This one-bowl easy Rhubarb Cake is great for afternoon tea or breakfast.
Rhubarb has exploded from the ground and hit the markets, and the ruby red rhubarb from Melissa’s Produce is off the charts. With its flavor, perfect acidity and gorgeous color, I am sure it is a sign that this is going to be a great year!
The recipe that made this rhubarb sing is from Jackie Bruchez‘s new cookbook, Decadent Fruit Desserts: Fresh and Inspiring Treats to Excite Your Senses. It features 75 mouth-watering recipes each with a colorful and gorgeously presented photo.
The book is divided into six intriguing categories;
- Simply Dressed
- Fruits That Take the Cake
- Upping the Pie Game
- Forks Not Required
- Frozen Sweet Concoctions
- Retro-Modern Delights
Each recipe makes fruit the star, minimizes the amount of sugar and uses the whole fruit (following the current root-to-stem trend), to minimize waste and maximize nutritional output.
I met Jackie years ago at a food blogger conference when she brought “cupcakes in a jar” for all the participants, so I already knew she was an incredible baker because I fell in love with her indescribably delicious Coconut Lovers Cupcakes
Meeting her now, can I just say… this girl can bake! Her ideas are fantastic, her imagination over the top, and I am so happy to own her brand new cookbook Decadent Fruit Desserts.
I recently sampled six desserts at a Melissa’s Produce meet and greet dessert fest. Everyone was better than the one before it, and all I can say is thank heavens there were veggies and fruit to offset the sweets.
Here are a few we happily devoured.
Blackberry Custard Bars from the Forks Not Required section – Photo by Jackie Bruchez
These bars have delicately sweetened custard complimented by fresh blackberries and a rich buttery crust.
Strawberry-Rhubarb Eton Mess from the Simply Dressed section – Photo by Jackie Bruchez
This traditional English dessert gets an upgrade with the addition of rhubarb which compliments the crunchy meringue, and sweet whipped cream.
Jackie demonstrated how to make these easy and delicious fresh blueberry cookies.
Blueberry – White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies from the Forks Not Required Section
Photo by Jackie Bruchez
She also whipped up her super-light Meyer Lemon Chiffon Cake which, if you are a lemon lover, will become your favorite.
Meyer Lemon Chiffon Cake in the Fruits that take the Cake section Photo by Jackie Bruchez
Other recipes I can’t wait to try;
Rhubarb-Striped Mango Cake from the Fruits that take the Cake section
Photo by Jackie Bruchez
How about this very impressive cake? It will require a little more time, but what a showstopper for guests!
Jackie’s favorite recipe is her Island Sherbet.
Island Sherbet from the Frozen Sweet Concoctions section Photo by Jackie Bruchez
This sherbet is a combination of Pineapple-Kiwi, Guava-Strawberry & Passion Fruit-Mango Sherbets. This has to taste like a tropical vacation in a bowl.
Today’s Recipe – Quick Rhubarb Cake
Jackie serves this cake with a Crème Anglaise sauce which I have included in the recipe below.
What I love about this cake is that it isn’t too sweet and it really lets the rhubarb shine. If you must have really sweet things, add more sugar.
Simply mix, chop, pour, sprinkle and bake.
Quick. Easy. And oh so delicious!
Quick Rhubarb Cake with Crème Anglaise
This one-bowl Quick Rhubarb Cake tastes like spring and couldn't be easier to make.
Ingredients
CAKE
- 3 large eggs
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar (130 g), plus 2 tbsp (25 g) for on top of rhubarb
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter (45 ml) melted
- 2 tbsp milk or buttermilk (30 ml)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup all purpose flour (135 g) plus 2 tbsp
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 cups fresh rhubarb (240 g) diced
CREME ANGLAISE
- ½ cup milk (120 ml)
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream (120 ml)
- 3 large egg yolks
- 3 tbsp sugar (40 g)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350° F (177°(). Grease and flour an 8 or 9-inch (20 or 23-cm) cake pan.
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To make the cake, in a large bowl, beat the eggs and 2/3 cup (130 g) of the sugar until light, about 3 minutes. Beat in the melted butter, milk and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder and salt; mix it to combine. Pour the batter into the cake pan.
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Spread the diced rhubarb around the top of the batter and sprinkle it with 2 tablespoons (25 g) of sugar. Bake for 30 minutes or until a knife comes out clean.
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To make the creme anglaise, combine the milk and cream in a heavy-bottomed saucepan on medium-high heat; bring it to a simmer, then remove it from the heat.
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In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until it's pale. Temper the yolk mixture by gradually whisking small amounts at a time of the hot milk mixture into the yolk mixture.
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Return the custard to the saucepan. Stir it over low heat until the custard thickens and coats the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla. For a smooth finish, and to remove clumps, strain the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, if desired. Cover and chill it until ready to use.
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Drizzle the sauce over the rhubarb cake slices right before serving.
Recipe Notes
This rhubarb cake is a great recipe for people with allergies. It is extremely versatile, and gluten-free flour and nut or coconut milk can be substituted for the flour and milk.
Follow Jackie on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter as she is always up to something delicious and also has great recipes on her blog The Seaside Baker.
I am absolutely in love with Decadent Fruit Desserts and I’m sure you and your family and guests will love this book as well.
…and then, she paused for sweet thoughts.
Thank you for such a beautiful write up! This is one of my family’s most favorite dessert. I’m so glad you liked it!
Thank you Jackie for such a fabulous cookbook! I can’t wait to try more recipes.
