Rhubarb Cake With Butter Cream Icing

We are in the middle of a beautiful summer. Thankfully the smoke has passed and the air is cleared. The summer evenings are refreshing. By our dugout, the sound of the frogs croaking is the evening music. I have to be very quiet, as they stop singing if I make my presence known. The rhubarb patch is thriving. Rhubarb is great for pies, crisps, and even this cake. Strawberries are in season right now, and they add a wonderful flavour to rhubarb pie. Even if you do not grow rhubarb, you can usually pick some up at the farmers market, as it is in season right now. Always remember that the leaves of the rhubarb plant are poisonous. Rhubarb is mildly laxative. Research shows that it may be beneficial for diabetes as it mimics the action of insulin, allowing the sugar to enter the cell, where it may be burned instead of circulating in the blood. Rhubarb is not a good food choice for those people who are prone to form oxalate kidney stones. Rhubarb can be easily frozen for later use by cutting it up into 1-inch pieces, blanching it for 1 minute, and then rinsing it in cool water, patting dry, and packaging it in plastic freezer bags. Rhubarb is also a good source of fiber, vitamin K, and vitamin C.

Rhubarb Cake with Butter Cream Icing

1/2 cup butter

1 cup of sugar, (divided)

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon vinegar, apple cider or white

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups flour

2 1/2 cups rhubarb, (finely sliced)

Finely chop the rhubarb and stir in 1/2 cup sugar. In a separate bowl cream, the butter and 1/2 cup sugar together with an electric beater, beat in the egg, and vanilla. Measure the tablespoon of vinegar into a 1 cup measure and then fill with milk, stirring half way. Buttermilk can be substituted for the vinegar and milk. Beat the milk into the butter mixture, and then beat in the baking soda and flour. Stir in the sugar-coated rhubarb, pour into a buttered 9 x 9” or 8 x 8” pan and bake for 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees. When cool frost with a butter cream icing. Note that the original recipe used margarine instead of butter and 1 and half cups sugar and only two cups of rhubarb.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

2 cups of sliced rhubarb

2 cups of strawberries

2 tablespoons of melted butter

3/4 cup of sugar

1 egg

1 tablespoons cream or milk

3 tablespoons flour

Slice the rhubarb into 1.4 Inch slices. Beat the egg, add the sugar and the melted butter, cream, and flour. Stir in the rhubarb and strawberries. Pour into an unbaked shell, and then cover a top pastry or with strips of pastry to form a lattice. You can sprinkle the top of the pastry with a teaspoon of sugar, but that is optional. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, and then at 350 degrees for 30 – 40 minutes.

Here are some additional tips: Because a fruit pie will sometimes bubble over, place the pie on a cookie sheet in the oven. If you use frozen rhubarb, the pie will be waterier. To combat this, add an additional one tablespoon of flour. Another tip to help prevent a soggy bottom crust is to sprinkle the crust with 1 or 2 teaspoons of sugar before adding in the rhubarb and strawberry pie filling.