Rhubarb Cake Recipe – Rachel Cooks®

Rhubarb, Adore it or hate it

Are you a rhubarb lover or a rhubarb hater? Rhubarb is a kind of issues that folks have robust emotions about. Personally, I can’t get sufficient rhubarb when it’s in season. Whether or not it’s rhubarb sauce, rhubarb bars, strawberry rhubarb crisp, or this rhubarb cake, I’m at all times going to take a second serving to!

Whereas rhubarb appears a little bit bit like celery with a reddish tinge, the flavour is mouthpuckeringly (is {that a} phrase?!) tart. That’s why you’ll virtually at all times discover it in desserts or accompanied by a number of sugar—it must be tamed a bit!

Fairly than the tartness, I believe the factor about rhubarb that’s so polarizing could also be its texture. Earlier than cooking, rhubarb stalks have the identical stringiness as celery stalks. Nonetheless, when cooked or baked, rhubarb will get meltingly tender.

The Finest Rhubarb Cake

Excellent steadiness of candy and tart flavors. Some rhubarb recipes fully drown out the tartness with sugar, however I discover this rhubarb cake has simply the appropriate steadiness.  I like the tart chew of rhubarb all through. It’s a deal with!

Moist, tender crumb. This cake has a young crumb and streusel topping, giving it espresso cake vibes. Rhubarb releases moisture whereas baking, protecting the cake supremely tender and moist. The batter is made with butter, egg, and milk, making certain that the cake might be wealthy and scrumptious.

Irresistible streusel topping. The buttery cinnamon-sugar streusel on high provides a improbable crunch and comfy taste to each chew. After all, you possibly can skip the streusel topping however wouldn’t you agree that streusel makes all the things higher? (You’ll want to attempt my pumpkin streusel bread and cinnamon streusel espresso cake, too.)

A Couple Ingredient Notes

• Contemporary rhubarb: Search for contemporary rhubarb stalks within the spring. Chances are you’ll realize it as pie plant. I don’t like utilizing store-bought frozen rhubarb for baking; I’ve examined it extensively and it by no means works out nicely. However in case you freeze your personal rhubarb, that may work, and I examined it right here. I thawed it barely within the fridge, however truly, you possibly can most likely get away with not thawing it, and simply including a number of further minutes to the baking time.
• All-purpose flour: It’s vital to measure the flour accurately. Frivolously spoon it into the measuring cup to maintain from compacting the flour.

The right way to Make Rhubarb Cake

Put together. Preheat your oven to 375°F and coat an 8 x 8 inch baking pan with cooking spray. (I additionally examined a 9 x 9 inch pan, which works nicely too.)

Make the streusel. Use a pastry cutter or fork (or your fingers!) to work collectively the streusel components in a bowl. It’s vital to make the streusel earlier than you combine the batter. As soon as the baking powder is mixed with the milk, it begins the rising course of. When you wait too lengthy to place the cake within the oven (when you make streusel), the chemical response can have already taken place and your cake might not rise correctly.

Toss the rhubarb with flour. Place the rhubarb in a bowl. Add 1 ½ cups of flour to a different bowl and take away 2 tablespoons. Toss the rhubarb with these 2 tablespoons of flour. Tossing the sliced rhubarb with flour helps to maintain it from sinking to the underside of the cake.

Combine the dry components. Whisk the baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg into the bowl with the flour.

Cream the butter and sugar. In one other bowl, beat the softened butter and sugar utilizing a hand mixer. As soon as it’s creamy, fluffy, and easy, beat within the egg and vanilla.

End the batter. Combine half of the dry components into the moist components. Add ¼ cup of milk, adopted by the remaining half of the flour combination, after which the remaining ¼ cup of milk. Fold within the rhubarb.

Assemble. Unfold the batter evenly into the pan and sprinkle the streusel excessive.

Bake. Place the pan on a middle rack within the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or till a toothpick inserted within the middle comes out largely clear.

Cool and serve. Let the cake cool on a wire rack. The cake will be served heat or at room temperature. Add our non-compulsory glaze if you would like!

