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05/11/2017 12:01 AMA few columns ago, I mentioned that summer doesn’t really begin for me until I’ve had a bunch of belly clams and a lobster roll. I have had the clams and plan to have more over the next few weeks. In addition, my friend Nancy and I have decided to have a celebratory lunch later this month, with lobster.
There is another harbinger of summer for me: stalks of rhubarb at the supermarket. So far I have made two strawberry rhubarb crisps and popped them into the freezer. I will probably make a couple of pies this weekend.
I know there are some people who will eat it raw, but I think it needs sugar and a scant teaspoon of pure almond extract.
Ann and Vazken Bandazian first introduced me to this vegetable years ago, and they would give me armloads of it. They died a few years apart. I miss them a great deal. Ann gave me the recipe for a rhubarb cake drizzled with streusel. It is the best I have ever tasted. Here is the recipe.
Absolutely the Best Strawberry Rhubarb Kuchen From Ann Bandazian
Yield: serves 12
Ingredients:
For the streusel:
⅔ cups sugar (I use half brown sugar, half white sugar)
1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter, slightly softened
½ cup flour
For the filling:
5 cups of rhubarb, approximately ½-inch dice
1 cup strawberries, washed, cored, and sliced
(before strawberry time, use frozen unsweetened berries)
1 teaspoon pure almond extract
For the batter:
2 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
1 stick butter, melted
¾ cup milk
1 tablespoon yogurt (optional)
1 package of strawberry gelatin (like Jell-0)
Grease a 9- by 13-inch baking dish (I would use a glass one) with butter. Set oven to 350 degrees.
To make the streusel: Process together first three ingredients in a food processor, mixer, or by hand. Set aside.
Mix together with a wooden spoon the rhubarb, strawberries, and almond extract. Set aside.
To make the batter: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and sugar. Using a mixer (you can do this by hand, if you like), add eggs, one at a time. Add melted butter, milk, and, if using, yogurt.
Pour batter into the prepared baking dish. Top the batter with the rhubarb and strawberries. Sprinkle the strawberry gelatin over the fruit. Top with the streusel mixture.
Place cake in the prepared 350 degree oven and bake for about 40 minutes or so.