Friday, May 29, 2009

Whole Wheat Strawberry Rhubarb Upside Down Cake

I bought some rhubarb at our local farmer's market last Saturday as I've seen many bloggers use it lately for some yummy looking treats.  I haven't really had rhubarb all that much in my life, but I had this hankering for that sweet-tart taste that takes me back to somewhere.  ??  I know at one of our houses growing up we had access to it freely (Fry Street?), but I don't think my mom made too many things with it.  Nevertheless, I wanted some, but I wanted to come up with something fairly healthy that would still be considered a treat.

I totally made this whole thing up and although cooked rhubarb doesn't make the prettiest dessert, I think it's pretty darn tasty.  Kevin had a piece, said it was okay, but since it's cake, it wasn't his favorite.    I even let Scott have some for breakfast this morning.  I'm even thinking I'll go have a little soon just to see if it is still just as good the next day!

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See--not that pretty.  But it's taste that matters here, people, right! ;)  I was happy that it came right out of the pan and that it worked out since I used agave nectar.  I want to try it again, maybe pineapple this time, just to see how it all works with JUST agave and no other sugars.  I'll let you know!  The cake is nice and moist and I think it was perfectly sweet with the tart rhubarb and the crunchy pecans.

Whole Wheat Strawberry Rhubarb Upside Down Cake, by Me

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

¼ cup brown sugar

¼ cup agave nectar

½ cup pecans, toasted and chopped

1 cup strawberries, cut up into ½ inch size pieces

2 cups rhubarb, cut into ½ inch size pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch round baking pan with butter or cooking spray. Melt the butter in a small, microwave-safe dish. Stir in brown sugar and agave. Pour into baking pan. Sprinkle the toasted, chopped pecans over the butter/sugar mixture. Then add the strawberries evenly over the top, then the rhubarb. Set aside.

1 ¼ cup whole wheat pastry flour (or whole wheat—or all purpose, but that defeats the purpose!)

¼ cup turbinado raw cane sugar (or granulated)

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ cup agave nectar

3 tablespoons canola oil

½ cup skim milk

approximately 3 tablespoons lightly beaten egg (or Egg Beaters), 1 egg is probably okay

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

In medium sized bowl, combine flour, cane sugar, salt and baking powder with wire whisk. Set aside. In another bowl, stir together agave nectar, oil, milk, egg and vanilla. Combine the wet ingredients with the dry and whisk together until there are no more lumps and it is well mixed.

Bake for 30 minutes. Remove to cooling rack for 10-15 minutes, then invert the cake on to a serving plate and let cool to room temperature. Serve with whipped topping.

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Isn't everything just a little bit better with Cool Whip?!!  I think so.  Try it sometime.  I'm sure you could use regular sugar in place of the agave and as I only used 3 tablespoons of a beaten egg, you could probably just use a whole egg. 

20 comments:

Clumbsy Cookie said...

I can't find rhubarb here :(. What a great healthy treat, I don't even think is that ugly, lol!

Anonymous said...

I've never baked with rhubarb and would love to. YOur cake sounds delicious.

Selba said...

The cake looks so yummy although I'm not familiar with rhubarb :)

Megan said...

I just made a strawberry rhubarb dessert that I haven't posted yet - it was sooo good! And it wasn't cake, so maybe Kevin would like it!

Anonymous said...

That looks so moist and gooey, love it!

Elyse said...

This looks absolutely delicious, Katrina! So impressive that you made up this recipe. I totally want to try this. I've never had rhubarb, and I've seen everyone using it. Guess I need to get on that bandwagon. Fabulous cake! Wish I could come over and have some for breakfast with you :)

Leslie said...

I dont think I have ever eaten rhubarb..but you cake might make me change my mind

Max and Deborah said...

Wow looks pretty yummy and that says a lot since I am constantly prego nauseated.

Jamie said...

I have never made anything with rhubarb! This looks yummy!

Anonymous said...

Your rhubarb cake looks wonderful and it appears to have a lot less sugar and fat in it than a lot of rhubarb desserts. We've had rhubarb cake and rhubarb crunch at our house lately and while they were tasty, there wasn't a single healthy thing about them! I didn't post either on my blog.
I wish I could send some rhubarb to all of you that don't have it growing in your back yard.
Sue

Cookie baker Lynn said...

I love strawberry and rhubarb together! This looks like a delightful treat.

Shari said...

I beg to differ on the pretty! This looks beautiful! And soooo delicious! Great job!

noble pig said...

That sounds delicious. Love the whole wheat addition!

Jaime said...

i've wanted to bake with strawberries for so long and still haven't made anything. this looks delicious

Mindy said...

Looks fabulous! I've been looking for some new recipes to try with rhubarb.

Anne said...

That looks yummy! I haven't tried Rhubarb yet (it's not very big in my area) but now I'm thinking I really should!

Shannon Bieger said...

Hi Katrina - I stumbled upon your blog while looking for homemade graham cracker recipes. I saw you mentioned that you replace oil/sugar in recipes with yogurt? Can you tell me the replacement ratio? I think that would be a GREAT way to sneak some calcium into my dairy-refusing daughter's foods! Thanks for your help! You can email me at shannon bieger at yahoo dot com. Thanks!

Melanie Anne said...

This looks amazing!! And I have a huge rhubarb plant that needs to be used! I also love that you used whole wheat and agave sweetner. I am definently going to give this a try! Thanks so much!

Culinary Wannabe said...

This sounds amazing! What a great idea! Pineapple upside down cake is one of my favs, and I'm loving this twist!

s said...

what a healthy treat