Rhubarb cake

This rhubarb cake is a delicious seasonal bake. The tartness of the rhubarb contrasts beautifully with the sweet sponge making it the perfect spring/summer treat.

Rhubarb cake is the ultimate spring time treat. The sweet, light, fluffy sponge with a hint of custard contrasts perfectly with each bite of rhubarb. And as it uses the all-in-one method it couldn’t be easier or quicker to make.

If you use forced rhubarb, like we did, you should be able to make this cake with rhubarb found in the supermarket from March if you’re in the UK. Otherwise, you can enjoy this as a great way of using up home grown rhubarb well into the summer.

Rather than baking the cake in a round cake tin, we’ve made it as more of a rhubarb traybake. It felt like the better option for this wholesome fruity recipe, and it also made slicing it into pieces at the end very easy.

How can kids help to make a rhubarb cake?

This cake is a fun seasonal bake for kids to help with,. Perhaps even starting with collecting rhubarb if you have some growing in your garden.

If you have older children that can use a sharp knife you could get them to cut the rhubarb into small pieces. It’s a relatively easy task as long as they can keep their fingers safe.

Children of all ages can help to make the cake batter. Kids can help measure and mix everything together and even help practice their egg cracking skills. We’ve used the easy ‘all in one’ method which mixes everything together in one bowl. It’s the simplest way to make a cake and means a little bit less washing up!

Once you’ve prepared the cake batter and rhubarb, your kids can help assemble the traybake. First they can help you to add some cake batter to the tin, before arranging the rhubarb on top. It’s a fun and easy job children of all ages can help with.

How long does the rhubarb cake keep?

This cake is best eaten fresh on the day it’s made. It’s even better enjoyed if it’s still a little bit warm from the oven served with some custard. If you have some left over though, you can still enjoy it the following day (warm it again before you serve it if you like).

If you’d like to keep it for longer, you can freeze the rhubarb cake for up to 3 months. Wrap it well in cling film / glad wrap and pop it in a freezer bag. Make sure you defrost it fully before serving it and if you like reheat it before you serve it.

What is forced rhubarb?

Forced rhubarb is grown with the crowns in darkness which forces the stems to grow quickly in search of light. This means it’s ready much earlier in the year than unforced rhubarb.

As a result, forced rhubarb is generally sweeter, more tender and a brighter pink colour than regular rhubarb which makes it perfect for baking.

What can I use instead of self raising flour?

Self raising flour is easy to find in supermarkets in the UK, but if you don’t have any or can’t find any in your local shop you can swap it for an equal amount of plain or all-purpose flour and add 2 extra teaspoons of baking powder and a pinch of salt.

What is baking spread or baking margarine?

Baking spread, (something like Stork for example), is simply a non dairy margarine that’s great for baking. It makes sponges lighter and fluffier, which means it’s a good, cheaper vegan alternative to butter.

Can you bake it in a round cake tin?

Yes, if you’d rather have this as a round cake, instead of cooking it in a traybake tin, you can bake it in a 20cm round, loose bottomed tin. Check the cake after about 40 minutes in the oven.

Other rhubarb recipes

If you liked this rhubarb cake and have some more rhubarb to use up why not try:

Rhubarb crumble
Rhubarb muffins

Or alternatively, you might like one of these deliciously fruity bakes.

Blueberry and apple muffins
Apple cinnamon muffins
Apple and blackberry crumble
Apple scones
Apple flapjacks
Banana traybake
Apple cake
Raspberry flapjacks
Sultana cake
Blackberry muffins
Strawberry crumble

Useful equipment

You might need the following baking tools/gadgets to make this rhubarb cake:

Digital scales
Freestanding mixer
Mixing bowl
Hand held mixer
Measuring cups
Measuring spoons
Spatula
Offset spatula
23 x 30cm baking tin
Wire rack

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Ingredients

250g (2 cups) self raising flour*
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon cinnamon
200g (1 cup) caster sugar
50g custard powder
3 eggs
225g (1 cup) butter or baking margarine
250g rhubarb

How to make a rhubarb cake

Preheat your oven to 180C / 160C / 350F and grease and line 23x33cm (9 x 13 inch) baking tin with baking or parchment paper.

We find the easiest way of lining a baking tin if you don’t have liners is to cut a strip of baking paper the width of the tin, and lay it in, then lay another strip in the other direction. If you leave some paper over hanging the edges, it’ll make it easier to remove the cake from the tin later.

Make the rhubarb cake batter

Everything (except the rhubarb) just needs to be mixed together in a bowl – the all-in-one method. You can add them in any order but we tend to follow along with the ingredients as they’re listed so we don’t miss anything out.

Start by getting your kids to add the dry ingredients – flour, sugar, custard powder, baking powder and cinnamon – to a mixing bowl or free-standing mixer. When they add the cinnamon and baking powder make sure they use their finger to level the teaspoon so that you add just the right amount.

Next, get your kids to add the wet ingredients – the eggs, milk and butter/margarine. Crack the eggs into a small bowl before adding them to your mixing bowl just in case any shell goes in. If shell does go in, fish it out with a larger piece of shell or a teaspoon. It will stick to that better than it will your finger (and be less messy).

When add the butter, if it’s not soft you’ll need to soften it enough so that it will mix in. Try cutting it into a few pieces and pop it in the microwave for 10 seconds or so, but make sure you don’t do it for so long that it melts.

Mix the cake batter ingredients together

Mix everything together with the k-paddle of your free-standing mixer, a hand held mixer or even wooden spoons. Mix it for a minute or two, or longe if it’s by hand, until the batter looks lovely and light and smooth. Get your kids to scrape down the edges of the bowl with a spatula to make sure all the ingredients are incorporated.

Prepare the rhubarb

If your kids are old enough get them to help cut the rhubarb into chunks about an inch / 2-3 cm long.

Make the rhubarb cake

Get your kids to help you add half the batter to your prepared traybake tin. Spread it to the edges and level the top with a little spatula.

Spread roughly half the rhubarb pieces over the top of the batter, trying to get a nice even layer.

Add the remaining cake batter over the top of the rhubarb layer.

Finally, get your kids to arrange the remaining rhubarb pieces over the top of the cake batter, pressing them down into the batter gently. This is a fun job that even young children should be able to do.

Bake the rhubarb cake

Bake the rhubarb cake for 50-60 minutes. It’s ready when it’s turned golden brown, and is starting to come away from the edges of your tin.

If you want to double check that it’s ready, you can insert a cocktail stick, skewer or sharp knife in the centre. It should come out clean if it’s fully baked.

Take the rhubarb cake out of the oven and leave it in the tin for at least 10 minutes to start cooling.

Remove the cake from the tin, and peel of the baking paper and leave it on a wire rack to cool completely. Once cooled, slice it into pieces with a sharp knife.

Sprinkle over some icing sugar just before you serve it if you like. Serve it with more custard or a scoop of ice cream.

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If you liked this rhubarb cake you’ll love our other cakes and traybakes as well as our favourite easy bakes for kids.