I’ve been making this rhubarb upside-down cake for special events. A rosy take on the pineapple upside down cake of my youth, this cake features the tart flavor of rhubarb, caramelized with sugar and butter.
When the cake is finished and cooled, turn it upside down on a platter to display the impressive rose design. You’ll want to serve this beauty to everyone you know!
I’m all about rhubarb these days. I can’t get enough of it. Now’s the time to make this cake. If you don’t grow your own rhubarb, you can find it at your local produce market and farmer’s markets.
Tips
- This cake tastes best the day you make it. It dries out a bit after the first day. I recommend making it the day that you want to serve it. If you have leftovers on another day, serve the slices with a scoop of ice cream or whipped cream for a little extra moisture.
- The instructions to make the cake batter describe using a stand mixer, but you can use a hand mixer.
Ingredients
You need the following ingredients to make this rhubarb upside-down cake.
For the topping you need:
- 1 pound rhubarb, sliced about ¼” thick on a sharp diagonal (see one of the photos below to get an idea of how to cut it)
- 1 cup of sugar (divided in half)
- 4 tablespoons butter at room temperature (use salted or unsalted; I used salted and liked the salt-sugar combination in the topping)
For the cake you need:
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 8 tablespoons butter at room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- zest of 1 orange
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup sour cream
Directions
About 15 minutes before making the cake, put the sliced rhubarb and 1/2 cup of sugar in a bowl. Toss the rhubarb to mix it with the sugar and set it aside for a while. Toss it from time to time. This process will pull some of the liquid from the rhubarb, so that the cake topping isn’t too wet.
Make the Rhubarb Topping
Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch round cake pan. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. Spread the softened 4 tablespoons of butter evenly over the top of the parchment paper. Sprinkle half of the remaining sugar (about 1/4 cup) over the butter.
Arrange the rhubarb slices in the pan in tight concentric circles, overlapping each slice and working from the outside in. As you overlap the slices, expose as much of the red as possible. The first circles will look something like this.
Continue placing the rhubarb until the bottom of the pan is covered.
Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar over the rhubarb. Set aside the pan while you make the cake batter.
Make the Cake
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl and set aside.
Put 1 cup of sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer with the zest from the orange. Stir the zest into the sugar with a fork, pressing the zest into the sugar with the back of the fork (to merge the orange fragrance into the sugar).
Add 8 tablespoons of butter to the bowl and beat for 10 minutes on medium speed (until the butter and sugar are well blended), scraping the bowl occasionally.
Add the eggs to the mixture one at a time and blend. Add the vanilla and blend.
Stir half of the dry ingredients into the sugar and egg mix until just combined. Stir in half of the sour cream. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Repeat the process with the remaining dry ingredients and sour cream.
Carefully add the batter to the pan on top of the rhubarb. The batter will be thick, so place large spoonfuls of the batter evenly over the fruit in the pan and then gently spread the batter to even it out. Lightly tap the cake pan on the counter to settle the batter.
Bake the cake for about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Remove the cake from the oven and put it on a cooling rack. Let the cake cool in the pan for about 15 minutes.
Put the serving plate on top of the pan. Holding the plate and the pan with both hands, carefully flip them over, so that the pan is on top of the platter. Lift the pan off of the cake.
The parchment paper should remain in the pan, but if it is on top of the cake, gently remove it from the rhubarb topping. If any rhubarb sticks to the paper, place it back on the cake. (The first time I made the cake, one piece of rhubarb stuck; the second time it was perfect.)
Serve this rhubarb upside down cake warm or cooled.
Related Posts
If you like rhubarb, you might be interested in these recipes: