Rhubarb “Big Crumb” Coffeecake Recipe (2024)

Rhubarb, crumb and cake: The cake is excellent. I substituted plain, nonfat Greek yogurt for the sour cream and used Irish butter. The crumb topping was just okay; but it is not what I prefer in a coffee cake. Instead of being a sparkling, crunchy-sugary topping, the crumb tasted dense and drab from flour. With respect to rhubarb, a little more would be nice. So I'll definitely make the cake again, but with a different crumb topping and perhaps 3/4 lb rhubarb.

Wow I found this recipe a bit overly complicated. So many bowls! And proportions seem off. Very little cake batter and mounds of crumb. I literally couldn't fit it all on top of the cake. My crumb also turned out sandy and did not form into a dough. Will halve the flour and add oats next time. Will also double the batter because I like more cake and less sugar topping.

Delicious, but very high in calories and sugar, even for a coffee cake. A small piece is plenty. I added an extra 4 oz of rhubarb and it was yummy. I could go with ½ the amount of crumb topping next time.

I’ve made this five times and when I use Swans Cake Flour the crumb is perfection. Twice I only had King Arthur Cake Flour and the crumb was hard and floury. Use Swans- it’s incredible.

This is a putzy recipe but it is very good. I used frozen Rhubarb and used 3 cups. My crust did not go into a ball as described and the top was not a crumble. I would use frozen again it was very moist but not wet. It may work with gluten free flours. Next time I will add 2/3 to crust and 1/3 to top for crumble, I think it might work better. As prepared it is very good!

Would I measure frozen rhubarb differently? How much diced frozen in a cup? Do I need to thaw it before measuring and baking? I have a freezer with too much rhubarb and need to make this delicious cake for Thanksgiving.

I used nonfat Greek yogurt instead of sour cream to cut down on some of the calories, and Vermont Creamery cultured butter—my go-to for baking. The flavor of the cake was wonderful, but like @Andrea, I didn't get the "solid dough" to make big crumbs. I'll take @melanie's advice and see if Swan's cake flour does the trick (I used King Arthur).

I think I'm just too smitten with Melissa Clark's Pantry Crumb Cake to embrace this one. So much crumb topping that is floury and bland. It could use a jolt of ground cloves. This cake is good. It's just not amazing. And it does seem odd, as others have noted, that there is so little batter.

Great cake. I’ve made it twice and its lovely, but I don’t like the way it’s written. It should be made in the order that stuff goes into the pan. 1. Make the cake batter. 2. Prepare the rhubarb and one can be generous with the fruit (is rhubarb a fruit?) and 3. Make the topping.

This is the most perfect cake ever invented. All those complaining about sweetness and doughiness are (1) probably using all-purpose flour instead of cake flour and (2) subbing out the tart rhubarb for another fruit. This is so worth the effort and bowl usage, that I beg to make it whenever I possibly can.

I’ve made this five times and when I use Swans Cake Flour the crumb is perfection. Twice I only had King Arthur Cake Flour and the crumb was hard and floury. Use Swans- it’s incredible.

Wow I found this recipe a bit overly complicated. So many bowls! And proportions seem off. Very little cake batter and mounds of crumb. I literally couldn't fit it all on top of the cake. My crumb also turned out sandy and did not form into a dough. Will halve the flour and add oats next time. Will also double the batter because I like more cake and less sugar topping.

This is another show-stopper from Melissa Clark. I was feeling a little sheepish about the plentiful helping of butter compared with a different crumb cake I’d made earlier just this week, but it’s dessert, for crying out loud! And the richness sets the table for savoring each bite with all its different textures.I used blueberries in my cake; next time I’ll have to get my hands on the rhubarb. I didn’t melt the butter for the crumb topping; I just cut it into pea-sized pieces cold and mixed:)

I mixed the crumb topping by hand. It did not form a dough; it was sandy floury. Sounds like others have had the same problem. Are you sure the amount of flour for the topping is correct?

How many cups, approximately, in a half pound of rhubarb?

Delicious, but very high in calories and sugar, even for a coffee cake. A small piece is plenty. I added an extra 4 oz of rhubarb and it was yummy. I could go with ½ the amount of crumb topping next time.

I was a bit concerned when the cake batter barely covered the bottom of the pan, but I pressed on. Used 12 ounces rhubarb, yogurt instead of sour cream because that's what I had, and substituted oats for some of the flour called for in the crumb topping, 'cause I wanted the texture. Came out very nice and actually released well from the pan, which I was slightly worried about.

I subbed apples for the rhubarb, but otherwise made it as is. When I tasted the cake fresh out of the oven the evening I made it, I was unimpressed by the moistness of the cake. It was good, crumb was ok, but (I thought) not worth making it again. HOWEVER, I put it away in an air tight container, and the next morning, the moistness from the apples lent the cake some much needed oomph, and it was really good. Will definitely make again, but at least 12 hrs before. Not too sweet, good with coffee

Made this coffeecake this morning. I like it. A little heavy on the ginger spice for my tastes, nonetheless a very pleasant coffeecake. Will definitely make again.