhubarb to stay on top of the cake like the pretty pictures of perfectly poised rhubarb from Bon Appetit, but two attempts failed and I ran out of rhubarb.  I even read through all of the comments on the recipe (and I know I wasn’t alone with this problem).  Trust me, this cake is still so so so good even if your rhubarb sinks to the bottom.  AND IF YOU FIGURE OUT HOW TO KEEP IT ON TOP, HIT A GIRL UP BECAUSE I WANT A PRETTY CAKE TOO.

So I just liberally dusted with powdered sugar and pretended like it wasn’t supposed to have rhubarb on the top.

Dollop with some of that delicious strawberry-rhubarb jam we made the other day and try to hold your tears back as you say goodbye to our favorite rhizome.  But guys, we’re getting into summer and we all know the best produce happens then.  We’ll be okay.

[tasty-recipe id=”31439″]