Memorial Day

Cory Schreiber & Julie Richardson's Rhubarb Buckle with Ginger Crumb

May 21, 2013
4.7
11 Ratings
Photo by James Ransom
  • Serves 8 to 12
Author Notes

There's a secret ingredient in here: ginger (times two). Fiery candied ginger is minced up in the crumb topping, and ground ginger in the cake too -- just enough to give it a warm, flirty je ne sais quoi that doesn't try to shout over the rhubarb. Adapted very slightly from Rustic Fruit Desserts (Ten Speed Press, 2009) —Genius Recipes

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • Ginger Crumb Topping
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped candied ginger
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • Cake
  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon dried ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
  • 1 pound rhubarb, trimmed and thinly sliced
Directions
  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch round baking pan that is at least 3 inches tall. (Otherwise, use a larger pan or it may overflow.)
  2. Make ginger crumb topping: Mix sugar, flour, and candied ginger together in a bowl, then stir in melted butter. Put the topping in the freezer while you mix up the cake.
  3. Make the cake: whisk flour, baking powder, ginger, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Using a handheld mixer with beaters, or a stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down sides of bowl after each addition. Stir in the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with buttermilk in two additions, beginning and ending with dry ingredients, and scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Gently fold in rhubarb.
  4. Spread the batter into the prepared pan, then sprinkle the crumb topping over the cake—make sure the crumb is totally frozen, and that you move quickly to sprinkle it over the cake and transfer to the oven. Otherwise it will melt into the cake, which will still taste good but won't look as spectacular. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until lightly golden, and firm on top.
  5. Store wrapped in plastic, at room temperature, for 2 to 3 days.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

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    butterygoodness
  • LeeLeeBee
    LeeLeeBee
  • saramarsh
    saramarsh
Genius Recipes

Recipe by: Genius Recipes

66 Reviews

NXL May 23, 2022
My visiting friend, who does not care for sweets, said this is the best cake she ever ate. 😋
 
Carol K. October 11, 2020
This recipe came highly recommended by my sister. I made a version with Pears. I used a 10" spring form pan which I lined the bottom with parchment paper. It did need to cook a good 25 minutes longer due to the pears water content. I put about a tablespoon of fresh grated ginger in the batter along with the powder ginger. Also doubled the topping. Put fresh grated ginger in the topping as well. Had a small dinner party and everyone raved about it.
 
Smartscallion October 2, 2020
I've made this dozens of times with no problem. Comes out perfect every time. I did make some adjustments though. I make it in a 10" pan, double the topping recipe, and add 10 minutes to the baking time.
 
Smartscallion October 2, 2020
I've made this dozens of times with no problem. Comes out perfect every time. I did make some adjustments though. I make it in a 10" pan, double the topping recipe, and add 10 minutes to the baking time.
 
Cheryl P. June 25, 2018
I love this cake. I double the candied ginger and put half in the cake batter. I often use plain yogurt instead of buttermilk. It’s moist, gingery, and delicious.
 
Kristen M. July 21, 2017
After seeing some of the comments on this recipe, I've clarified a couple points about the pan height and crumble topping. I hope this helps!
 
Elle T. June 2, 2017
I really like to try and follow a recipe as written the first time I make it (especially when I'm being told it's "genius"), but it was a bad idea in this case. It didn't overflow in my 9 x 2 round pan, but was definitely too full to bake properly, even after extra time. And the topping sunk for me too. A waste of money, time, and precious rhubarb. :-(

 
butterygoodness May 14, 2017
I baked this recipe in a 9" pan. It took an extra 20 minutes, a bit of overflow. My kid's review: "This barely tastes like anything." So this is gingery but not gingery-hot. I would try this recipe again with a bigger pan and another fruit. I think peaches and ginger sound really good.
 
butterygoodness May 16, 2017
I baked it in a 9x13" pan with frozen berries I had on hand and it came out fruity but not as gingery as the previous attempt (unless you bite into some candied ginger.) I used the milk/vinegar sub like always and freezing the crumb is effective. All in all, a nice recipe to work with to make it your own! Nice texture, good with coffee in the morning.
 
