This Rhubarb Custard Cake is sweet, tangy and incredibly moist. It gets its name from its almost custard-like, gooey interior.
I love cooking with rhubarb when it’s in season during the spring and early summer months. This recipe is great for beginner bakers and really highlights rhubarb’s unique flavor and texture. Plus, the custardy texture of the cake is to die for.
Ingredient Notes
Most of the ingredients for this cake are quite basic and need no further explanation. If you’re looking to substitute the sour cream, full fat Greek yogurt would likely work well. The cake just might just be slightly less moist in comparison.
If you can’t find rhubarb but are still interested in making this dense, moist, lemon-scented cake, I’d suggest topping it with your favorite fresh berries instead.
Recipe Steps
First off, prep your springform pan (1) and preheat the oven. Next, mix together the dry ingredients (2). In a separate bowl, combine the wet ingredients (3). Then, combine the wet and dry ingredients together(4).
Chill the batter for about 10 minutes to firm it up. Decorate with the rhubarb cut to your liking and top with a sprinkle of sugar(5). Then simply bake the cake, and allow it to cool to room temperature(6).
Serve on it’s own or perhaps with whipped cream or ice cream. A little lightly sweetened crème fraiche would be great, too.
Recipe Tips and FAQs
- If your rhubarb is particularly wide, I suggest slicing it in half lengthwise before cutting it further to fit the top of the cake. I actually cut my rhubarb in half lengthwise twice (in opposing directions-basically lengthwise, then widthwise) and placed the rhubarb on the cake cut side down. Larger, heavier pieces of rhubarb are more likely to sink into the cake and might not cook through properly.
- Always go by look and feel more so than oven time. I noticed huge variations in cook time depending on the oven I was using.
You can leave the cake out, covered for up to 2 days. To extend the shelf life, you can refrigerate it after cutting into it and store it in a airtight container for approximately 5 days.
You can freeze rhubarb cake after it cools completely to room temperature. I like to wrap individual slices in plastic wrap and place them in a freezer bag. It stays fresh for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge the night before you plan on eating it.
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- Homemade Jelly Doughnuts with Strawberry Jam
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Rhubarb Custard Cake
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
This Rhubarb Custard Cake is sweet, tangy and incredibly moist. It gets its name from its almost custard-like, gooey interior.
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar, plus 1 teaspoon for topping
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp grated lemon zest (about 2 lemons)
- 2 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 9–12oz rhubarb stalks, trimmed, halved lengthwise if thick, cut to fit top of cake*
Instructions
- Prep. Grease a 9-inch springform pan with butter. Line the bottom with a round of parchment paper. Grease parchment. Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Mix dry ingredients. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
- Mix wet ingredients. In another bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar until pale and creamy, about 3 minutes. Slowly stream in butter while whisking until emulsified. Whisk in sour cream, lemon juice, zest and vanilla.
- Mix and chill batter. Whisk flour mixture into egg mixture in 2-3 additions until just combined. Do not over mix. Pour batter into prepared pan. Chill in fridge for 10 minutes to allow batter to firm slightly.
- Top cake. Tap pan against counter to pop any air bubbles. Remember to halve any wide rhubarb stalks lengthwise so they’re less likely to sink. Gently place rhubarb pieces over top of cake as desired. Do not press in. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of sugar.
- Bake. Bake on center rack of preheated oven until well-browned on the edges and golden in the center. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out moist but not totally liquid, with a few moist crumbs attached. Start checking for doneness after 45 minutes. This may take up to 60 minutes or so. For a firmer texture, cook until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out completely clean.
- Cool and serve. Remove from oven and place over a wire rack to cool. After 10 minutes use a small offset spatula or knife to loosen cake from sides of pan. Remove sides and bottom of pan and transfer directly onto the wire rack to cool completely. Slice and serve alone or with lightly sweetened crème fraiche, whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Enjoy.
Notes
Rhubarb stalks greatly vary in size. If you’re using very thin stalks, simply trim the length as desired to fit on top of the cake. Wider stalks can be sliced in half lengthwise. If you have very large stalks like I did, I suggest slicing in half lengthwise a second time in the opposite direction (basically slicing in half widthwise) to make thinner pieces. Then place the pieces on top of the cake, cut side down.
Depending on how thick your rhubarb is and how you cut it, you’ll need about 9 to 12oz.
To make chevron pattern as seen above, I suggest cutting the rhubarb first. See tip above of how to cut thinner versus wider stalks. Cut rhubarb into approximately 2 inch lengths on a bias. Cut half the pieces angled in one direction and half in the opposite direction. Place into bottom of springform pan to plan out the exact placement of the pieces. Use my photo as a guide to place the sliced rhubarb. Transfer pieces to a plate in the exact arrangement. Then you’ll have your rhubarb ready to go when it’s time to top the cake.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the fridge up to 5 days. Wrap in plastic wrap and/or place in freezer bag, and freeze for up to 3 months.
The egg yolks I used for this cake were quite orange, which is contributing to the color of the cake. Yours will likely look more yellow.
This recipe is adapted from Bon Appetit.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: Cake
- Method: bake
- Cuisine: American, New American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ⅛ of cake
- Calories: 300
- Sugar: 38g
- Sodium: 125mg
- Fat: 9g
- Saturated Fat: 5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 53g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 5g
- Cholesterol: 90mg
It was so dope I had to eat two slices!
I baked this today and was very happy with how it came out! Unfortunately, my rhubarb stalks sank to the bottom but they were still cooked thoroughly and the cake was just as delicious. Next time (I will for sure make this again) I’ll try the technique from the Bon Apetite version and let the batter cool in the fridge for 10 mins to firm up. Thank you for sharing your version of the cake with us!
Hi Lauren! Thanks so much for trying this recipe! I’m so sorry your rhubarb stalks sand to the bottom though! I will also make a note to eventually retest this with the technique of chilling the batter. Thanks for the tip!
I will love to make this into little cakes.
Like in little tartlet tins, do you think it would work ?and any suggestions on what cooking time l should start with trying
Hi Bernadette. I think you could definitely make this in small tart tins! It might take approximately half the time indicated on the recipe(maybe even less). It really depends on how deep your tartlet tins are and on your oven. I would probably cook it at a higher temperature – at least 375F so it browns during the shorter cook time. I would start checking for doneness at maybe 15-20 minutes. Open the oven door as little as possible though. I would also cut the rhubarb significantly smaller so it cooks in time. Let me know if you get a chance to try the recipe!!
So good!
Sabrina
My favorite vegetable is rhubarb can’t wait to try it. Looks amazing. Bravo????
Thank you, Mojgan! Hope you enjoy it 🙂