Quick and Easy Rhubarb Cake

/ April 23, 2015

rhubarb cake 3It’s rhubarb season! When I saw Vasun’s delicious rhubarb and coconut crumble on Cupcakesncurries, I knew I had to get my first fix of the season! Little did I know that it would take 3 attempts to get the cake onto this post in one piece … The tartness and acidity of the rhubarb needs to be complemented with sugar, and lots of it. No wonder, therefore, that my favourite recipe is topped with meringue! I found the recipe last year on the website of the magazine Brigitte, who got it from a lovely little café, Café Klein Helgoland, on one of the Friesian islands of the north coast of Germany. Check out their website to get a glimpse of one of the most beautiful spots in Germany! It must be one of the most simple and most delicious rhubarb cakes ever: a simple sponge as a base, the rhubarb is covered by the lightest meringue, which makes for stunning pictures. Or so I thought. Well, the first cake landed head first in the oven after I had put on the meringue. You have no idea where all that fluffy stuff can stick to, especially around the hinges of your oven. The second one survived the second bake and only fell when I tried to decanter it onto the cake stand. Head first, again, this time onto a chair. The one with the cushion, naturally. I gave me a week to recover, then I tried it again. This time I succeeded, and I even got to take a few pictures before the hungry hordes realised there was another cake to devour. Needless to say, this cake is so easy to make, you don’t really mind making it three times. And if you’re not planning on photographing it, you don’t need to worry at all: it tastes just as lovely when it’s all messed up…rhubarb cake

Rhubarb Cake with Meringue Topping (for a 20cm/8in springform)

  • 400 grams of rhubarb

For the dough:

  • 100 gr soft butter
  • 80 gr caster sugar
  • 3 tbs vanilla sugar
  • 100 gr plain flour
  • 50 cornstarch
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 egg
  • 2-3 tbs milk

For the meringue:

  • 2 egg whites
  • a pinch of salt
  • 100 gr caster sugar
  • 1 tsp lemon juice

rhubarbWash and clean the rhubarb, peel it if the skin is quite hard and cut it into thick slices (2 cm / 1 in). Preheat your oven to 180C / 350F. Grease a small springform or similar – I used a fluted flan form.rhubarb cake ingredients In a medium bowl, beat the butter, sugar and vanilla sugar until fluffy and creamy. Gradually add the egg yolks and the egg, then the remaining ingredients, one spoonful at a time to ensure it is all evenly mixed.rhubarb cake dough Spread the batter into your greased tin, then spread the raw rhubarb pieces evenly on the top – no need to press them into the batter or anything, the raising dough will take care of this! Bake for 35-40 minutes on the bottom shelf of your oven. Baking it on the bottom shelf will ensure it is cooked through, despite the rhubarb juices.rhubarb cake base Around ten minutes before the end of the baking, beat the egg whites and the sugar in a clean bowl until stiff. Slowly add the sugar but keep beating the mix. Finally add the lemon juice.rhubarb cake topping You can use your imagination as to how to add the meringue – swirls, star-shaped nozzles, anything goes. I like the simplicity and old-fashioned charm of rhubarb so that I like to keep it simple.rhubarb cake topping 2 Carefully place the tin back in the oven. Carefully. Lower the heat to 160C / 320 F and bake the decorated cake for another 20 minutes. You might want to cover the meringue with tinfoil to keep it white. Rhubarb with baiser topping Eat while it is still warm – I’ll be running over to Angie’s for her weekly Fiesta Friday gathering. I enjoyed co-hosting the even last week, having a look around so many different blogs was mind blowing, to say the least – I hope this week’s co-hosts, Effie @Food Daydreaming and Jhuls @The Not So Creative Cook, will enjoy it as much as I did! So, do come along, bring a dish to link it up and have a look around. I’m sure you’ll find something to inspire you. like Vasun’s wonderful crumble, which I still have to try once I have overcome my rhubarb trauma …

The Great British Rhubarb Recipe Round-Up

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50 thoughts on “Quick and Easy Rhubarb Cake”

    • Rhubarb is a bit of an acquired taste, I agree! I didn’t like it as a kid, but growing older makes you more tolerant of acidic food I suppose!

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  9. I never had rhubarb. Does this taste sweet? I am very intrigued. You cake looks so delicious and topped with meringue? Ha! Meringue is one of my middle names. 😀 Thanks for bringing this beauty, Ginger. I hope you enjoy the party. xx

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    • It’s an unusual flavour, quite acidic, like gooseberries, so it needs a bit of sugar to balance the flavour. I hope you’ll get a chance of trying it someday!

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    • I have just planted one in our garden, but like Marita I’ll have to wait for the summer to harvest my first stalk … The cake is amazing, I hope you’ll get a chance to try it out!

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    • I’ll have to check out your recipes in preparation for my bumper crop that I am expecting this summer (OK, it’s only been in the ground for two weeks and it looks rather dead … we’ll see …)

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  15. Third times the charm, as they say! It looks lovely, though. When I made my lemon meringue the day before Easter, I was serving the next day. I took a couple quick shots of the whole pie and then set it on the counter to finish cooling. While I was cleaning up, I turned around (I’m pretty deaf) and Gibson had eaten almost half of the pie. Luckily he had neatly worked from one edge toward the center and I was able to cut away salvage half! I don’t know if I would have had the heart to make it all again just for the photos, but I’m glad you did! I will have to try this as I’m a huge rhubarb fan!

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    • Lemon meringue sounds delicious, too! What a pity about your cake, though (we had a similar incident with a rack of venison one Christmas, left outside to marinade …)

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  18. Rhubarb is honestly one of my favorites, and my mom was making cakes and compot from rhubarb when I was little, but…the best thing ever was to have it raw and simply with sugar yay! We would just peel it and stick it into the pot with sugar and eat it like that!! I have to make a rhubarb tart, you’re right!

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  19. That is such a lovely meringue topping you have there and I love your photos! I am sorry to hear about the accidents though, that would have required a lot of cleaning… But you did it and it looks fantastic! Thanks for sharing with FF#65

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    • Thank you! We have one of those ovens where the door slides underneath the oven when you open it, saving a lot of space in a tight space like our kitchen. But when you have to remove the meringue from inside the slidey bit …

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  23. Rhubarb is quite expensive here 😦 but I’m happy for you that you can have it and make many tasty cakes for your family! 🙂 Cakes and pies with rhubarb always remind me summer in Russia, when I was small I picked it at the parents’ garden and ate it strait away 😀

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  24. This looks delicious and reminds me of the one my mom used to make when I still was a kid. The rhubarb came right from our yard. It’s a little bit of work to prepare it. But the aroma in the air while it’s getting prepared and baked is just to die for. You definitely brought back some memories from my childhood in Germany. I love German baking compared to many baked goods here in the US since we Germans don’t make it overly sweet and artificial looking.

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