Cut this in half and used 8x8 to replace 13x9 pan. (Cook time on the 8x8 = 41 min.) Delicious outcome and looked just like the photo too. (My experience with Milk Street recipes is they are reliable for flavor and looks.) Just sweet enough but not too much in cake that is moist from butter and sour cream and tart with the cranberries and the finely diced candied ginger mixed in is lovely flavor note. I thawed frozen cranberries given I was making this in April when fresh crans cannot be found...and yet this was a really good early Spring option. (Also it was a spirit lifting covid19 'stay at home' baking project too.) Really good streusel topping that is both easy to do as part of recipe as well as a bit unique in technique applying it and a just right sweet bit in bites of cake when eaten. Good looking to serve in a homespun sense of itself with the bright cranberries in it. Versatile given it is good morning, afternoon or evening. Travels well and is good the second day too. The "how does it freeze?" experiment is under way as we popped a couple of pieces in the freezer to try again in a week or two. Definitely a keeper recipe to go in rotation.

It’s rhubarb season, so I used fresh rhubarb cut into a dice. DELISH

1) Re the freezing "experiment" of the first pass of this cake per recipe using cranberries, as mentioned in my 4/24/20 comments it freezes really well. We just took the foil wrapped cake pieces from the freezer and put them in a low'ish oven (325) to heat until thawed and slightly warm.

2) Re using rhubarb to replace the cranberries, that worked splendidly too when I tried it today. Delicious and tender texture just like the original recipe. Riffing on a similar recipe (but frankly not as good as this one) for rhubarb cake by Melissa Clark and since I was once again cutting this recipe in half (using 8x8 pan), I replaced the cranberries by doing the following:

*cut 8 oz rhubarb into roughly 1/4"dice to mimic size of cranberries in original. (Note if you're making the full recipe you probably want 12 oz+ rhubarb)
*tossed rhubarb with about 3 T sugar and 1 1/2 tsp cornstarch (to sweeten rhubarb just a bit and help it suspend in cake batter)
*handled rhubarb to mix in batter just as if they were cranberries for instructions

Although I was using rhubarb from my garden, so it was very tender, I did peel off the outer 'skin'. Next time I will try leaving that on as when the cake bakes the rhubarb doesn't stand out for color with any red 'zing'. For tender, garden fresh stalks I think leaving skin on will work and so contribute the color pops. Soon to be determined. Because this cake is so good and so easy it and so versatile to use any time of day and travels so well that it will be on the 'bake and repeat' list.

Is candied ginger the same as crystallized ginger? Thank you.

Hi William -

The terms “candied” and “crystallized” ginger are typically used interchangeably. If a distinction is made, crystallized ginger is usually candied and *also* coated in sugar. Either kind will work here.

Best,
The Milk Street Team