Remarkable Rhubarb Cake – an Old Fashioned, Simple Delight
Remarkable rhubarb cake may seem a bit of a lofty claim, but this bake is so easy to make and tastes so good that I made it twice in quick succession. It’s a great way to use rhubarb, which is in season right now and it’s delightful both eaten warm as a pudding or enjoyed for afternoon tea.
I may have called this rhubarb cake old fashioned but in truth I just made it up. It’s old fashioned in the sense of method and a reduced fat and sugar content. Modern cake recipes seem to have so much more sugar than they did when I was growing up – the nation’s sweet tooth has become even sweeter. My recipe uses only a few ingredients too: flour, butter, sugar, eggs and rhubarb. I chose wholemeal spelt flour mixed with plain flour which makes for a lighter bake than using 100% wholemeal.
I have to confess I’ve made many rhubarb cakes in my time and all of them are good. This rhubarb cake, simple as it is however, is destined to become a firm favourite. It’s quick to make, rises really well and is light, juicy and delicious. The tartness of the rhubarb dances on the tongue. The cake has a slightly crunchy top enhanced by sprinkling a little sugar over it before baking.
I scattered a little homemade rose sugar over the second version I made, which gave the cake a subtle rosy flavour and an added air of sophistication. We found that a dollop of whipped cream made a fine accompaniment.
- 100 g wholemeal spelt flour
- 100 g plain unbleached flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 110 g golden caster sugar I used cardamom sugar + 1 tsp
- 100 g unsalted butter
- 200 g rhubarb - washed and trimmed
- 2 eggs
- In a large bowl, rub the fat into the flour, baking powder and sugar with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
- Chop the rhubarb into small pieces and stir into the cake mixture.
- Make a well in the centre and add the eggs. Stir together with a flat bladed knife until it all comes together.
- Tip into a 20cm (8") silicone round cake mould or lined tin and level with the back of a spoon. Sprinkle the remaining tsp of sugar over the top.
- Bake at 180℃ for about 35 minutes until the cake is well risen and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- Leave to cool for about ten minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
A dollop of clotted or whipped cream makes a very nice addition.
Sprinkling the sugar over the top before baking will give additional crunch to the top. Alternatively, omit this and sprinkle on a flavoured sugar after baking. I've used rose sugar to great effect.
This old fashioned rhubarb cake goes off to Katie at Feeding Boys for Simple and in Season
Other recipes for rhubarb cake you might like to try
- Matcha, chocolate and rhubarb cake via Tin and Thyme
- Peach and rhubarb upside down cake via Farmersgirl Kitchen
- Rhubarb bundt cake via Tin and Thyme
- Rhubarb custard cake via Tinned Tomatoes
- Rhubarb custard sandwich cake via Jo’s Kitchen
- Rhubarb fairy cakes with edible flowers via Tin and Thyme
- Rhubarb friands via Tin and Thyme
- Rhubarb & ginger cake via Fab Food 4 All
- Rhubarb and orange chocolate cake via Tin and Thyme
- Rhubarb and rose honey cakes via Tin and Thyme
- Rhubarb and rose polenta cake via Tin and Thyme
- Rhubarb upside down cake via Utterly Scrummy Food for Families
- Rhubarb vanilla buttermilk cake via Baking Queen 74
- Rhubarb and white chocolate muffins via Tin and Thyme
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Remarkable Rhubarb Cake. PIN IT.
Angie@Angie's Recipes
6th June 2016 at 10:51 amI prefer cakes without frosting…don’t get me wrong, buttercream frosting is always sexy and beautiful to stare at, but not sure that’s for me to eat…so this is my kind of cake…a real cake and treat!
Choclette
6th June 2016 at 5:26 pmI know what you mean Angie. A good cake really needs no other adornment. Having said that, I quite like some of my own frostings, but I generally fine if I buy cake when I’m out, the buttercreams etc are way too sweet and sugary.
Henk Kooiman
6th June 2016 at 10:56 amThanks for the reminder: it definitely is rhubarb-time and I need to find some and bake something(s) with it ! As usual I make the Nigella-Domestic-Goddess-recipe, which is very nice (add 2 tbsps of crystallized ginger and it will taste even better !!), but in your list of ‘other recipes’ in this post, I see some very interesting suggestions too ! I’ll let you know.
Choclette
6th June 2016 at 5:23 pmYes, I’ve made Nigella’s recipe a few times and your ginger addition sounds like a must. I used to make a fabulous rhubarb and ginger cake, but I’ve never blogged it and haven’t made it for years. it was the sort of cake everyone wanted the recipe when they tried it. Mind you this one, simple as it is, is pretty special.
