Rhubarb and Strawberry Crumbcake

It is Michael's birthday today, and this is the cake he always request for a birthday cake. Not this particular recipe, but this type of cake. A rather flat sheet cake, topped with fresh fruit and a crunchy crumb topping. They always do not look like much, a little unassuming for a birthday cake. And if he did not have an opinion himself, I would make him a fancier cake, like the Chocolate Hazelnut Crepe Cake in Deb's cookbook. Or her recent cake, this Bienenstich cake. But who am I to argue with the birthday boy?

Truth is, I like those cakes, too. They are a lot easier to eat. All you need is a napkin. You could actually eat a slice of this cake standing in front of the fridge, in the middle of the night.
The recipe I used here is great. It makes a wonderful coconut pineapple crumbcake, or a great orange crumbcake with this orange marmalade between the cake layer and the crumb topping. Here I doubled the cake recipe, layered some rhubarb and strawberries on top and finished it off with a simple crumb topping. But you can take this anywhere you want.
And I am off, pizza and beer await me.

Rhubarb and Strawberry Crumbcake
Note: If you use darker sugar in the topping than I did, the cake will look less pale. Also working some agave into the topping would result in a crumb that turns more golden. If you don't care for the cake to be vegan, you can subsitute regular milk for the soy milk.
cake layer:
1 1/3 cup soy milk
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup agave syrup
1 cup canola oil (or another mild tasting oil)
2 1/2 cup all purpose flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon

~2 stalks rhubarb
~1/3 pound strawberries

crumb topping:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup oil
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C.
Slice the rhubarb and strawberries into 1/2 cm thick slices (~1/4 of an inch). Add a tablespoon of sugar to draw out some of the water before baking.
In a large mixing bowl, stir together the dry ingredients for the cake layer. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir until smooth.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and pour the cake batter on top. Spread out a bit until it is between 1 and 2 cm thick. Top with rhubarb and strawberries.
In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the ingredients for the topping, until crumbs form. Sprinkle over the fruit layer and pat down a bit using your hands.
Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Strawberry Peach Scones

My little sister is on her way to visit me, to help me pack my life together and move and just spend the day together.
It's a funny thing, having brothers and sisters. I am the oldest of four, two boy and two girls, just as if my parents had perfectly planned it; each child three years after the one that came before.
As I grew up I had lots of fights with my brother, we hit each other hard and fought over toys, until we moved and we got rooms of our own, with enough space between us to live without fighting. Only recently have we become closer again, and only now have I found the unique quality that is in the friendship between brothers and sisters.
Seeing them grow from the kids they once were into the persons they are now is truly amazing, I can only imagine how this must feel for a mother, not just a sister.

So to get to spend time with my sister today is great, and in between packing and decluttering I found time to make these scones for us to eat while we paint my bed.
I have seen different recipes for scones with summer fruit in them recently, and took a few ideas I saw and combined them in this recipe.
Ever since I spent time in Ireland (Oh Galway I miss you) I have loved scones. Scones for me equate calm and fun times, reflecting the time I had in Galway. Mixing in summer fruit makes them even better, though. Scones can be a bit dry when not totally fresh, juicy fruit packed in the middle can fix this easily.
These scones were really easy to throw together, the only flaw of baked goods in summer is the heat the oven generates. They are worth it, though.

Marinated Strawberries

I bought fresh strawberries last week, and did not want to just eat them plain as I usually do. I created this one evening and made it several times since. It is really simple, the hardest part is waiting 15 minutes for the strawberries to marinate.