LeeLeeBee June 13, 2016
I love the flavors of this cake, but the recipe is problematic. After several overflow experiences, I now either bake it in a 9x13" pan or a very tall 9" springform pan. As others have said, the crumb topping just disappears into the cake.
 
saramarsh June 28, 2015
Just put it in the oven with some new ideas after having such great success with this recipe numerous times.
1. Fresh blueberries (2.5 C) instead of rhubarb, with a little bit of flour mixed in.
2. 2.5 Tblsp. lemon curd and a drizzle of lemon juice in with the butter and sugar, near the end of the whipping process, at the 4 min. mark (I let mine whip for 5 min.)
3. doubled the candied ginger in the crumble
4. doubled the dry ginger
It's baking now, the batter tasted fantastic, so we shall see!
 
saramarsh June 29, 2015
And it was magic. It took only 50 min. to bake instead of the 1h 15min for the rhubarb. Give it a try!
 
fearlessem June 3, 2015
I don't know what happened here -- I followed this recipe to the letter, and it was kind of a disaster. The crumb topping basically dissolved into the top of the cake, so it ended up looking nothing like the picture and had no textural contrast on top. There seemed to be way too much rhubarb for the amount of cake batter, so that the cake ended up being almost soggy... I really wanted to love this, but I'm not sure where I went wrong...
 
erin May 22, 2015
Eating this as I type. It's beautiful and worked out perfect for me, with some minor notes:
- No candied ginger to hand for the crumb so I threw some powdered ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg in.
- Replaced buttermilk with whole milk curdled with a squeeze of lemon.
- It was still wobbly at 45 minutes. Took 1 hour 10 minutes in my oven with the last 10 at 400 degrees.
- As noted by others, you need a good deep cake pan for this, not a shallow layer cake pan.
 
Danielle V. June 29, 2014
I love this recipe, but still can't help but personalize it with whole wheat pastry flour, slivered almonds in the topping and a splash of vanilla in the batter. Also felt that the rhubarb made the cake too moist, so I tossed the rhubarb in 2TBSP of flour before adding it to the batter. Finally, to prevent the overflow issue, I used a 9x12 pan. Amazing!
 
ghainskom June 15, 2014
Used carrots instead of rhubard. Little lessthan a pound. Very moist cake, really delicious.
 
fablee May 21, 2014
I made this yesterday and the cake was delicious, but like several others, I had an overflow problem with a 9-inch pan. I assumed since it was an American recipe, the pan should be a layer cake pan, but that obviously isn't deep enough. What should the depth of the pan be? Should it be a springform pan? In any event, I ate the non-burnt bits that overflowed with relish and I will certainly make this cake again.
 
Lyn C. May 20, 2014
Just out of oven. Looks perfect in 9" pan, fresh rhubarb with no overflow. Will serve tomorrow. My question: serve in pie wedges or clumps?
 
Kate May 15, 2014
Mine took about 60 minutes to bake, too - still worth it, though!
 
gretchen W. May 15, 2014
I used rhubarb just picked out of the garden and was careful about making the cake and folding in and my cake did the same as one other persons which was it was very wet so it took a long time to back and is very dense...is it the rhubarb?? or did I do something else wrong.
 
J. P. May 13, 2014
I have made this cake no less than 10 times and every single time it's turned out perfect. I've also tried it with blueberries - which works well if you can't find rhubarb.
 
June D. May 13, 2014
Made this two days ago but didn't add the crumb topping because my husband doesn't like toppings like that. The cake is absolutely delicious. What a great way to serve rhubarb. This is on my "make again " list. But next time I would add the candied ginger to the cake.
 
Kate May 8, 2014
This was incredible! I made it Sunday night and had it every day until yesterday (when I unfortunately ran out). Also, I accidentally added all the cake ingredients to the bowl at once, without whisking separately, and the cake was still a perfect texture. Delicious and forgiving!
 
Good D. May 6, 2014
I, sadly, was only able to find frozen rhubarb right now and am making this today. I also bought frozen peaches and fresh blueberries... So I'm either going to make a rhubarb/peach buckle or just a blueberry buckle, depending on what I think of the frozen rhubarb when I thaw it. I also plan on using a 9" springform pan and will add almonds and cinnamon to the topping. I'll let you know how it goes!
 
Good D. May 13, 2014
This is fabulous. Worked great in 10" (rather than 9" as mentioned) springform pan. I used frozen rhubarb, frozen peaches and fresh blueberries. Definitely make it a day or two ahead of time because it becomes more moist and flavorful with time. I ended up not adding almonds and cinnamon but did increase the amount of candied ginger.
 
bookjunky May 2, 2014
It's "FIERY" not "firey"
 
Kristen M. May 2, 2014
Thanks -- typo fixed!
 
alamesa March 27, 2014
What could I use in place of buttermilk? Any suggestions?
 