Henk Kooiman
7th June 2016 at 6:38 pmOK, I ‘get the message’ Choclette. I’ll make this recipe too then :)) Today I went to visit my neighbour and when I asked if he could spare some rhubarb, he told me to take as much as I needed. He’ll get some of it back in the form of a cake of muffins of course. And yesterday I visited the good-looking goosekeeper in the next village and I got the last 8 eggs of the season for the price of 4 ! I promised him a piece of cake too.
Choclette
7th June 2016 at 9:14 pmHahaha Henk, you’d better get baking then 🙂
Henk Kooiman
8th June 2016 at 10:50 amAnd so I did, yes ! Just brought a piece of cake and some muffins (the ones with rhubarb and white chocolate) to my neighbours. It’s a very nice cake and an easy one to make. This time I didn’t change much. Instead of cardemom I used a bit of ginger, that’s all. I love the little crunch on top. Just simple elegance; everybody should try it.
I’m feeling all rhubarby right now. The whole house is smelling of rhubarb, as I’m cooking (Icelandic style) jam. Delicious !
Choclette
8th June 2016 at 3:38 pmOh phew, glad they passed the Henk test, although I’m quite astonished not much got changed 😉
Now, you’ve got me wondering what Icelandic style jam is?
Janice
6th June 2016 at 12:48 pmI love your cake, it does remind me of those everyday cakes we ate as children, I’ll definitely be trying your recipe.
Choclette
6th June 2016 at 5:20 pmBut what’s so remarkable is that such an everyday cake can be so delicious. I sort of get carried away with adding lots of unusual ingredients and trying out different methods, but this is as good as anything I’ve made.
Brandie
6th June 2016 at 7:15 pmThat cake looks perfect for an afternoon snack or a grab and go breakfast. This would be easy to make vegan. Now I’m wanting cake 🙂 thanks for sharing!
Choclette
6th June 2016 at 7:43 pmThanks Brandie – it’s definitely perfect for an afternoon treat 🙂
sharon catterall
6th June 2016 at 8:37 pmit looks yummy,im going to try and make it at the weekend
Choclette
7th June 2016 at 9:08 amIt’s my absolute current favourite and if I had more rhubarb, I would be making it again this weekend too. Would be great to hear how you get on with it.
Kari
6th June 2016 at 10:09 pmIn my book, you can’t go wrong with rhubarb. Though it may be old-fashioned, I’ve never tried rhubarb in a cake recipe – looks delish!
Choclette
7th June 2016 at 9:04 amOh, you’re missing a treat Kari, rhubarb cakes are some of the best out there and this one is particularly good 😉
Katie Bryson
7th June 2016 at 12:51 pmWhat a glorious bake! I just love old fashioned cakes like this – rhubarb is one of life’s pleasures and I can just imagine how wonderful this tastes with its crisp topping and soft interior. We’d be having it with lashings of cold custard… Thanks for sharing it for Simple and in Season!
Choclette
7th June 2016 at 9:07 pmThanks very much Katie. Hmmm, first thoughts are “not sure about the cold custard”, but on reflection I don’t know why I feel like that. Cream is cold after all.
Angela / Only Crumbs Remain
7th June 2016 at 1:18 pmI love the sound of this, simple understated but still up there with the best of them. I love rhubarb but for some reason have never tried it in a cake but can imagine it making a lovely flavoursome moist bake. Will defo try your recipe choclette, pinning,
Angela x
Choclette
7th June 2016 at 9:11 pmThanks Angela. Sometimes it’s really nice to get back to basics. Do try a rhubarb cake, they are one of the best; its the tart contrast to the sweetness which is so good. Obviously I’d recommend this one as a starter though 😉
Kate @ Veggie Desserts
7th June 2016 at 2:11 pmWhat a lovely cake to make use of the season’s rhubarb! And I bet that spelt flour gives it such a wonderful extra flavour and texture. Yum!
Choclette
7th June 2016 at 9:13 pmI love spelt flour. I’ve been baking with it for at least 20 years. I haven’t yet tried some of the other old fashioned wheat varieties though and really should.
Lucy
7th June 2016 at 8:01 pmWhat a glorious cake, rhubarb is one of my favourite flavours and always reminds me of childhood and my parents growing it on the allotment. I love a simple cake which always goes down well with the family and this is the perfect contender!
Choclette
7th June 2016 at 9:16 pmThanks Lucy. It would be interesting to see how it came out in your slow cooker. I think it would be a different cake, but equally delicious I’m sure. I used to hate rhubarb when I was little and always pulled faces when presented with it in the form of a crumble. I wasn’t allowed to be fussy though, so I had to eat it and lump it! Now of course, I love it.
