Grandma B's Rhubarb CakeBy Scott Koeneman/ Fight The Fat Foodie Nancy's Grandma B was everything you would expect of a Minnesota farm wife who grew up young and spent her whole life working hard. She planted in the spring, worked the fields with her husband, canned veggies and fruits grown "on the home place" in the fall, went to church every Sunday and cooked in the church basement for christenings, weddings and funerals. And like all her friends in the basement, donated recipes to the church cook books that were sold as fundraisers. We're lucky enough to have inherited a couple of those cookbooks and this recipe is based on one of them. Rhubarb is so prevalent in rural Minnesota, it is almost a weed. And like the Sicilians from my heritage use the the fennel that grows wild as a way to stretch limited resources, Minnesotans have come up with dozens of ways to incorporate this tart stalk. There are the deserts we all know, including the rhubarb cake here, but there were also rhubarb preserves and rhubarb sauce (served as a side dish like applesauce) and more. Nancy says here dad hated the rhubarb sauce, not because of the flavor, but because Grandma B served it so often. It will take a lot of this delicious cake before you get tired of it though. And while it was based on Grandma B's recipe (see her jello salad for another), but we lightened it up quite a bit. Substituting applesauce for shortening and skim milk for whole. It was absolutely wonderful--warm, tart, sweet and moist. Next time, we may try substituting whole wheat pastry flour for the original white flour. Still, for dessert, it's pretty darn light at only 212 calories with 2 grams of fat and 1 of fiber. Let's eat! Grandma B's Rhubarb Cake Directions: Mix together cake ingredients and pour into a 9x13 pan sprayed with non-stick. Combine sugar, cinnamon and coconut, top cake with mixture and walnuts. Bake for 30 minutes. Serve warm. |
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