Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake

It was almost a week ago now that I was having a few beers with my friend Mikey when he said to me, "Oh hey, I have rhubarb in my garden for you.  You can make something for your blog."  Of course I was excited because, at least that I can remember, I've never made anything with rhubarb.  Then he tells me, "Oh, I also have this rhubarb recipe out of the New York Times, an upside-down cake, maybe you can make that?"  I'm a couple of beers in at this point so I give him a, "Hell yeah!" and we carry on.

Just part of Mikey's amazing garden, I'm so jealous!

When I met up with him two days later I was still feeling pretty excited even though I've never made anything resembling an upside down cake before.  We had a quick chat, a nice look around his amazing garden to see how things are doing in this crazy "summer" we've been having, and he hacked off a bunch of rhubarb for me.  He handed me the recipe and I was on my way (to work, bleh).

I sat in the car and looked at the challenge in front of me and thought, wow.. that cake looks beautiful I hope I can pull this off.  I read through the recipe and realized I was going to need a springform pan and it also appeared the perfect opportunity to "need" the microplane grater I've had my eye on.  Hello Amazon Prime account.  I love that place.  Anyway, I sat at work that night ordering my nifty new pan and grater and decided I should probably get the precut rounds of parchment paper  instead of trying to figure that out on my own.  There is no way I'm going to cut a perfect circle of parchment paper.  Ever.

This cake is good, a crowd pleaser.  The batter is lemony and delicious, the rhubarb remains a bit tart, but the light caramel on top keeps it tied together nicely.  The cake isn't overly sweet, which I like.  I will be attempting a similar version with Blackberries when they ripen.

A couple of things:

The original recipe said it took 30 minutes of prep time.  Be safe and give yourself 45 unless you're a seasoned baker or you have a photographic memory .  I was bumbling around through the process a little, not because it was difficult, but because I'm either a perfectionist or suffer slightly from OCD, I had to look at the directions about 100 times (that may or may not be an exaggeration).  I think I've simplified the directions for you.  Also I didn't think the order of operations was correct so I'm going to give this to you differently than I got it. 

I don't keep fine sea salt on hand so I used a mortar and pestle to smash up some Kosher salt.  Also, I only had light sour cream so I used that.  Both of these worked out fine.

The rhubarb used in the New York Times recipe (by Melissa Clark if you're interested) was a beautiful red color.  I've done a little looking into rhubarb and many varieties don't progress to the crimson stage so if you can only find rhubarb that is green or has just a hint of red don't be alarmed.  The rhubarb I used was green, it ended up being a lovely golden color once cooked.

The original recipe used a stand mixer, I picture it to be the KitchenAid I've been lusting over for years, but I don't have one of those.  I used my crappy hand mixer.  I also don't have a sifter, instead I put the flour mixture in a bowl and use the whisk to incorporate it, carefully.  Again, this seems to have worked out.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 Sticks of Butter at Room Temp, plus additional for greasing the pan
1 1/2 Pounds Rhubarb
2 Tsp. Cornstarch
1 1/2 C Granulated Sugar
1/2 C Light Brown Sugar
2 Cups Cake Flour
1 1/4 Tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp. Fine Sea Salt
1 Lemon, Zested
1 Tsp. Vanilla Extract
4 Large Eggs
1/3 Cup Sour Cream
2 Tsp. Lemon Juice



Process:

Preheat the oven to 325 (F).  Line the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper (this is where those rounds become invaluable).  Butter the paper and the sides of the pan.  Wrap the bottom of the pan with foil and place it on a baking sheet lined with foil. Set it aside.

Rinse and slice the rhubarb to 1/2 inch cubes (I weighed 1 1/2 pounds, but didn't measure what the yeild was.  The original recipe says about 4 Cups).  Put the rhubarb in a medium sized bowl and add the cornstarch and 1/2 cup of sugar, toss to coat.  Set it aside.

Put 1 Cup of sugar and the zest of the lemon in a bowl together.  Cream them together with your fingers.  Set aside.

Slice the lemon and measure out 2 Tsp. of juice into a tiny bowl.  Set aside.

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together.  Set aside.


If you have a stand mixer use it with the paddle attachment.  If you don't use your hand mixer or a spoon and your big biceps.
 
Whip 2 sticks of butter for about 2 minutes. 
Add the lemon/sugar mixture to the butter and mix at medium-high speed until light and fluffy making sure to scrape the sides of the bowl as necessary, about 3-4 minutes.
Add the vanilla and mix well.
Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Mix in the sour cream, then the lemon juice.
*It's ok if the batter looks curdled at this point, which is good because it will.
Drop your mixer down to low speed and add the flour mixture, 1/4 C at a time and scraping down the sides as needed, until fully incorporated.

Mix the brown sugar and 1/2 stick of butter in a pan over medium heat. Whisk until smooth and bubbling, about 3 minutes. 

Pour the brown sugar mixture into the cake pan. 
Spoon in the rhubarb, including the juices that have formed in the bottom.
Spoon in the batter so it covers all of the rhubarb.
Smooth out the top.


 Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes.  Don't skimp on this time.  Trust me, I found out the hard way.  The top of the cake will be firm to the touch.  Stick a toothpick in the middle, it should come out without any large crumbs on it. 

Place the pan on a wire rack and cool for about 15 minutes.  Run a knife around the cake, place a plate over the top of the cake and turn it upside-down.

Release the cake from the pan while still warm or it may stick.