This EASY RHUBARB CAKE is SO moist and delicious! Serve it cold as a snacking cake, or warm with ice cream or whipped cream. It’s a perfect go-to dessert for family gatherings or decadent mid-morning treat with a cup of coffee!
I do love rhubarb season, but it’s short so I try to make most of my favourite rhubarb recipes while it’s here.
This old-fashioned rhubarb cake is my favourite rhubarb recipe ever. Along with my buttermilk-rhubarb muffins, it’s one of the first things I make it every year as soon as the rhubarb is ripe.
Several years ago, a good friend of mine was transplanting her grandmother’s rhubarb patch, and she gave me a chunk of the root for my garden. I popped it into the ground beside our tool-shed, and every year, it yields a bigger crop than the year before. Then, last year, when it was on its way to producing a decent harvest, someone ran over it with the lawnmower. I’m still not sure who that was. No-one here is owning up to it..
THIS year, after a very warm and sunny spring, my rhubarb patch has finally flourished! HOORAY!
It’s bursting with ruby-red stalks of fruit, topped with gigantic green leaves, and it’s been just begging to be harvested.
The other day, I pulled a bunch of it, and made a couple of my all-time favourite rhubarb recipes; one of them being this simple, from-scratch rhubarb cake that’s been in our family for years.
How to Make This Easy Rhubarb Cake
Ingredients:
(printable recipe at bottom of post)
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 and 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup softened butter
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup milk
- 2 and 1/2 cups chopped, fresh rhubarb (3 large stalks or 5-6 med stalks)
Topping:
- 1/3 cup white sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
To Make Your Cake:
Sift flour, baking soda, salt into a small bowl and set aside.
In a larger bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar until well-blended. I do this by hand with a wooden spoon.
Add egg and continue to beat, by hand, until well-mixed.
Stir in vanilla.
Now, ALTERNATE between adding the 1 cup of milk and the flour/baking soda/salt mixture that you had set aside: Add about a 1/4 of the milk and stir well. Then add about 1/4 of the flour mixture, and stir well.
Continue until all is added to the batter.
Stir in chopped rhubarb.
Spoon into a sprayed (or greased and floured) 9 x 13 baking dish or cake pan.
Adding the cinnamon-sugar topping:
Mix the white sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and mix well. Sprinkle over the batter until cake is entirely covered.
Shake the pan from side to side to evenly distribute the sugar if necessary.
Bake at 350º F for 40 minutes (or until knife comes out clean).
Remove from oven and allow to cool a little before serving.
Serve your rhubarb cake warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or top with real whipped cream. Alternatively, you could top it with fresh fruit and berries.
I hope you enjoy this simple summertime cake as much as we do! The tart, tangy rhubarb combined with the sweet, sugary topping is simply amazing.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Yes! Just thaw and drain your rhubarb before adding it to the batter.
How many people does this rhubarb cake serve?
It’s a super dessert for family, but large enough to serve when you have company for dinner. You’ll get 12 good sized-pieces out of your 9×13 pan.
How to store this cake:
To store leftover cake, simply cover baking dish with plastic wrap and keep at room temperature.
Want to grow your own rhubarb at home or at school with your students? Check out Megan Zeni’s guide for growing, caring for and harvesting rhubarb with kids.
Easy Rhubarb Cake – a Delicious Summertime Treat
This easy Rhubarb cake is moist and delicious every time. Tart, garden-fresh rhubarb and a sweet sugary topping make this cake perfection. Great served cold as a snacking cake, or warm from the oven with a scoop of ice cream.
Servings: 12 pieces
Calories: 406kcal
Ingredients
- 2 cups All-Purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1.25 cups brown sugar
- 1/2 cup softened butter
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup milk
- 2.5 cups chopped approx 3 large stalks or 6 small-med stalks, fresh rhubarb
- TOPPING: 1/3 cup white sugar mixed well with 1 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
-
In small bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
-
In larger bowl, by hand, cream together brown sugar and butter.
-
Add egg and continue to beat by hand until well-blended.
-
Stir in vanilla.
-
Now, ALTERNATE between adding the 1 cup of milk and the flour mixture that you’d set aside.
-
Add about a 1/4 of the milk and stir well. Then add about 1/4 of the flour mixture, and stir well.
-
Continue until all is added to the batter.
-
Stir in the chopped rhubarb.
-
Spoon into sprayed (or greased and floured) 9 x 13 baking dish or cake pan.
-
Sprinkle with white sugar/cinnamon topping.
-
Bake 40 minutes at 350º F. (or until knife comes out clean)
-
Shake pan from side to side to evenly distribute sugar topping if necessary.
-
Serve warm with a scoop of ice cream or whipped cream.
Nutrition
Calories: 406kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 36mg | Sodium: 241mg | Potassium: 177mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 300IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 65mg | Iron: 1.8mg
More of our best cake recipes:
More of our best summer recipes:
Follow Happy Hooligans on Facebook
Jackie is a mom, wife, home daycare provider, and the creative spirit behind Happy Hooligans. She specializes in kids’ crafts and activities, easy recipes, and parenting. She began blogging in 2011, and today, Happy Hooligans inspires more than 2 million parents, caregivers and Early Years Professionals all over the globe.
