Mother's Day Rhubarb Cake

There's several postings of this cake on the recipe web sites and I imagine they're all  delicious, but I, (of course,) think my version is best!  It is very much a comfort food. Light and delicious, but something you can sit down and eat a whole pan full of!


1-Yellow Cake Mix of your favorite brand, I used  Betty Crocker.
1- Box of Vanilla Pudding that has to be actually cooked.
4-cups chopped fresh rhubarb, (I like the fresh stuff! It's so plentiful here.)
1, 2/3 cup granulated sugar
2-cups whipping cream, from carton, Do Not Whip! (In Canada, we have a half liter size. It's just less than a pint and I just use the one.)


I slice my rhubarb up very thinly. About a quarter of an inch wide pieces. If the stuff is thick and old, I'll slice it lengthwise first so my pieces are about the size of a dime and three times the thickness. Nothing I hate worse than a rhubarb something that'll pucker a goat! so I mix in the sugar and let it set up like you would sliced strawberries.

Preheat oven to 350*F
Prepare cake mix as directed on box. I use all milk instead of water and sometimes change up the oil for sour cream. 
Don't scrimp on the beating.
Pour into a buttered 13 x 9 pan or you could use a glass dish. 
(I'd like to try this one as cupcakes?)

Spread / distribute the chopped rhubarb on top of cake mix batter. The best way I've found is to simply droozle it with your fingers on the top. Do it in small enough bits so it sits on top of the batter.
 
Now, for Momma's day, I squirted a few drops of red food coloring into the cream jug and shook it. Then, poured the 2 cups of whipping cream evenly over the rhubarb/sugar mixture by pouring onto a spoon or spatula so it didn't disturb the cake batter. The first time I made this, I thought: Oh My Gosh! this is going to be a mess!

Bake at 350*F about 55 minutes or until center springs back SOFTLY. Don't bother sinking a toothpick in it, 'cause all the goopy part is now at the bottom!

Great served warm, but it needs to be stored in refrigerator.

 

Last weekend I gave this a test run and sent the most of it to work with Dick. His friends said I needed to quit work and just stay home and cook for them! 


So! Wouldn't it be great made as cupcakes and then turned out on a serving platter cold and then let warm?
  

I have a little goof to admit! 

     Yesterday, I had taken my normal bunch of photos of the process of making this cake and I threw the cake and camera into the Magnum to drive the hour and a half to Cambridge, Ontario, where my mother in law and sister in law live. We stayed overnight in our favorite hotel there and then after a leisurely night, morning and breakfast, drove over and picked mom up and drove over to sis' place for lunch.
     We got Kentucky Fried, (which mom loves,) and after lunch and cake, I had to run to the car to get my camera to take the expected mother's day photos of mom with her two kids. 
   Here's where the goof was. I turned my camera on and hit menu delete and then proceeded to take wonderful shots of my sweetheart, his only sister and his darling 85 year old mom. I didn't realize until half way home....
   ...... I had deleted all the pictures of the cake making!


         I don't care though.... My own mom's been gone these three years and I'm just so glad to still have my mom in law to take pictures of!


       Since we've driven back home tonight, I've had my little cry within the safety of Dick's arms (I do miss my mom so much...) and even though her favorite was always pie, I am so happy to post this cake that she would have loved. 

All of these photos were again shot and loaded directly from my Nikon P90 and then posted without alteration of any kind.