Jef May 3, 2014
we substitute goat kiefer for buttermilk when needed for a non-dairy substitution. if it's just no buttermilk in the fridge the old milk + vinegar substitution works well.
 
alamesa May 21, 2014
Great! I'll give that a try. Thanks!
 
Dia S. November 5, 2013
This is a scrumptious cake that comes together easily. Have it for dessert AND breakfast! I baked it in a 9 inch springform with no overflow problems.
 
Good D. May 6, 2014
Yay, I was just checking here to see if anyone had tried a springform pan. Making it today.
 
Hopsmom August 16, 2013
I loved this! A huge hit in our house. A keeper for sure.
Thank you.
 
MaryDD August 16, 2013
Also I think I must have the exact same pan as in the picture, I've had no overflow problems.
 
MaryDD August 16, 2013
I made this with about a pint of raspberries from a fruit stand down the road and it turned out really well! It was a bit softer but delicious. I was really careful to just fold them in so they didnt get mushed through. But I've made it twice now and everyones favorite part still seems to be when they get a little chunk of ginger from the topping in their bite! Thank you
 
LeeLeeBee July 29, 2013
This recipe was great, but it significantly overflowed a 9" cake pan. Next time, I'll probably make 1.5 batches for a 9 by 13 pan.
 
Ghost H. July 15, 2013
Big hit big hit!! I had a perfect rhubarb buckle recipe all my friends loves. But this one was equally loved as well!
 
Nancy C. June 17, 2013
When I read this recipe I knew I had the perfect vehicle for my neighbors rhubarb. But once I had the chance to closely inspect the rhubarb, I found that it wasn't the royal red, juicy jewel that I'd hoped for. Loving rhubarb and the idea of this cake I decided improvisation was in order. Since the perfect pairing for rhubarb is strawberries, and they happen to be in peak perfection right now I knew this was the answer to my problem. Except, the berries would add too much moisture. Substitution was in order. Enter Trader Joe's dried strawberries, crushed, plus my just picked today Skagit Valley berries... Not too many. Just enuf to balance out the dryness of the freeze dried version. I also added more ginger than was in the recipe, baked it in a 9 inch springform pan (a regular, round baking pan is wholly inadequate). Also, reduced the rhubarb by half, since mine was, frankly, awful. Added twice the candied ginger to the crumble, along with roasted, skinned local hazelnuts and almonds. This sucker baked for an hour and a half and had to cool for an hour before serving. Now for the result — perhaps the best cake to ever come out of my oven — ever. I think that once it sits overnite, it will be even better. It is dense, moist, and filled with fresh, fruity, goodness. A perfect way to wrap up an early summer, Father's Day dinner. Yum.
 
Good D. May 6, 2014
Brilliant substitutions/additions.
 
Pam A. June 13, 2013
All the fuss about this recipe is totally worth it. Taking into account all the comments I baked in a larger cake pan and used more ginger. Served with high quality vanilla ice cream to dress it up for dessert. Then ate for breakfast for days. It is a fabulous recipe for a superlative cake.
 
JVineyard June 6, 2013
I was asked to bring a dessert to a friend's house. I thought this recipe with a pound of rhubarb would be very seasonal. I was so disappointed. This is more like a breakfast or brunch cake. IMHO it doesn't deserve the hype it got from Food52.
 
rachaelmr June 6, 2013
I was a little sad - my cake fell and I had to cook it 60 min. I haven't eaten it yet (the bits on the springform were delicious). And I was very unhappy with freezing the topping - when I was ready for it, it was frozen!! With all that said, if the rest of the cake is as good as the bits, I will make it again and make some adjustments.
 
saudisandy June 4, 2013
This overflowed my 9" cake pan and made a mess in my oven. The next time I made it I used a 10". Seemed like a lot of rhubarb (I used my scale) when I folded it into the batter, but it baked into a wonderful texture. Flavor was great, too.
 
Jackie G. June 2, 2013
This was good but if I made it again I would double the dried ginger.
 
ejm June 2, 2013
Thanks for a fantastic recipe. Was a big hit last night and can't wait to make it again. Like the Garam Masala idea too do that's also on the to do list.
 
