Raspberry Rhubarb Skillet Coffee Cake
I just couldn’t wait.
Spring has been so poky to actually come around and stay around, that I’ve been feeling deprived of my usual few stalks of early rhubarb from our yard. So I bought some at the store. And I’m not ashamed to admit it. Especially when the recipe that’s been running around in my head the past couple weeks came out of the oven. Filling my kitchen with the soft sweet scent of baked raspberries and rhubarb, creamy butter and sugar, I knew instantly that this puffed up beauty was going to be a winner.
Trust me. You need this Raspberry Rhubarb Skillet Coffee Cake recipe!
I’ve been using our cast iron skillets more and more and more over the past year. But until this coffee cake came along, only savory dishes had graced the cast iron. I seriously contemplated baking this recipe in a springform pan or a large deep dish pie plate, but I’m so glad I stuck with the skillet concept. It worked perfectly, and convinced me to keep baking up sweet batters in it.
This coffee cake is super tender, and perfectly moist with the loveliest crumb. Not overly sweet, the cake sits nice and tall, studded with tart pockets of rhubarb throughout. And sprinkled over the top are ruby red raspberries, naturally sweet and oh-so-pretty.
And the crumb topping…ohhhhhhh, the crumb topping. I’ve always been a fan. Thin and crinkly and sugary…it’s “my thing”. I hope you’ll agree that it’s yours, too.
Raspberry Rhubarb Skillet Coffee Cake
Not overly sweet, the cake sits nice and tall, studded with tart pockets of rhubarb throughout.
Ingredients
for the coffee cake:
- 3 c. all-purpose flour
- 3 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
- 3/4 c. plus 1 tsp. unsalted butter, softened (not melted), divided
(not melted)
- 1 c. sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 c. milk
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. almond extract
- 2 c. chopped fresh rhubarb, cut into 1/2" pieces
- 6 oz. fresh raspberries (about 3/4 to 1 cup)
for the crumb topping:
- 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
- 1/2 c. sugar
- pinch of salt
- 6 T. cold butter, cut into 1/2" pieces
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° F. Grease a 10" cast iron skillet with tall sides (a smaller pan will not work!) with the 1 teaspoon of butter. Set pan aside.
for the coffee cake:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. In a separate large bowl, or in the bowl of an electric stand mixer, cream together the remaining 3/4 cup of butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and milk and beat until smooth, and then mix in the vanilla and almond extracts. Don't worry if it's a bit curdled looking.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Gently fold in the rhubarb and spread into prepared skillet. Sprinkle the top of the batter with raspberries, pressing them into the batter just a bit.
for the crumb topping:
- In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, and salt. Cut in the butter with a rigid pastry cutter or a fork until you have pea-sized pieces. Sprinkle over the top of the coffee cake batter, taking care to let most of the raspberries peek through.
- Place skillet in oven and bake for about 50 minutes, or until coffee cake is puffed up and set in the center, and nicely golden brown. Remove to a wire rack to cool. Let cool for at least 1 hour before serving. When served still warm, it will be very tender (and also highly irresistible!).
Notes
Heavily adapted from Mom’s Blueberry Tea Cake recipe.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 318Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 48mgSodium: 297mgCarbohydrates: 57gFiber: 2gSugar: 26gProtein: 6g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by Nutritionix. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee accuracy. If your health depends on nutrition information, please calculate again with your own favorite calculator.
Be sure to check out more of our favorite rhubarb recipes!
Can you use frozen raspberries in this recipe ?
Although I haven’t tried it, I definitely think you could.
Can you tell me how high the sides are on your 10″ cast iron pan ? I have a 10″ but didn’t know they came in different heights. I LOVE rhubarb. I’m Danish and one of the desserts I grew up on is Rhubarb compote,
Brenda this looks so good! Yum! Rhubarb is my favorite Minnesota veggie!
Thanks, Alice. I promise you, it’s super yummy! Hope you’re having a great summer! :)
YUM – that looks amazing!! Can’t wait to try some with my rhubarb from the garden! Pinned it!
I’m gonna make this cake on sunday! Can’t wait! :)
I need to get on the rhubarb bandwagon this coffee cake looks ah-mazing.
Yes, you do!! Love, love, LOVE!
I made this last night in a 12″ skillet because I didn’t have a 10″–it worked great! I don’t know how it fits in a 10″ because after it baked, it was pretty much to the top of the pan. I did bake the full 50 minutes but would maybe cut back 5 or 10 minutes since it’s in a larger pan. I may have slightly over baked it but it was still yummy!
This looks great! I have a 12″ cast iron skillet–do you think that would work ok if I backed off on the time a bit?
So beautiful! Rhubarb reminds me of spring! Could I just make this in a regular old round cake pan?
That looks so DANG GOOD, I can’t stand it. Something really down home about it. Wonderful mix for a very moist cake I bet.