Rhubarb Upside Down Cake is a combination of sour rhubarb and sweet cake that gives this dessert recipe an explosion of flavors on the tongue. It is delicious served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of homemade whipped cream.
Rhubarb is one of my favorite spring fruits to cook with as you can note by the amount of rhubarb recipes I have here on my website!
This particular upside down cake was inspired by love of upside down cakes and I wanted to add another one to my growing list. You may also like this blackberry upside down cake, pineapple upside down cake, and cranberry upside down cake!
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Why You'll Love Rhubarb Upside Down Cake
Versatile: while it's touted as a dessert, this upside down cake is perfect for brunch, or enjoy it with an afternoon tea.
Seasonal dessert: a great treat to make when it's rhubarb season!
Sweet & tangy: a sweet and tangy take on the classic pineapple upside down cake with fluffy cake and a generous amount of rhubarb topping.
Ingredients
This upside down cake recipe is made with two steps and two sets of ingredients (topping and cake). See below for ingredients needed.
- Fresh rhubarb
- Granulated sugar
- All purpose flour
- Ground nutmeg
- Butter
- Large eggs
- Baking powder
- Ground nutmeg
- 2% milk
- Vanilla extract
See recipe card for quantities.
How To Make Rhubarb Upside Down Cake
It takes just a few simple steps to make this delicious dessert!
- Step 1: Add diced rhubarb, flour, nutmeg, salt, and sugar to cast iron skillet.
- Step 2: Toss ingredients until rhubarb is coated with flour and sugar mixture.
- Step 3: in a large bowl cake ingredients until smooth.
- Step 4: pour cake batter over top of rhubarb mixture.
- Step 5: spread cake batter over top of rhubarb mixture.
- Step 6: Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place diced rhubarb, sugar, nutmeg, flour, and butter in a 9" cast iron skillet.
- Toss rhubarb mixture to coat completely.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and nutmeg. Add egg, milk, and vanilla extract, whisking until batter is smooth.
- Pour cake batter over top of rhubarb mixture.
- Spread cake batter to cover rhubarb mixture to cover rhubarb completely.
- Bake for 30 minutes, until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean.
Hint: use a butter knife to run around the edge of the skillet before inverting pan to prevent any of the cake from sticking to edges of the pan.
Substitutions
- Sweetener - make this cake sugar free by substituting an all natural sweetener for the sugar.
- Flavor swap - use almond or strawberry extract in place of vanilla extract.
- Frozen rhubarb: you can substitute frozen rhubarb for fresh, do not thaw rhubarb before use.
Variations
Giving the visitor ideas on how they can change this recipe to better suit their dinner guests, or their cultural cuisine, is a great way to increase the chances they make the recipe.
- Strawberry Rhubarb Upside Down Cake: substitute ½ of the diced rhubarb with sliced fresh strawberries.
- Add texture - sprinkle the cake batter with slivered almonds before baking for added texture and flavor.
- Caramel flavor - substitute brown sugar for the white sugar for a deep caramel flavor.
Equipment
I highly recommend using a cast iron skillet to make this rhubarb upside down cake. It holds heat evenly and the rhubarb topping does not stick to the bottom of the pan.
You will also need the following:
- Mixing bowls
- Rubber scraper
- Electric mixer
- Large cake plate
Storage
Store leftover upside down cake in an airtight container in the fridge up to 4 days or in the freezer up to 2 months.
Top tip
For best results, if substituting frozen rhubarb, be sure that you do not thaw it first. Any water in the frozen rhubarb will evaporate as it cooks.
Related Recipes
Looking for other rhubarb recipes like this? Try these:
Pairing
Serve this Rhubarb Upside Down Cake with a dollop of whipped cream or a schoop of this Homemade Vanilla Bean Ice Cream!
When you make this recipe, please comment below and let me know what you think. I'd love it if you tag me on Instagram @grumpyshoneybunch or #grumpyshoneybunch so I can see your photos!
If you love this recipe, please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating
📖 Recipe
Rhubarb Upside Down Cake
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Ingredients
For the Rhubarb mixture:
- 3 cups diced fresh rhubarb
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons flour
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ cup butter melted
For the Cake batter:
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1½ cup flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅖ cup 2% milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place diced rhubarb, sugar, nutmeg, flour, and butter in a 9" cast iron skillet.
- Toss rhubarb mixture to coat completely.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and nutmeg.
- In large bowl, whisk together egg, milk, and vanilla extract. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until batter is smooth.
- Pour cake batter over top of rhubarb mixture. Spread cake batter to cover rhubarb mixture to cover rhubarb completely.
- Bake for 30 minutes, until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean.
- Cool cake for 15 minutes. Invert cake onto a cake plate. Serve warm or cold.
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