Strawberry Rhubarb Coffee Cake

We started a rhubarb plant this year and I was excited to taste the fruits of our labour.  Strawberries and rhubarb are a wonderful combination that tastes of summer.  This is a new recipe I found on allrecipes.com.  I made a couple of changes and the results were delicious!

Ingredients

Filling

2/3 cup sugar sugar

1/3 cup cornstarch

2 cups chopped rhubarb

1 (10 ounce) package frozen package frozen sliced strawberries, thawed. ( I used fresh strawberries and added water).

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Cake

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup cold butter

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk ( I used non-fat plain greek yogurt)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

I skipped the topping as I feel it is just extra calories.

Topping

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour 

1/4 cup cold butter

Directions

Combine sugar and cornstarch in a large saucepan, stir in rhubarb and strawberries and bring to a simmer over medium heat.  Cook until thickened.  Remove from heat, stir in lemon juice and let cool.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease a 9x13 inch pan.

Combine 3 cups flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl.  Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Beat together eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla in a separate bowl.  Stir egg mixture into flour until just moistened.  Spoon two-thirds of the batter into prepared pan, evenly  spread on the cooled filling, then cover with remaining batter.

In a small bowl, combine 3/4 cup sugar and 1/2 cup flour and cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, sprinkle over the batter.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool on a wire rack.