Looking for an easy way to use up fresh rhubarb? I got you! My easy rhubarb cake has a fluffy, tender butter cake base, and is topped with chopped rhubarb. This throw together cake is perfect for an easy make ahead dessert, or any time you need a slice of delicious cake! It stays moist for days.
Hi hi! I am just popping in to share my super easy rhubarb cake recipe with you! This recipe is yet another twist on my very favorite butter cake recipe - this time with chopped rhubarb on the top!
There isn't loads to say about this recipe except that I think you're going to love it if you love rhubarb. I love to bake with rhubarb and always have, and this cake is not only really easy to put together, but it really lets the flavour of the rhubarb shine through. There aren't any extra tricky steps here - you just chop the rhubarb and pop it on top of the cake!
My Peach Cake uses the same base and is amazing made with either fresh or canned fruit if you're after instructions on a different variation!
Choose your shape - square or round?
I used a round pan for making my rhubarb cake - there is a sneaky trick where if the recipe is made in a square pan, if you add an inch to the size, that gives you the round pan equivalent. So for this rhubarb cake, I make my butter cake in a 9" square pan, so I used a 10" round pan. If you've got a 9" square that will work great too and you do not need to change the bake time.
I like to line my round pan with two pieces of parchment paper underneath the circle of parchment paper that I use in the pan, which gives me a 'sling' which makes the cake really easy to remove once it is baked.
Adjusting a recipe to account for a topping
I often mix and match my recipes - particularly with my butter cake recipe. When you add something on the top of a cake, in this case rhubarb, or maybe a streusel topping (both would be amaaaazing), you will need to increase the bake time slightly. The topping not only weighs down the cake a little, but it provides some extra moisture, which can extend the bake time.
When you test for doneness try and insert your skewer into a piece that doesn't have any rhubarb on it so that you can get an accurate test of how baked your cake is. You are looking for the skewer to come out clean with only a few moist crumbs attached. Remember that different ovens bake differently and sometimes even at different temperatures (which is why I always advise to use an oven thermometer), so you are best to go off visual cues than just the bake time.
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Answers to your baking questions
Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:
- baking in grams
- adjusting oven temperatures
- what kind of salt to use
- and many more!
I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!
My Favorite Rhubarb Cake
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
Looking for an easy way to use up fresh rhubarb? I got you! My easy rhubarb cake has a fluffy, tender butter cake base, and is topped with chopped rhubarb. This throw together cake is perfect for an easy make ahead dessert, or any time you need a slice of delicious cake! It stays moist for days.
Ingredients
Rhubarb Topping
- 400g fresh rhubarb, chopped into 1cm pieces (cut in half lengthwise before slicing if you have chunky rhubarb stalks)
- 50g granulated sugar
Butter Cake
- 150g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 320g granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 2 large eggs (about 100g, not including the shell), at room temperature
- 165g sour cream, at room temperature
- 250g all-purpose flour
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp kosher salt (use less if you are using table salt or salted butter
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 330°f / 165°c. Grease the bottom and sides and line a 10" (25cm) round cake pan with a parchment paper circle. I like to add two strips of parchment paper underneath the round to form a little 'sling' to easily remove the cake later, and clip them down extending the parchment paper over the edges of the pan so that you can use them as a sling later to remove the cake. I like to clip down the edges with little binder clips. This can also be made in a 9" square pan - if I am using this I like to extend the paper over the edges and clip it down to make the cake easy to remove.
RHUBARB TOPPING
- Combine the chopped rhubarb and granulated sugar in a bowl and mix to combine. Leave to sit while you prepare the rest of the cake.
BUTTER CAKE
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl using an electric mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, and vanilla on medium to high speed until very light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing to combine between each, then beat the mix for a further 2-3 minutes on high speed until it has thickened up, and is very light.
- Measure out the sour cream into a small bowl. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Alternately add the flour mixture and the sour cream, starting and ending with the flour - add the flour in three additions and the sour cream in two, and briefly mix between additions. Switch to a spatula and give the mixture a few turns to ensure that it is evenly mixed.
- Transfer the mix to the prepared pan and smooth down with a spatula or the back of a spoon, making sure that there are no large air bubbles in the mixture.
- Top with the chopped rhubarb, leaving behind any liquid that has gathered in the bowl. Arrange over the top of the cake - I like to make a single layer if I can.
- Bake the rhubarb cake for about 60-70 minutes, checking after 55, until a skewer inserted into the cake (not a piece of rhubarb) in the middle comes out clean with a few moist crumbs attached.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan, then remove from the pan using the slings you made and transfer to a serving platter. Serve with a dusting of icing sugar, cream, ice cream, or greek yoghurt.
- Store leftovers lightly covered or in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Notes
I didn't have any when I made this cake, but if you wanted to, you could zest one orange into the sugar that you use for the cake and rub it in before continuing with the process to give some orange flavour to compliment the rhubarb.
Why is your rhubarb red and mine isn't?
Rhubarb comes in a bunch of different varieties - some are more green than others, and then there is the super pink forced rhubarb which is grown quickly in darkness to give it that beautiful colour. I grow mine in my garden and have a few different varieties but my favourite are the ones which are super red! If you see rhubarb that is is a bit more green, it will still work great, it will just look a bit different!