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Lemon Squares
Dena Kleiman, Susan Mahnke Peery
2029 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
2,029
1 hour
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Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour an 8½-inch-by-4½-inch loaf pan.
In a large bowl, whisk together the butter, 1 cup of the sugar, orange zest and yogurt until well combined. Whisk in eggs. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the flour mixture and 1½ cups rhubarb to butter mixture and fold until combined. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth out the top. Sprinkle the top with the remaining ¼ cup rhubarb and 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake until the loaf is golden brown and set and a skewer inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 55 to 60 minutes.
Transfer the pan to a rack to cool for 10 minutes, then cut around the edges and carefully flip the loaf out of the pan. Turn it right side up and let it cool completely before slicing.
What happened to the strawbewrries and blueberries mentioned in the description but missing from the ingredient list?
I've now made this delightful cake five times, and I've passed the recipe on to many people. My only suggestions are: increase the amount of chopped rhubarb to as much as two cups; and don't bother strewing the 1/4 cup rhubarb after the batter is in the loaf pan. But don't forget the crackly raw sugar sprinkled on top!
Would this taste good with an alternative flour (for the celiacs among us), and if so, which is the best to try?
I followed the recipe mostly however I used less sugar; 1/4 cup in the batter and 2 teaspoons sprinkled on top. The bread has a nice flavor accentuated with the orange zest and was not overly sweet.
I appreciate the "quick bread" nomenclature, but let's be honest: this is cake. Delicious, light, fluffy cake, studded with beautiful tangy rhubarb and brightened with (my substitution of) clementine zest. I added just one tablespoon of turbinado sugar to the top for a sparkling loaf. We've been toasting slices for breakfast. Definitely a rich and lovely way to use some of our huge rhubarb harvest!
I've just finished making this for the second time in a week. The first time I gave half the loaf to friends. Both loved it, as did I. The perfect blend of tart and sweet. I followed the advice of others and put all the rhubarb in the cake, and I found doing so gave the perfect ratio of cake to rhubarb. I sprinkled the top with only 1 tbsp sugar, which was plenty without the rhubarb on the top. A wonderful recipe--thanks so much.
Can you sub gluten-free flour on this kind of recipe? And if so, do you hve to adjust other ingredients? (I don’t have a lot of experience in baking with GF flour.)
I was feeling alternative and used lime zest instead of the orange, which gave it a subtle cocktaily feeling that worked well with the tart rhubarb. Also, on rhubarb quantities, go big or go home. It's called rhubarb season, not quick bread season. You want to taste rhubarb held together by a bit of cake, not cake speckled with polite rhubarb pieces. Be the rhubarb monster of your dreams. Finally, I recommend saving some for the next day–the cake settles into itself wonderfully overnight.
The suggestion for adding some diced crystalized ginger is a good one! Also, for me - the orange zest feels too winter holiday-ish for the spring rhubarb - so swapped it for lemon zest. I've made this twice - once w yogurt and once with buttermilk - both work well.
I did it. I added those pesky strawberries, and oh my was that a good choice. Longer to bake, of course (I think an additional 15 or 20 Minutes, and I did put foil round the edges so they wouldn't burn), but so delicious. I didn't reduce any sugar either so it's pretty luscious.
Hurrah for an easy, unpretentious and absolutely delicious quick bread recipe. We are blessed with vigorous home rhubarb plants so I make crumble and pie on a regular basis - adding this to the rotation. Tossed rhubarb in the floor mix before adding to egg mix so no sinking. Took a while to cook all the way through - I used too much rhubarb and left the chunks too big - next time will make in a bigger pan so it's not as thick, and will chop the rhubarb exactly as instructed :) A winner!
We LOVE this cake. I usually double it and bake in 2 8x8 pans (loaf pans don’t cook as well in the middle -tricky with moist early spring harvests). I sub in Greek or Icelandic yoghurt, too - it’s what I always have on hand. Thanks for a fantastic fail safe spring favorite :)
I took the advice of another reviewer and made this in a 9 inch round cake pan. Used 2 cups of rhubarb for the cake and put another 1/2 c on top. It sure turned out pretty! I think ginger is nice with rhubarb so put in about 2 or so teaspoons of fresh grated instead of the zest. Done in 45 minutes at 350. Easy, delicious, and one more reason to love rhubarb season.
