Big crumb coffee cake

This recipe tastes pretty good, but it is simply not suitable for high altitude.

First thing to know - making this requires four bowls. One for the rhubarb (swiped from my neighbors yard), one to make the crumb topping, and two to make the cake. I followed the recipe closely, the only variation being that I used firm yogurt instead of sour cream.

Lacking a stand mixer, I made the cake by first cutting in the butter, then using a hand mixer with dough hooks. It worked! Made a firm, but very nice rich dough.

The crumb worked well, too. I was so proud of the large chunks that covered the top.

But as this cake cooked, it rose up along the edge, and totally enveloped the crumbs. The high altitude provides less resistance, and so things can rise too much. I think that is what happened here. The big beautiful crumbs disappeared into the cake batter, and resulted in a cake with a rhubarb stripe down the middle, and a very crunchy top crust. Tasty enough, but not worth the effort involved.

I quite liked this but it was a lot of work. I think next time I'll make my rhubarb into a normal crumble again.

Both cake batter and crumble turned out a bit to dry to handle well. I could not spread the batter well and the crumble did not form boulders. If I make this again I will add the last quarter cup of flour of both very gradually, if at all.

If you do not have paddle attachments, you might not want to use a mixer for that part of the recipe. Maybe dough hoooks would work, but I don't have those either.