Raspberry Rhubarb Skillet Coffee Cake

With fresh berries and rhubarb, plus a crunchy crumb topping, this Raspberry Rhubarb Skillet Coffee Cake is the perfect combination of sweet and tart. Start your day off right and enjoy a slice with your morning coffee this summer!

Easy Crumb Cake with Rhubarb + Raspberries

The raspberries have just started to ripen out in the garden, right on cue. I can always expect the raspberry patch to kick into high gear right around the 4th of July.

And just a few feet from the raspberries are the rhubarb plants.

You know where I’m going with this, right?

This Raspberry Rhubarb Skillet Coffee Cake recipe is a beautiful combination of sweet raspberries and tart rhubarb, all gathered up in a deliciously buttery coffee cake. You will LOVE it!

Why I Love this Coffee Cake

So many people only use their cast iron skillets for savory cooking. But I love to use mine for both savory and sweet. And a skillet works perfectly for this beautiful summery coffee cake!

This raspberry and rhubarb skillet 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.

More sweet recipes baked in a skillet:

• Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie
• Peach Streusel Coffee Cake in a Skillet
• Cranberry Orange Skillet Cake with White Chocolate

Raspberry and rhubarb complement each other so well, the raspberries sweet where the rhubarb is tart. It’s a bit of a match made in heaven when it comes to baking with them.

Also. The crumb topping. Oohhhhhhh, that beautiful crumb topping. Thin and crinkly and sugary…it’s totally “my thing”. There’s just so much to love about this recipe!

What You’ll Need

This raspberry rhubarb coffee cake is made with basic baking ingredients, making it easy to bake on a whim when there’s fresh rhubarb available!

For the Rhubarb Coffee Cake

• All-purpose flour – Your basic all-purpose flour works well in this recipe.
• Baking powder – Allows the coffee cake to rise.
• Cinnamon – Adds some cozy, warm flavor.
• Salt – Just a pinch.
• Unsalted butter – Butter should be softened, but not melted.
• Sugar – Adds just the right amount of sweetness.
• Eggs – A baking staple.
• Milk – Your favorite dairy milk works.
• Vanilla & almond extracts – These add a light flavor to the coffee cake – the almond is especially lovely!
• Rhubarb – I love to use it fresh from the garden, but also look for it at the farmers market and grocery store.
• Raspberries – I highly recommend fresh berries for this skillet coffee cake, but frozen will work in a pinch.

For the Crumb Topping

• Flour – More flour is used in the topping.
• Sugar – The sugar helps give the slight crunch and sweetness to the topping.
• Salt – Just a pinch for the crumb topping too.
• Butter – It’s important to use COLD butter for the crumb topping. Keep it in the fridge until you’re ready to use it.

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How to Make Raspberry Rhubarb Skillet Coffee Cake

This raspberry rhubarb coffee cake comes together in a few easy steps. Give it an hour to cool and you’ll have breakfast or dessert ready to go!

1. Preheat oven. Preheat the oven to 375° F and grease your cast iron skillet with butter.
2. Combine the dry ingredients. Whisk flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl.
3. Beat the wet ingredients. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then add the eggs and milk. Beat until smooth, then add the vanilla and almond extracts. It may look a bit curdled but that’s okay. Mix in the dry ingredients until just combined.
4. Add the raspberries and rhubarb. Gently fold in the rhubarb, then transfer to the skillet. Add the raspberries to the top, gently pressing them down.
5. Make the crumb topping. Mix together the flour, sugar, and salt, then cut in the butter with a rigid pastry cutter or fork. Sprinkle over the coffee cake batter. Be sure to allow the raspberries to peek through.
6. Bake. Bake for 50 minutes, until the coffee cake is puffed up and set in the center, and golden brown. Cool for at least an hour before cutting and enjoying.

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Tips for Success

For perfectly tender, moist, and sweet coffee cake, keep these tips in mind.

• Use a 10-inch skillet. A smaller skillet will overflow and not work for this recipe.
• Serve warm. While you can enoy this raspberry rhubarb skillet coffee cake at any time, I highly recommend diving in when it’s still a bit warm from the oven. It’ll be incredibly tender and irresistible!
• Use cold butter. It’s essential that the butter used in the crumb topping is cold. Otherwise, it will melt and your topping won’t have any crumb pieces!
• Use other berries. Don’t have any fresh raspberries on hand? You can easily make this with strawberries, blueberries, or other berries too!

Serving Suggestions

Coffee cake is one of my favorite excuses for eating cake for breakfast. That’s when I typically enjoy a big slice of rhubarb skillet coffee cake, along with my morning cup of coffee. Coffee cake also makes a great addition to brunch, and can even work as dessert!

While you can enjoy this at room temperature, I love eating it warm. If it’s not fresh from the oven you can easily pop it in the microwave for a few seconds.

How to Store Leftovers

Leftover rhubarb skillet coffee cake will last at room temperature for up to two days. You can either tightly cover the skillet with plastic wrap and foil or place it in an airtight container.

You can also store this in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Can I Freeze Rhubarb Coffee Cake?

Yes, you can freeze your rhubarb coffee cake. Remove it from the skillet and wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, followed by a layer of aluminum foil. You can freeze the entire cake or individual pieces. Properly wrapped, your coffee cake will stay fresh for 2-3 months.

Remove from the freezer and place on the counter to thaw before enjoying.

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More Rhubarb Recipes:

• Rhubarb Cheesecake Pie
• Rhubarb Muffins with Cardamom Crunch Topping
• Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Bars
• Loree’s Rhubarb Nut Coffee Cake
• Grandma Renelt’s Rhubarb Custard Pie
• Old Fashioned Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

This post was originally published in 2014, and then updated in 2021.