Rhubarb cake & Kruhky platsok

Rhubarb (rhumbamar in Ukrainian) can be found growing in many yards.  It is a very tough plant and can also be found growing in fields and back alleys where it receives very little care or attention.
In Ukraine, rhubarb is used in many recipes such as pies, preserves, kompot, wine, cake and a dish called Kruhky platsok which is a fruit crumble using whatever fruit happens to be in season.
In Ukraine, the largest rhubarb farm can be found in a village called Raykivshchyna in the Yahotyn district, just outside of Ukraine’s capital, which is Kyiv.
Both recipes can be served with ice cream or whip cream or enjoy it plain with a cup of coffee or share it with your family or friends!

Ingredients for cake

½ cup soft butter or margarine
1 ½ cup white sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups all-purpose white four
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ cup sour cream
½ cup milk
2 cups diced fresh or frozen rhubarb (or enough to cover the entire top of the batter)
Butter or margarine to dot over cake batter, about 1/3- ½ cup

Topping
¾ cup brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
 
Place the butter or margarine and sugar into a large mixing bowl, add the vanilla.  Mix until creamy.  Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each egg.  The batter should be nice and smooth. 
Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sour cream and milk.  Mix on low until just blended.
The batter will be thick.
Pour the batter into your prepared pan.  Sprinkle the diced rhubarb evenly over the batter.  In a small bowl combine the brown sugar and cinnamon, ensuring there are no lumps of brown sugar. Sprinkle this mixture evenly over the rhubarb.
Dot the butter or margarine over the cinnamon and brown sugar, just enough to add moisture to the batter, about 1/3-1/2 cup.
Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. 

Serve it warm with ice cream.  No matter how you serve it, it is delicious

This recipe was originally made with lard in Ukraine, and still is. Lard was available in most households, as many families that live/ lived in small villages often had farm animals. Nothing was ever wasted, including lard from the pig.
Of course, now you can use butter. I prefer using butter to margarine as the pastry bakes much more light and flaky. If you want to use lard, this is a very rich square but will be very flaky.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and grease a 9x13 cake pan

For the dough
3 ½ cups all purpose flour
½ pound butter
2 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon lemon zest

For the filling
6-7 cups fresh diced rhubarb or fresh fruit, cut into small pieces 
½ cup sugar
 
Place all the dough ingredients into a large bowl and work it with your fingers to make it blended and the dough sticks together and forms a ball when pressed together.
Divide the dough into 2 balls, one 2/3 of the dough, the other about 1/3 the dough mixture. Wrap the 2 balls you’ve formed into plastic wrap and place it into the fridge for at least 2 hours. You want this dough to be quite cold and firm
Once the dough is well chilled, take the lager ball of dough and grate it into your greased 9x13 cake pan and pat it down with your finger. You want to make sure the dough covers the bottom of the pan and it’s at least about ½ inch thick.
Place your diced rhubarb into a heavy bottomed pot and add the ½ cup of sugar.  Cook on low until the rhubarb is nice and soft and resembles a jam like texture. 
Once the filling is cooked, remove it from the heat and spread it evenly over the dough base. 
Take the remaining ball of dough from the fridge and grate it evenly over the filling.  Use the largest holes on your hand-held grater. It will grate easily if the dough is cold.

Don’t pat the grated dough on top of the filling.  It will melt on top of your filling once it starts to bake.
Bake at 325 degrees for about 1 hour or until the top pastry is nice and golden brown.
Remove from the oven, cool and cut into squares.