Rhubarb-Topped Spice Cake

Have I ever mentioned that I'm a cake mix fan? There are very few cakes that I make that don't start with a box mix. Sad, isn't it?

It's not that I don't know how, or can't do it. I do, and I can. I just find the process... tedious. I suppose I'm rather Sandra Lee-ish in this way. I just have little desire to make a cake from scratch when there's a perfectly good box mix to whip it up in a jiffy with very little measuring to do.

And there you have it. My dirty little secret.

I do, however, quite like 'doctoring' the cake mixes for something out-of-the-ordinary. I don't usually follow instructions for doctoring, however--I generally just go my own way and let the cake fall where it may, so to speak.



This time, I had a big load of rhubarb a-ready to go, and thought that it would be nice with spice cake. I was going for an upside-down cake effect, but it didn't turn out that way. Even so, it was moist and delicious without having to bother with frosting (another tedious project). Best of all--Mr.W gobbled it up.


Rhubarb-Topped Spice Cake

Butter a 9x13-inch pan or whatever pan you fancy. I used a 9-inch round springform pan, which was a mistake. The topping leaked through--so if you use a springform, be sure to wrap the exterior in foil to keep your oven bottom from looking like mine (that is, covered with burned blobs).

While preheating your oven to 350*F (or 325*F if using a dark or nonstick pan), throw a stick of butter (I used salted) in your pan right in the oven to melt. No sense in dirtying another dish, right? When it's melted, sprinkle in 3/4 cup (packed) brown sugar. Stir until the sugar is almost melted. Top with 3 cups of chopped fresh rhubarb, followed by your spice cake batter (made according to package directions).

Bake in the center of your oven until a cake tester comes out clean when inserted at the center. The timing depends on the shape of your pan. Check the directions on your cake mix box for more guidance.

Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan. Cool completely before serving, or serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.