This is a modified version of a Rhubarb Ginger cake from those wonderfully talented folks at Food 52. I have been dying all year long to make something with rhubarb. I usually do at least one rhubarb blog a year – baking, cooking or sweet or savory pickling. I was nervous I wouldn’t find any but was able to snag a few stalks on my last shopping trip.

First off, I like recipes that give you enough depth of flavor that you can add or substitute ingredients based on what you have or what you like. This is one of those recipes. I do like the taste of ginger, but especially candied ginger in baked goods. I had some in my cupboard and decided to augment the flavor of the fresh ginger with a few slices of candied ginger diced finely. If you don’t have candied ginger, don’t sweat it, leave it out and just opt for additional finely diced fresh ginger. I also added blueberries, and this was more of an “oh boy, not enough rhubarb to make a nice decoration…”, decision, what can I add? I love blueberries and almost always have some, either fresh or frozen. Below in the “suggestions…” section are some other ideas. 

The oatmeal in the cake is not the quick kind, although it softened up pretty quickly when I added the boiling water. Just look for a package that says “rolled oats”. You could use the quick kind (not the flavored breakfast pouches), just switch the water to warm, not boiling, and drop it down to ½ cup. The oatmeal gives the cake an almost pudding like texture and that was with 40 minutes baking time. Using my 10” cast iron pan, I melted the butter, added the brown sugar and as artfully as I could, arranged the rhubarb and blueberries on top. It was a deliciously sticky gooey surface to stick the fruit into.

The brown sugar base caramelized nicely and gave the cake a deliciously chewy side and top (when flipped over). The heat from the oven pushes some of the caramel from the bottom up the sides of the pan. This is a nice complement to the soft rhubarb and blueberry top. Delicious so please try it if you can find rhubarb. Wash your hands, wear a mask or two, socialize when we are past this wave and within regional guidelines, and stay safe! As always – enjoy!

For the rhubarb – 5 stalks in the bunch (each about 18” long once trimmed)
4 stalks rhubarb, cut on the bias into 2” pieces – for the bottom of the pan
1 stalk rhubarb, chopped into ½” pieces – to add to the batter
1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter – a total of 1 /2 cup butter is needed split equally between the rhubarb directions and the cake directions
1 cup Blueberries

For the cake
1/2 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup boiling water
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda 
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 large egg
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar (I used citrus sugar)
6-8 pieces of candied ginger, cut into a small dice

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350f
In a mixing bowl combine the oats and butter with the boiling water – stir, set aside to cool
In another mixing bowl, mix the rhubarb and ginger together
Gently melt the ¼ cup of butter in a 10 inch cast iron skillet
When melted, remove it from the heat and spread the brown sugar evenly across the bottom of the pan
Use the 4 stalks of rhubarb that you cut into 2” pieces and the blueberries to make a design onto the bottom of the pan – nestle firmly – be careful as the butter/brown sugar will be hot – set aside
For the cake, use the remainder of the rhubarb (1/2” pieces) and mix with the ginger, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt
To the bowl with the oatmeal (which should be cool by now), add the egg, both sugars and vanilla – stir
Add the flour mix to the oatmeal mix and stir well to incorporate
Pour the batter into the pan, level the top and bake for 35 – 40
Remove when a cake tester comes out clean, let rest for 5 minutes then very carefully, flip onto a cake plate
For clean cut slices, let the cake cool completely (yea right) before cutting (do as I say not as I do – pictured above)
Enjoy as is or with some ice cream

Suggestions and/or changes
Instead of arranging the rhubarb and berries in the bottom of the pan, just mix with the batter, keep all the pieces of rhubarb to ½”
Consider adding sliced almonds to this
Swap out strawberries for blueberries, or chopped apple
Don’t forget to sprinkle the top of the cake with citrus sugar – I know, it will be the bottom when you flip the cake over, but a nice taste