Rhubarb Confetti Cake

I don't know what happend last season but somehow my husband & I totally missed the rhubarb window. We were in New York, maybe they don't have a season? Now we're in Honolulu the first stalks have appeared! To make up for last year's lack, our fridge has been stocked with stalks for the last few weeks. As delicious as rhubarb pie is, I've been getting tired of that baked-out jelly flavor and finding the crisp tartness of fresh rhubarb much more alluring. I tried to put together a cake that somehow managed to capture that. I made a pretty good one, but I think I failed on the overall crisp-tart thing. Cake just may not be the perfect vehicle. The search continues.



Cutting the rhubarb really small helps it cook quicker, and letting the vegetable (yes, vegetable) soak for a while draws the juices out, lets you skip adding liquid elswhere and prevents the whole thing from getting too soggy.

Rhubarb Confetti Cake

2 cups rhubarb, finely diced
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter
2 eggs

Throw the rhubarb, lemon juice & sugar together in a bowl & let sit for 30 minutes to an hour.

Butter & flour a 9x9 baking dish. Preheat your oven to 400˚F. Melt the butter & let cool. Mix together the flour, baking soda & salt. Lightly beat the eggs with the cooled butter and stir in the rhubarb mixture. Add the liquid mixture to the dry and blend until just combined. Pour into baking dish, sprinkle with a little more sugar perhaps, & bake for 25-30 minutes until almost done (a cake tester comes out with a few crumbs, no globs) & just golden around the edges. Since this cake isn't turned out to cool, it continues to cook quite a bit more once it's out of the oven.