Wow, looks so very good! Love the sweet and tart combo. Mmmmmmmmmm.
You will love everything about this recipe. It is light, quick & easy, and not overly sweet with just the right amount of tart.
For the rhubarb, we still have to wait. But my…this looks so GOOD!
Angie, check your local stores where they sell Melissa’s Produce. They told me it is in the stores until July.
I literally have this cake in the oven as I’m reading your post!! I used rhubarb that I froze last summer, but the Melissa’s Produce rhubarb looks amazing. I made it for an afternoon snack for the hubs today, but was also thinking it would make a lovely breakfast tomorrow too!
Hi Sue, I love this cake for breakfast. I love that you can use frozen rhubarb as well. Do check out the Melissa’s Produce rhubarb as it is the best I have had in many years.
https://www.melissas.com/Rhubarb-p/1218.htm
I’m really trying to be good… but this Rhubarb Cake pretty much throws that out the window!! It looks absolutely fantastic – I adore rhubarb and I cannot WAIT to make this! I’m with Sue, this would be fabulous for breakfast, or a snack. Oh, who am I kidding? I could eat this ANY time!!!
I do understand but the cake is worth making an exception!
Rhubarb is harder to find here in Florida than it was in New England where every market carried it in season. This cake is simple, letting the flavor of the tart rhubarb shine.
It is such a shame Rhubarb is so hard to find when so many people love it!
Her imagination with desserts is colorful and exciting. Great job on this cake too. GREG
So true Greg! Her recipes are so artistic as well as delicious.
Well now I’m excited to grab rhubarb at the Farmers Market this weekend. What a fun cake, and I love how easy it is. This book looks wonderful — her desserts are gorgeous! I have my eye on that striped rhubarb cake, too. Lovely!
I can’t wait to buy more rhubarb as well. The book is absolutely delightful.
O my goodness Cathy! Now that looks just totally amazing. i love rhubarb but it’s not been spotted here. Or at least not in my area. Can’t wait to get back to rhubarb cooking! And the book looks like a must have too!
Hope you can find rhubarb soon, it is an amazing crop this year here.
Beautiful cake. Too bad I don’t really eat dessert. You wouldn’t know it looking at me, but it’s all about cheese and everything savory! Nice you got your book signed.
Chef Mimi I am not much of a dessert person either, but what it nice about this recipe is it is sufficiently sour and slightly sweet.
Holy cow, all these rhubarb desserts are killing me! You know how much I adore RHUBARB! The cookbook looks marvelous as does your quick rhubarb cake! I actually made rhubarb mess in Australia (for my family) because the strawberries looked rather pathetic and I do believe I like it more than the original!
Thanks for sharing all these wonderful recipes, Cathy!
I thought of you Christina when I saw this gorgeous rhubarb! You will love this simple, perfectly tart recipe.
Tried it today. Needed another 15 min in the oven to bake through. So, cool the cake first then remove the cake from the pan? Remove when warm? No instructions given. Ended up scooping the cake out into bowls as the cooled cake didn’t release from the greased/floured cake pan. Still good though.
Maybe will use a springform pan next time for a prettier presentation.
I am sorry to hear you had some troubles. 15 minutes is quite a long time extra, have you had your oven temperature checked? Did you insert a knife in the middle and came out clean? That is the best way to tell if something is done if the time isn’t working for you. I made this in a normal cake pan, which you can probably see from the photo and didn’t have any trouble releasing the cake. I sure it was still warm because I just couldn’t wait to try it. Also you can run a knife along the edges before your remove the cake from the pan. The springform pan also sounds like a great idea. Good luck on the second pass! I do hope it works out for you as this is such a delicious recipe.
This is so easy and such a simple yet tasty cake. I skipped the glaze for ease and used almond milk whipped cream and this is . I can only imagine how the glaze makes it even better. Thanks for the recipe! I’m from Canada and live rhubarb. I had a few stalks left over and this was the perfect use for them. I’ll definitely make this again!
Thanks Renée! I am so happy you enjoyed it as much as I did. Check out the other rhubarb recipes I have on my site. I think you will like them too.
can GF flour be used?
Hi Linnea, I haven’t tried this recipe with GF flour but if you Bob’s Red Mill
Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour you should be fine.
is it possible to use half and half for the creme anglais, since the recipe has the same amounts for milk and heavy cream?
Hi Mae, I am not really sure as I haven’t tried that before.
We don’t have this fruit here can I use other fruit like peaches or strawberries, thanks
Hi Hilda, I haven’t tried it with other fruit, but I am sure other fruit would work as well.
I had to leave it in for an additional 15 minutes as well (and the oven temp is correct). I wonder if it should’ve been a lighter pain instead of a dark. Definitely some more instruction would be helpful.
I am not sure why you needed to leave it in for 15 minutes more, but I always check my cakes with a toothpick to see if they are done.
You might find this link helpful concerning the color of your pan. https://www.thekitchn.com/do-dark-colored-pans-heat-differently-weve-got-chemistry-219610
Very easy recipe, and cake tastes delicious. Next time I make it, I would stir in the rhubarb as it did not sink down much into the cake.
Great idea Lisa! Glad you like the cake as much as I did.
Lovely recipe. Yes and extra 15 minutes- I think because I used frozen rhubarb. Maybe adjust recipe for frozen rhubarb. Thanks for the recipe
So happy you enjoyed the recipe!
Can I make this cake with zucchini?
I am not sure as I have never tried it. If you do, please let me know.