Finnish Rhubarb Bake

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This is adapted from an old recipe handed to me by a friend in school who was from Finland. I have made changes to it over the years and adapted the dairy products to something more readily available here in the States.

You bake it in a Lasagne type glass dish (9×13″) or using several smaller ones works as well. The resulting cake is moist, tart and sweet at the same time, and the topping makes for an awesome textural contrast. Soft rhubarb and crunchy almonds. Yum.

image‘Budget Version’ made with Oats

This year my garden has not yet produced a ton of rhubarb, it might still be too young, the stalks are nowhere near the size of what my parents have in their garden, but I had enough to make pie, for the first time this year! So I am extra exited, I love tart things and when I was a kid, when we’d cut up and clean the extra amount to prep it for the freezer, I would sneak a piece or two here and there. Yep, raw, no sugar just like that. I am weird, I know 😉 Depending on the amount of rhubarb your garden (or your neighbor’s garden or farmers market ) gives you, you can add more or less (adjust the sugar down if you use less rhubarb, or up of you like it sweet and you use extra stalks). Just make sure you don’t too drastically reduce the sugar, rhubarb is quuuuuuite tart. I have tried it, and it was not so fun. :S

I also tried greek yogurt instead of sour cream, don’t bother. Unfortunately the savings on the side of fat calories do not justify the flavor you lose by doing so. It’s a treat, so treat it as such. There just aren’t any shortcuts for some things, *sigh*

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Ingredients

  • 4 eggs
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 2 sticks butter, melted, separated
  • 1 1/4 cups sour cream
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 5 stalks of rhubarb, washed peeled and chopped
  • 2 cups sliced almonds or rolled oats
  • 1/4 cup + 2 tbls light brown sugar

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400ºF
  2. Butter a 9″x13″ glass dish (adjust baking temp and time if using metal or ceramic)
  3. Mix eggs and sugar, then add the sour cream and stir until well blended
  4. Stir in 1 stick of melted butter, then add the flour and baking powder
  5. Pour dough into prepared form, top with the chopped rhubarb
  6. Mix remaining molten butter and brown sugar, then stir in the almonds or oats, whatever you are using (Oats will be cheaper)
  7. Spread over the rhubarb in the baking dish
  8. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until tester inserted in the center of pan comes out clean.

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