I added a handful of strawberries, too--very nice addition. The batter was super-thick, so I added the juice from half an orange to loosen it up a little. I baked it for 1 hour and it was delicious! Light and cake-y with a delicate, almost crispy crust. A keeper.
Made this several times with lemon zest since I had lemons but not oranges... fabulous! Finally tried it with orange zest this time and it's just "OK"... the orange overwhelms the rhubarb. Going back to lemon zest next time and forever!
I love this simple recipe! I made a few adjustments: instead of sugar I used maple syrup and agave syrup, instead of yogurt I used sour cream, and I added a good amount of nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves. With a convection oven the cake bread was done in ~45 minutes and was moist and delicious. I agree with other comments saying to use more rhubarb. I used the recommended amount but felt like it could use at least double, and maybe some strawberries too.
I used pecans, since that was what I had on hand and I like them better than almonds. Used a 10” cast iron skillet, bard on recommendations. Made the mistake of letting the brown sugar and butter carmelize a bit too much. So, poured that into the skillet and added some butter and brown sugar much more lightly combined on top. Went with the ten minute cool down before flipping Turned out great!
My loaf was moist and the perfect texture for a quick bread. The flavor was too heavy on white sugar/white flour and one dimensionally sweet for my taste, though - reminiscent of oversize poppy seed muffins. If I try making it again, but I will experiment with whole wheat flour and less sugar.
I’m about to make this for the third time! No notes!!
Good, but I think I cooked for 65 mins and it should have been closer to 60/61 for it to have been more moist
I made this as a cake (9" round pan) and it worked well at about 45 minutes of baking. I also made a few substitutions for altitude (7,000 ft) and preference: reduced sugar to 1/2 cup in the mix and 1 tbsp on top, subbed one cup of whole wheat flour, upped the rhubarb to two full cups, added 1 tsp of vanilla and 1/2 tsp of almond extract, lowered baking powder to 1/4 tsp and baking soda to 1/8 tsp. The cake was sweet enough and provided a nice contrast with the tart rhubarb. Will make again!
I made this with 4 cups of rhubarb, cut in half inch pieces. I used an 8x8 pan and it came out beautifully. I wanted it to be really rhubarby and it was.
Add some chopped preserved ginger. Delicious!!
I made it "healthier" by reducing the sugar to 1/3 cup (plenty sweet for us) and substituted 3/4 cup of whole wheat flour for 3/4 cup of the all-purpose flour. I also used lemon zest instead of orange and spread a layer of chopped fresh peaches in the middle of the batter. Yum! Might be even better with a smidge of cinnamon/nutmeg/ginger. Used extra rhubarb and coated the pan with butter and sugar (instead of flour) as others suggested. Came out of the pan very easily! Used 9x5 pan ~50-55 min.
Could one use sour cream to substitute yogurt?? Like a sour cream coffee cake? Thanks
Excellent recipe. Making again today with homegrown rhubarb. I doubled recipe and made as specified, except added all rhubarb at once, and used mandarin orange zest. Also used 9x5 loaf pans. Delightful. Toasts well, as noted. A bit more cake than bread, I agree. Excellent served with a dollop of yogurt. You need sugar specified in the recipe unless somehow your rhubarb isn't tart. I don't like too sweet, and thought it was perfect. Usually love nuts in quick bread, but no nuts works well here
I made this cake the other day with some rhubarb that I had harvested and frozen. I added some mace and vanilla and it was so delicious. This is definitely going into my regular repertoire and I look forward to trying it with other fruit.
This cake is delicious. I used vanilla yogurt. The batter tasted like a Creamsicle. Will definitely make this again. Plan on trying different yogurt and fruit combos. Highly recommend.
I made this recipe as written, with one exception, and was rewarded with a delicious quick bread. I agreed that it seemed more sensible to just add all the rhubarb to the batter, and that worked just fine. The bread is wonderful toasted and, because it is disappearing quickly, it seems another batch will have to be baked very soon!
Used lemon zest instead of orange, massaged into the sugar, added a pinch of ginger and cardamom, increased the rhubarb and added strawberries. Baked in an 8x8 pan. Superb!
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