A Quick Orange-Strawberry-Rhubarb Cake

A friend posted a simpler variation of this from today's NY Times who published it as "Pudding Cake or Spoon Bread?" It sounded good, although maybe a little plain. I wasn't in the mood for a biscuit-type dessert, nor something resembling shortbread or something like a molten lava cake. . .I wanted real cake! With a little more fruit and spice. So, I made changes: increased the fruit, added orange peel, vinegar to make the milk into 'buttermilk' - which always creates more flavorful cake, muffins, pancakes. I also added an egg, pumpkin pie spice and cardamom.  Other than that...followed, almost word-for-word! 😉 🙃 😊 

6-8oz. frozen strawberries and rhubarb

1 'cutie' finely chopped orange peel only

~ eat the orange ~ 🙂

⅓c light brown sugar

Chop the fruit, mash it a little if necessary, add the brown sugar, stir and set aside.

1 stick butter - melted

⅓c light brown sugar

½c coconut almond milk
(¾c coconut almond milk)*

1t white vinegar-optional-vinegar combined with milk 
turns it into buttermilk, which adds more flavor

½t salt

1 egg

Barely melt the butter, then remove from heat. Add the next ingredients whisking after each. Before adding the egg, check the temperature. If it's too hot, cool everything before adding it.

1c all purpose flour
*¼c corn flour
*¼c Linwoods seeds-berries

1t baking powder

1t+ pumpkin pie spice

½t+ cardamom

*I thought of these additions after I baked and posted this.  I'll make it this way next time.

Preheat your oven to 350°. Whisk the dry ingredients together well, in a separate bowl, then stir them into the other bowl of wet ingredients. Stir only until all four is absorbed. Pour into a greased 8"x8"  baking pan. Spoon the thawed, stirred fruit and sugar mix on top and swirl it into the batter a little, with a knife. Sprinkle the top with coarse turbinado sugar, for a little added crunch. Bake 30-35 minutes, or until it passes the toothpick test. Cool an hour. 

This is SO good!  The areas on each edge where it touched glass are nice and crispy!  Serve as is, for dessert or as a coffee cake, or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. . .Lin