Recipe Variations

Add a glaze. When you’d like, you may make a easy glaze with powdered sugar and milk to drizzle excessive of the cake (as pictured).

Make it gluten-free. Use a measure-for-measure gluten-free flour mix rather than all-purpose flour for a gluten-free rhubarb cake.

Swap up the fruit. If rhubarb isn’t in season, be at liberty to substitute different fruits like blueberries, apples, or plums, and so forth. Simply preserve the general proportions the identical. You may as well mix the rhubarb with one other fruit. Strawberries and raspberries each pair nicely with rhubarb!

Room temperature: As soon as it has cooled fully, cowl the cake and retailer it at room temperature for as much as 3 days.

Fridge: The cake will last as long as 5 days when saved within the fridge. Word that regardless that the storage life is longer within the fridge, the rhubarb cake tends to dry out extra when refrigerated. 

Freezer: Wrap particular person slices or the entire cake tightly in plastic wrap after which foil earlier than freezing for as much as 3 months. Thaw within the fridge in a single day earlier than serving.

• Preheat oven to 375°F. Frivolously spray an 8 x 8 inch baking pan with cooking spray. (A 9 x 9 inch pan works positive, too.)

• Make the streusel. In a small bowl, combine collectively ½ cup sugar, ⅓ cup all objective flour, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ cup softened butter till nicely blended. Use a pastry cutter, a fork, or your fingers. Put aside.

  ½ cup sugar, ⅓ cup all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ cup butter, softened

• Put the sliced rhubarb in a small bowl. In one other medium-sized bowl, measure out 1 ½ cups flour. Take away 2 tablespoons of the flour and blend it with the rhubarb till the rhubarb is coated with flour. Set the rhubarb apart.

  2 cups sliced contemporary rhubarb, ¼ inch slices, 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

• Whisk the baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg into the bowl with the flour; put aside.

  2 teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon floor cinnamon, ⅛ teaspoon floor nutmeg

• In one other medium bowl, cream ¼ cup butter and ¾ cup sugar, utilizing a hand mixer, till blended, fluffy, and easy. Beat in egg and vanilla extract.

  ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened, ¾ cup granulated sugar, 1 massive egg, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• Add in half of the dry components, mixing to mix. Add ¼ cup of milk, mixing to mix. Repeat with remaining half of flour combination and remaining ¼ cup of milk.

  ½ cup milk

• Fold the rhubarb into the batter.

• Unfold the batter evenly within the ready pan. Sprinkle streusel evenly over cake batter earlier than baking.

• Bake 30 to 35 minutes or till a toothpick inserted within the middle comes out clear or with a number of crumbs clinging. Cool on a wire rack.

• Reduce into squares when able to serve. Cake will be served heat or at room temperature.

• About rhubarb: When testing this recipe, we discovered that contemporary rhubarb labored the perfect. Commercially frozen rhubarb doesn’t soften correctly. When you freeze your personal rhubarb within the spring, that works positive. There’s no must thaw it first, merely add a few minutes to the baking time.
• Variations: Different fruits will be substituted for the rhubarb. Strive blueberries, apples, apricots, plums, or nectarines. If the fruit is massive, chop or slice it into smaller items; you’ll want 2 cups.
• Optionally available icing drizzle (as pictured): In a small bowl, mix 1 cup powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon milk. Modify consistency if obligatory by including extra powdered sugar or milk. Drizzle over baked cake.
• Recipe retested and revised 3/2025. Beforehand revealed as Rhubarb and Nutmeg Layer Cake.

Serving: 1sq., Energy: 313kcal, Carbohydrates: 50g, Protein: 4g, Fats: 11g, Saturated Fats: 7g, Polyunsaturated Fats: 1g, Monounsaturated Fats: 3g, Trans Fats: 0.4g, Ldl cholesterol: 49mg, Sodium: 281mg, Potassium: 137mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 29g, Vitamin A: 387IU, Vitamin C: 2mg, Calcium: 104mg, Iron: 1mg

Diet info is robotically calculated, so ought to solely be used as an approximation.

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