Rhubarb Maple Upside Down Cake

Great made with fresh or frozen rhubarb and topped with a little dollop of whipped cream or a nice french vanilla ice cream. Adapted from a recipe that appeared in our local paper.

• Ready In: 55 mins
• Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 4  tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3⁄4 cup brown sugar
• 3  cups  diced rhubarb, cut in 1/4 inch dice
• 2  tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1  cup granulated sugar
• 1⁄2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2  eggs, separated
• 1  teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 2  teaspoons baking powder
• 6  tablespoons milk
• 2  tablespoons maple syrup
• 1⁄4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Generously butter a 9-in. round cake pan (do not use a springform pan as the mixture will leak- trust me). Melt 4 tbsp. unsalted butter over low heat. Stir in the brown sugar. Pour into cake pan and distribute evenly across the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle rhubarb with 2 Tbsp granulated sugar and toss. Place in pan on top of brown sugar mixture. Spread evenly and set aside.
2. Using an electric mixer, cream softened butter and 1 c. granulated sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Beat in vanilla extract.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, salt and baking powder. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the batter in the mixer bowl on slow speed, scraping down the sides and mixing until dry ingredients are incorporated. Add half of the milk-syrup mixture. Continue alternating additions of dry ingredients and milk-syrup mixture, ending with the flour mix.
4. In a separate bowl, whip egg whites with cream of tartar until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites into batter in small amounts until well-incorporated. Pour batter into pan on top of rhubarb.
5. Bake at 325 degrees 40-50 minutes or until the surface springs back to the touch. Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes. Run a table knife around the edges and invert onto a cooling rack. Serve either warm or at room temperature.
6. .