Rhubarb Kuchen Recipe

I first tasted Rhubarb Kuchen in Germany several years ago when we were there visiting my husband’s family. It was love at first bite! It was so different than any other rhubarb dessert I had ever tasted. I love rhubarb and I have a sweet tooth so appreciate the sweet and sour combination of sugar and rhubarb. Many rhubarb desserts are too sugary and overly sweet. Rhubarb Kuchen is sweet but not overly sweet and has the perfect balance of tart and sweet flavors. The eggs in the recipe remind me of a custard but with a cake-like bottom crust and sweet crumb topping. This Rhubarb Kuchen recipe is one of my favorite ways to use this early spring plant that grows so abundantly on our homestead!

Harvesting Rhubarb

For this recipe, you will need the stalks of the rhubarb plant. Rhubarb is also known as the “Pie Plant” because it is most commonly used as a pie filling (like our yummy Rhubarb Dandelion pie!). Cut the rhubarb stalks close to the base of the plant. Cut the leaves off and compost them since you only need the stalks. This recipe needs about three cups of rhubarb stalks chopped into bite size pieces. The amount of rhubarb stalks you need vary based on the length and diameter of the stalks. I always harvest a handful of stalks so I’m guaranteed to have three cups and the extra I use to make our delicious homemade rhubarb juice recipe, another favorite recipe we learned on our trip to Germany!  

Rhubarb Kuchen Recipe

For those of you who don’t know, Kuchen is the German word for cake. Every time I make a batch of Rhubarb Kuchen, it brings back fond memories of our trip to Germany. I use farm fresh eggs when I make this recipe which adds a rich golden color to the dessert thanks to the egg yolks. 

Ingredients: 

For the crust:
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened but not melted
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 TBS milk
1 tsp sugar
1 egg, beaten

Filling:
3 cups rhubarb stalks chopped in bite size pieces
1/2 cup sugar
4 eggs

Topping:
1/2 cup flour
4 TBS butter, softened but not melted
1/2 cup sugar

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Crust:
Using a pastry blender (this is the one we have if you’re not familiar with them), mix all the crust ingredients together to make a soft dough. Spread the dough in the bottom an 8×8 baking dish (these are the only kind of baking dishes I use)

Filling:
Spread the chopped rhubarb evenly over the crust. In a bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar until mixed well. Pour over top the rhubarb.

Topping:
Using a pastry blender, mix the flour, butter and sugar in a bowl until it forms a crumbly topping. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the top of the filling.

Bake at 350 degrees 45-55 minutes or until the topping is a light golden brown. Enjoy!