Pistachio Rhubarb Yogurt Crumb Cake

Gluten free, refined sugar free

Moist, delicate, sweet and tart! 

True story - I had never tried rhubarb before I tried this recipe. I get weekly produce delivered via Imperfect Produce and some stalks of rhubarb showed up. I thought - what is this pink celery? I didn't know what to do with it. I've been really enjoying getting produce delivered from Imperfect. They are a really cool company with hopes of reducing food waste. They try hard to source from local farms and divert waste from landfills; they are even hoping to be run on fully renewable energy by 2026. Plus, when you order anything that requires an ice pack, they take back all of the packing products and sanitize them for reuse. A win for plastic waste reduction, too! 

So, upon realizing this was rhubarb, I started to brainstorm. I had heard of strawberry rhubarb pies, but I didn't feel like making a pie crust. I googled What do I do with rhubarb? and found a Martha Stewart recipe for a pistachio rhubarb cake. If my grandma taught me anything, it's that Martha Stewart is Queen. I decided to use her recipe as a starting point for creating something without refined sugar and gluten. 

Let me just say, I am now a BIG fan of rhubarb. Maybe I will try to make a tart next time it appears in the produce box. This cake is so easy and so delicious. It's a perfect summer dessert; a dollop of ice cream would be really good on top of this cake freshly out of the oven! By the way, if you follow my link to Imperfect Produce you can get a discount off of your first order! 

Ingredients: 

• 1 stick + 1 tbsp unsalted butter (you could use ghee or vegan butter)
• 1 cup plain yogurt (you could use a plant based yogurt)
• 1 pound rhubarb cut into 3 inch pieces (I used 3 medium sized stalks and had plenty)
• 1 1/2 cups sugar (I used coconut)
• 1 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup shelled pistachios 
• 1 cup oat flour (ground up oats)
• 1/2 cup cassava flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (I use vanilla paste)

Method: 

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Prepare a round cake pan with parchment paper. 
2. Toss rhubarb, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tbsp butter, 1/4 tsp salt on a rimmed baking sheet and roast for about 15 minutes. 
3. Reduce oven to 325F. 
4. Grind pistachios, set aside. 
5. Grind oats into oat flour, mix with pistachios. 
6. Add cassava flour, baking powder, and remaining 1 1/2 tsp salt. 
7. Beat 1 stick butter with 1 cup coconut sugar on high speed until fluffy.
8. Add eggs and vanilla extract. 
9. Add flour mixture and yogurt in alternating batches. 
10. Pour into prepared cake pan. 
11. Top with rhubarb, and put remaining rhubarb and syrup into a container in the refrigerator. 
12. Bake cake for 50-60 minutes, until golden and a knife comes out clean. 
13. Serve with reserved rhubarb and syrup, ice cream, whipped cream, etc!