Strawberry Rhubarb Coffee Cake

I had been saving an email I received back in the spring from All Recipes.com that contained all strawberry and rhubarb items.  I love that combination, but the timing was not good for baking.  I was 9 months pregnant and not in the mood to bake!

Here we are, 4 months later with a 2 month old baby boy who allowed me to make this coffee cake while he napped.  I was finally able to get to Eastern Market last week for their Tuesday Market Day with Miles and picked up the strawberries and rhubarb to do some baking.

This cake was pretty easy to make and is really good!  It is super moist and am looking forward to making it again to do a better job cutting the butter into the topping. 

This isn't my picture, but this is what mine looks like (courtesy of All Recipes).  The rhubarb filling is a thin layer so it doesn't over power the cake.  Yummy.

 Here is the recipe..enjoy!

Ingredients

Filling
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
2 cups chopped rhubarb
1 (10 ounce) package frozen sliced strawberries, thawed (I used fresh)
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 or margarine
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cold butter or margarine

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

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch pan.

3. 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.

4. 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 in preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.