Lucy
7th June 2016 at 8:02 pmP.s. Thanks for linking to my cake as well, you have so many rhubarb recipes!
Choclette
7th June 2016 at 9:17 pmI have many more rhubarb recipes than these ones Lucy, these are just the cakes 😉
Aimee
8th June 2016 at 2:17 pmRhubarb cake is one of my all time favourites and this looks spot on!
Choclette
8th June 2016 at 3:43 pmRhubarb has such a good flavour and the tartness works really well in cakes.
Henk Kooiman
8th June 2016 at 4:26 pmTonight I’ll probably make two more of these cakes. My mum will love it, I’m sure. This time I intend to alter a few things: replace some of the flour with ground almonds and replace some of the butter with goat’s yoghurt. Just to see what happens. Maybe I’ll even try to make a glutenfree version as well, using a combination of corn flour/ground almonds and rice flour.
I
Choclette
9th June 2016 at 10:03 amHahaha and why not Henk? It wouldn’t be you if you didn’t try a few different versions.
Camilla
9th June 2016 at 9:25 amThere can’t be too many rhubarb cakes in the world as I just love them, yours looks and sounds fabulous:-) Thank you for linking to mine:-)
Choclette
9th June 2016 at 10:04 amI’m with you on that one Camilla – bring on those rhubarb cakes 🙂
Claire Jessiman
9th June 2016 at 9:06 pmYUM! I can’t get enough of rhubarb at this time of year. Particularly like the idea of the crunchy topping.
Choclette
11th June 2016 at 9:39 amIt’s such an old fashioned vegetable, but it seems to be making a comeback, which is ace.
Beverley
13th June 2016 at 4:42 pmIf you were to make 2 rhubarb cakes to save on fuel, would it be OK to freeze one of them?
Choclette
13th June 2016 at 5:09 pmHi Beverley. I’ve not tried freezing this, but it’s the sort of cake I think would freeze very well.
Beverley
14th June 2016 at 10:39 amThanks, I will try it and freeze one for later.
Choclette
25th April 2017 at 8:53 pmDid it work Beverley?
Kate - gluten free alchemist
20th June 2016 at 10:05 pmWhat a delicious cake. Sounds totally divine. I especially love the pretty pink bits showing through and the idea of a crisp top!
Choclette
22nd June 2016 at 9:44 amThanks Kate. It’s a fabulous cake and as I’ve just been given some more rhubarb I can see another one coming along very soon 🙂
Henk Kooiman
22nd June 2016 at 3:50 pmJust baked another 3 of these cakes (everybody loved the previous editons !, so I’m making some more as they are easy bakes and make nice presents). Rhubarb season is nearly finished, but my neighbour gave me a large bunch yesterday. This time I used 20 % oat flour, some cinnamon and 2 tbsps of candied ginger. I also substitued 25 % of the butter with yogurt.
They are on the cooling rack now …. and looking good.
Choclette
25th June 2016 at 9:38 amSo glad the recipes proved a hit with your friends and family. As usual, your alterations sound like good ones. I’m off to friends for tea today and will be making one. I think I might add rose again, though I quite like the idea of your ginger – hmmm!
Fiona Maclean
7th May 2017 at 12:52 pmI really like the sound of this – I am not a fan of very sweet cakes and I think the rhubarb would work so well!
Choclette
7th May 2017 at 4:06 pmI’ve made many rhubarb cakes and this is the best one ever – plain but delicious.
Mark
13th May 2017 at 3:21 pmI’ve just pulled my rhubarb washed and cut it, made this cake. Just brought it out of the oven, it smells amazing. Looking forward to a large slice with some Greek yogurt on the side. Thanks for the recipe.
Choclette
22nd May 2017 at 3:00 pmI hope it was as good as you were expecting Mark. I haven’t made one this year, but I really think I should. It’s my favourite rhubarb cake and I’ve made a lot of them.
Sarah
4th June 2018 at 5:34 pmJust made the cake and wolfed down two pieces. I added half a tsp of ginger and mixed spice then laughed when I saw the comments about the other tweaking that went on. Anyway it’s delicious so thank you for the recipe. I’m off work with a chest infection and feeling miserable so thanks for cheering me up with great cake.
Choclette
5th June 2018 at 2:05 pmSorry to hear you’re feeling miserable and I hope you are well on the mend now. Thanks so much for getting back to me and letting me know you liked the cake. Tweaking recipes is part of the course. Ginger sounds like a particularly good addition.