Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake

Who says upside-down cakes must be pineapple?! Here, the upside-down fruit is fresh rhubarb made slightly unusual with just a kiss of anise.

COMPLIMENTS!

"... it tasted great." ~ Nat
"Nice light, soft, moist cake without being too gooey heavy or sweet." ~ Kari

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Battling the bunnies. It’s an endless fight this time of year. A particularly persistent little guy is tearing up new impatiens in the shade garden. Every night he digs up a dozen plants, every morning I carefully restore them to the dirt. Something’s nibbling at the hostas as well. And the shasta daisies. And ...

The other day, my neighbor Mr. McGregor (okay, that’s not his real name) was perplexed to see dirt flying out of a grassy rise behind the house. He approached cautiously to find the muscular hind legs of a bunny digging to China the long way, sideways.

Ah, the joys of summer.

One of summer’s true treasures is rhubarb. This year’s crop is abundant and seems particularly sweet. I’ve frozen a few quarts for next winter but couldn’t miss this lovely upside-down cake, a perfect example of what my mom called “a good dessert when supper’s a little skimpy”.

It’s also a good example of how serving size, fat and sugar can be cut without loss of satisfaction or taste. In fact, testers here actually preferred my lower-fat, less-sweet version to the original. I agree: the anise’s light sweetness is more apparent when it doesn’t compete with so much sugar.

ALANNA's TIPS If you find anise extract, it really bumps up the flavor. To freeze rhubarb for later, wash well and cut in half-inch pieces. Arrange on a baking sheet in a single layer and freeze. When frozen, transfer to a freezer container. My cast iron skillet has disappeared (how does that happen?) so this last time I cooked the butter and brown sugar mixture in a skillet and then poured it into a cake pan. After arranging the rhubarb, I greased the sides of the cake pan. This worked great! You want enough rhubarb to densely cover the butter-brown sugar mixture. This last time, the perfect amount was three cups of chopped rhubarb weighing just three-fourths of a pound after trimming.

RHUBARB UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Hands-on time: 20 minutes
Baking time: 45 minutes
10 servings

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup (100g) brown sugar
• 1-1/2 pounds (700g) rhubarb, fresh or frozen, chopped (about 3 cups)

• 1 teaspoon anise seed ground in a mortar & pestle or a spice grinder
• 1-1/2 cups flour, fluffed to aerate before measuring or 187 grams
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons, 114g) salted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup (100g) sugar
• 1 teaspoon anise extract (or vanilla)
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350F/175C.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter and brown sugar over medium heat in a well-seasoned, nine-inch cast-iron skillet (see Later Notes). Stir to combine, then simmer 2 – 3 minutes, being careful not to burn.

Remove from heat and arrange rhubarb evenly over top without disturbing the butter-sugar mixture.

Meanwhile, stir together anise seed, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.

In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to cream 1/2 cup softened butter and sugar. Add anise extract. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour, taking care to not overmix.

Spoon batter over rhubarb without disturbing the fruit. Bake until golden, about 45 minutes. Let cool slightly and serve warm.

NUTRITION ESTIMATE Per serving: 283 Calories; 13g Tot Fat; 8g Sat Fat; 38g Carb; 1g Fiber; 348mg Sodium; 81mg Cholesterol; 4g Protein. WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS WW Old Points 6.5, WW PointsPlus 8 This recipe has been 'Alanna-sized' with reductions in fat and sugar and increases in the low-calorie and fiber-rich rhubarb.

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Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Quick Suppers are Kitchen Parade favorites and feature recipes easy on the budget, the clock, the waistline and the dishwasher. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail via recipes@kitchen-parade.com. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. Follow Kitchen Parade on Facebook!

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