TWong May 30, 2013
Can you recommend a fruit substitute for rhubarb? Would I use the same amount?
 
Kristen M. May 30, 2013
Blueberries are traditional in buckles, and they'd be great in this one. In a similar recipe from Schreiber & Richardson, they use 2 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen): http://www.thewednesdaychef.com/the_wednesday_chef/2009/08/cory-schreiber-and-julie-richardsons-lemon-blueberry-buckle.html
 
Hilarybee June 16, 2013
I've subbed sour cherries on a number of occasions. I'd use about 2 1/2 c sour cherries.
 
Lisarsrn May 30, 2013
This was delicious! I added chopped cinnamon toasted almonds to the topping only because my husband wasn't too crazy about the candied ginger although I did use it too. I used less ginger in the batter for the same reason but next time will use the full 1 tsp. No doubt there will be a next time!
 
Janet M. May 28, 2013
I have never cooked with rhubarb; how do you "trim" it? Do you peel it? Thanks for any instructions.
 
plainhomecook May 28, 2013
I'd cut the tops and bottoms off as you would for celery. Then from the pictures it looks like they're slicing it longways into thin strips, then crosswise into little dice. You don't need to peel it but it's a good idea to wash it.
 
Csweeney May 28, 2013
I made this cake this weekend and it was excellent. A few notes:
It took much longer to bake than expected, and my oven is usually accurate. I added a pinch of salt and some cinnamon to the topping. Instead of ground ginger in the cake, I used Garam Masala, which contains ginger, nutmeg and other aromatic spices that play well together. Yum.
 
janecf May 28, 2013
This came together easily and was delish (not even ruined by forgetting the crumbs in the freezer and then madly breaking them up and sprinkling after the cake had already been in the oven 10 min). I would indeed describe the texture as wetter/more custardy than cakey. I used 2/3 cup of sugar instead of 1 cup and that preserved some rhubarb tang. Be sure to chop the candied ginger finely as it gets pretty chewy after baking. Thanks for the find!
 
thistle809 May 27, 2013
This is a delicious, amazing recipe! It has also given me a good idea for a bit of a variation on a strawberry-rhubarb pie I make.
 
Louisa B. May 27, 2013
Great recipe! I doubled it and used somewhat less rhubarb than called for, which maybe made it more cake-like and less custardy as noted by another commenter. Served one with ice cream for dessert, and the other was devoured by 6 teenage boys for breakfast. Still have lots of rhubarb in the garden - other ideas??
 
cookinginvictoria May 28, 2013
Do a search in the search bar on the top left of your screen for rhubarb (make sure search is set to recipes) and you'll find lots of great recipes. Two of my favorites are: Midge's Naughty Rhurbarb Scones (http://food52.com/recipes/4318-naughty-rhubarb-scones) and rivka's Rhubarb Curd Shortbread (http://food52.com/recipes/4338-rhubarb-curd-shortbread.
 
tastysweet May 26, 2013
I am assuming that the cake should cool completely before wrapping in plastic. I don't suppose this could be frozen? In case it is not all devoured in a sitting.
Thanks
 
Kristen M. May 27, 2013
Yes, do cool completely before covering. This could be frozen, too. The crust will never be quite so crisp as just after baking, but it will still be a great, flavorful cake.
 
tastysweet May 28, 2013
THANKS
 
MaryDD May 24, 2013
Would this be like a coffee cake for tea time or an actual dessert that you would serve after dinner with maybe some whip or ice cream?
 
Hilarybee May 24, 2013
I think of it more like an afternoon cake, for tea time. I'd serve it as a dessert. Heck, I'd eat it for breakfast. But it is sweet--so I think of it as a 12 or after food.
 
DessertByCandy May 23, 2013
Very moist cake, almost custardy with the rhubarb-heavy bottom layer. The ginger flavour is really bright, a refreshing departure from vanilla. It's a rustic dessert as promised. Great for casual spring/summer menus.
 
Hilarybee May 23, 2013
Rustic Fruit desserts is one of my most favorite cookbooks of all time. Glad it got the genius credit it deserves.
 
Susan B. May 22, 2013
How many cups of rhubarb would the 1 pound yield? I have my own plants but don't own a kitchen scale. Thanks!
 
DessertByCandy May 22, 2013
I'm making it just now and measured it. 3 generous cups.
 
Sipa May 26, 2013
Scales are cheap, you really need to buy one.