Red-streaked stalks of rhubarb appear in tight bundles in our CSA each spring, and as soon as spring fades into summer at the local farm, the rhubarb from our own garden is ready for the harvest. My family lives high in the mountains, where the force of summer's heat never quite reaches and we can grow cool weather crops from July through September until the snows begin again.
Jump to Recipe
Rhubarb is a favorite of mine, its tartness marrying well with sweet things - strawberries, of course, but also mineral-rich brown sugars whose faint acidity provides a complement for the vegetable's natural, rounded sour notes.
Making the Cake
Skillet cakes are my favorite cakes - simple to prepare and served in an old-fashioned cast-iron skillet which is, incidentally, the most used piece of equipment in my kitchen. I start by blending freshly ground whole-grain flour with yogurt, and letting it soak for a period of time, a process that not only increases the bioavailability of the minerals it contains, but that also softens the crumb delivering a delicious, light cake. The next day, I saute a bit of fruit (or, in this case, rhubarb) in jaggery and butter until it softens, finish off the batter, and bake. Impossibly easy, and impassibly delicious.
Rhubarb Skillet Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 cup spelt flour
- 1 cup yogurt
- 1 egg beaten
- ¾ cup jaggery tightly packed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose einkorn flour
- 1 teaspoon ground ceylon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon finely ground real salt
Crumb Topping
- ¾ cup blanched almond flour
- ½ cup jaggery (tightly packed)
- ½ teaspoon ground ceylon cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons ghee
Instructions
- The night before you plan to bake, beat the spelt with yogurt until loosely combined. Cover the bowl with tight-fitting plastic wrap lest it dry out, and set it in a warm spot in your kitchen overnight for 8 to 12 hours.
- The next day, chop the rhubarb into ¼-inch dice. Toss it into a bowl and sprinkle ½ cup jaggery over the rhubarb. Allow the rhubarb to macerate in the jaggery for about an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- Melt 3 tablespoons of clarified butter or ghee over low heat in a well-seasoned 9-inch cast iron skillet. Toss the macerated rhubarb into the hot butter and saute about 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and prepare the cake batter.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs with ¾ cup jaggery until smooth, then beat in the vanilla extract. Working ½ cup at a time, beat in the batter of yogurt-soaked spelt flour. In a separate bowl, whisk high-extraction flour with 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, orange zest, baking soda and salt. Working ½ cup at a time, beat the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until they form a smooth batter.
- Prepare the jaggery crumb in a small to medium-sized mixing bowl. Beat the almond flour and jaggery together with cinnamon, then slowly beat in 3 tablespoons melted butter.
- To assemble the cake, pour the cake batter into the skillet over the rhubarb. Sprinkle the jaggery crumb over the cake batter, and bake until a toothpick inserted into the cake's center comes out clean - about 1 hour. Allow to cool about 20 minutes before dipping into it with a spoon and scooping it out onto waiting plates.
Ali says
This is such a wonderful, exciting anticipation. I wish I could make it today! I've never heard of jaggery, never eaten spelt floor but I can already tell this is going to be scrumptious!
Jenny says
We love it, and I hope you do, too.
Martha Guenett Simmons says
Which food group is Jaggery from?
Is this a sweetener a type 1 juvenile diabetic can use instead of the chemical sweeteners offered today?
Jenny says
Hi Martha, jaggery production is explained in the post above under the heading "Jaggery: An Old World Sweetener."
Katie Ehrlich says
I made this with oat flou and okinawan black sugar, and it turned out amazing! Thank for all these great recipes, this is truly a wonderful blog.
ariyele says
oh wow! thank you so much for this information. i keep the same standards in my kitchen and am always thrilled to learn about companies that have these high standards. thanks jenny. i've been loving your blog for a while now, but have been too shy (which is unbelievable since i don't have a shy bone in my body) to comment. i suppose. thank you!
Lucia says
Beautiful, beautiful. Your posts always place me back into a calm frame of mind; they're reminders that all can be OK, and if you're in doubt... time for a delicious recipe. This is already inspiring new recipes!
Laura says
Thank you for introducing me to Jaggery. I enjoyed learning about it. Very interesting!
faith says
any reccomendations for replacing the almond flour? would spelt work well?
Sarah in CA says
I have substituted other nut flours for almond flour. for example pecan flour or cashew flour might be worth a try.
Stephanie says
But what if one is allergic to nuts? I am going to try it with spelt flour this weekend to see how it turns out.
Jessica Campbell says
This is awesome and timed perfectly. I am currently in Iceland where we have an abundance of rhubarb, spelt flour and skyr. Will make this promptly in the morning. Thanks
Jenny says
Iceland is one of the most enchanting places I've ever visited! I'm sure it will be great with skyr.
Jenny says
For those of you who have posted comments looking for a gluten-free version, I'd recommend that you experiment with your own flour mixes, or you consider Nourished Kitchen's Guide to Grain-free Baking which features over 90 recipes for grain- and gluten-free desserts: https://nourishedkitchen.com/lp/learn-how-to-bake-without-grains-or-dairy/?AFFID=66049
Hyman says
Thanks for this link. I myself am not allergic, but while breastfeeding, found my new baby son so be allergic to wheat and sensitive to gluten :(:( so I gave it up completely and in our house I've learned how to keep us wheat/gluten free and I also enjoy lots of grain free recipes!
Now that my son is almost two and I have a newborn baby I'm looking for something sweet we can all indulge in.
Thanks.
I'm looking forward to trying jaggery. I've been afraid of most sweeteners except raw honey and coconut sugar. I keep all unrefined sugars out.
Sarah in CA says
What is high-extraction flour? this is a term I have not come across. Thanks for the wonderful recipe and the lesson on Jaggery.
Jenny says
High-extraction flour is flour that is sifted to remove 80% of the bran, this is a traditional practice found in Europe and Asia, and it improves the natural shelf-life of milled flour, and it also means that the flour is not longer prone to rancidity. I use this flour: https://nourishedkitchen.com/high-extraction-flour
Csilla Bischoff says
I would love a gluten free version of this. Do you think Bob's Red Mill gluten free flour mix would do the trick? Thanks.
I love Pure Indian Foods. Use their ghee all the time.
Bonnie says
I also would love to get a gluten-free flour alternative to this simple yet delicious and healthy cake. Drool time! Thanks, Jenny.
Heather says
Oh my goodness, I was drooling over this recipe - until I saw spelt and high-extraction/all-purpose flour! Do you have any gluten-free flour recommendations that I could try instead? I'm dying to make this cake! Mmmmm
Sarah in CA says
I would try using any gluten free cake or coffee cake recipe from someone like The Spunky Coconut Blog or Elana's Pantry blog that uses Almond flour. Give is a shot and experiment some.