My husband’s aunt, Sister Lenore, a Catholic nun for more than 60 years, gave me this old-fashioned recipe for a rhubarb-studded coffeecake— an easy solution for those who want more than a crumble and don’t want to fool with pie crust.
Cake
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups flour
2 cups fresh rhubarb, cut into 1/2 -inch pieces
Topping
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream sugar, butter, egg and vanilla. Dissolve baking soda in buttermilk. Add the flour, alternating with buttermilk. Fold in rhubarb. Pour into a greased and floured 9-inch-by-12-inch pan.
Combine sugar and cinnamon for topping, and sprinkle over the cake batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Makes 6 servings.
