Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie Cake

This is definitely one of the most unusual (in a fantastic way) confections I've ever come across. It's hard, really, to pinpoint exactly where in the baking realm it falls (pie? cake?) but what is certain is that this is a beautiful way to showcase the standout fruit of early summer, namely rhubarb and strawberries. A light, cloudlike cake gives some structure to the dessert, topped with fruit and finished with a brown sugar crumb. The original name for this was "snacking cake" and it's easy to see why. When this is sitting out on the counter it sort of beckons you over every time you walk by.

We're lucky enough here in Portland to be perfectly situated near an amazing crop of Hood strawberries. Peter bit into one and marveled that it was so ripe and juicy there wasn't any dry white area in the fruit. Since they were at the grocery store when we went shopping for this cake, we decided to add them to the mix. I got a little less than the pound of rhubarb it called for in the original recipe and left the small, sweet strawberries largely intact when I added them in (except for removing the hull of course), as they were very small and wouldn't make the bites overwhelming. The result was transcendent, though if your strawberries aren't as good, I'd still suggest you trying this with just the rhubarb.

I've noted the adaptations I made to the recipe below. This was originally meant to go into a square baking dish, but I rather fancy it going in a round cake tin (which eventually led my roommates to start referring to it as a "Pie Cake," hence the name.) It bakes for a while, but other than that is very easy to assemble and is a wonderful drive-by snack at any time of the day. Enjoy!

Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie Cake (Adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

Cake
3/4 lb rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch lengths on the diagonal
a little less than 1 pint of ripe Hood strawberries
1 1/3 cup granulated sugar, divided
1 tablespoon lemon juice (skip ahead and zest it for the cake before you cut it)
1/2 cup salted butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
2 large eggs
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/3 cup sour cream

Crumb
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 cup light brown sugar
pinch table salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons salted butter, melted

Make the cake: Preheat your oven to 350°F. Coat the bottom and sides of round pie or cake pan with nonstick cooking spray. Stir together rhubarb, lemon juice and 2/3 cup sugar and set aside. Beat butter, remaining sugar and lemon zest until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at at time, scraping down the sides after each addition. Whisk together flour, baking powder, 3/4 teaspoon table salt and ground ginger together in a small bowl. Add one-third of this mixture to the batter, mixing until just combined. Continue, adding half the sour cream, the second third of the flour mixture, the remaining sour cream, and then the remaining flour mixture, mixing between each addition until just combined.

Dollop batter over prepared pan, then use a spatula — offset, if you have one, makes this easiest — to spread the cake into an even, thin layer. Pour the rhubarb mixture over the cake, spreading it into an even layer (most pieces should fit in a tight, single layer).

Stir together the crumb mixture, first whisking the flour, brown sugar, table salt and cinnamon together, then stirring in the melted butter with a spoon or fork. Scatter evenly over rhubarb layer. Bake cake in preheated oven for 50 to 60 minutes. The cake is done when a tester comes out free of the wet cake batter below. It will be golden on top. Cool completely in the pan on a rack, slice and serve. Cake keeps at room temperature for a few days.