Swedish Rhubarb-Ginger Spice Bread

Today is my birthday, and I couldn't be happier than to share this delicious quick bread with you guys!  I've had a great birthday weekend - roller skating, tactile dome, and lots of science with friends at After Dark at the Exploratorium on Thursday night, a surprise hike to Alamere Falls with my boyfriend on Saturday, and biscuits and gravy for breakfast Sunday morning!

My partner for this month's Secret Recipe Club was Ewa of the gorgeous blog, delishhh.  I ended up being totally torn between two of her recipes, a soft Swedish gingerbread and a scrumptious rhubarb chocolate chip banana bread.  Since I couldn't choose, I decided to combine the two recipes and make a ginger-y spice bread full of pucker-y rhubarb.  Magically, I managed to find rhubarb at the grocery even though I'm pretty sure it's incredibly out of season...usually I try to avoid out-of-season produce since the flavor tends to be not-so-great, but this rhubarb was actually super tasty.  Its sour flavor is tamed by being tossed with sugar, and it combines perfectly with lots of cardamom and freshly grated ginger.  This bread makes a perfect breakfast treat - moist, slightly sweet, and bursting with spices and fresh fruit flavor.

Swedish Rhubarb-Ginger Spice Bread (adapted from delishhh, original recipes here and here)
Makes 1 loaf cake

2 cups diced rhubarb
1-1/3 cups sugar, divided
5 T butter, softened
2 eggs
2-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1-1/3 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp cardamom
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup sour cream
Slivered almonds, for topping (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Stir together the rhubarb and 1/3 cup of the sugar in a small bowl. Set aside while preparing the rest of the cake.
3. Cream together the butter and the remaining 1 cup sugar until fluffy.  Beat in the eggs one at a time, until completely incorporated.  Beat in the fresh ginger.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cardamom, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt.
5. Beat half the flour mixture into the butter mixture, and then beat in the sour cream.  Fold in the remaining flour mixture by hand, taking care not to overmix.  Scrape in the rhubarb, along with any juices, and gently fold into the batter.
6. Oil a loaf pan, and scrape the batter into the pan.  If desired, sprinkle with slivered almonds.
7. Place the loaf pan on a baking sheet, and baking at 350 degrees for about 70 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.