Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: A moist rhubarb cake is the perfect spring treat, especially when it’s accompanied by warm spices and an irresistible streusel topping!
How long it takes: just under an hour
Equipment you’ll need: mixing bowls, square baking pan
Servings: 9
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Pin ItRhubarb, Love it or hate it
Are you a rhubarb lover or a rhubarb hater? Rhubarb is one of those things that people have strong feelings about. Personally, I can’t get enough rhubarb when it’s in season. Whether it’s rhubarb sauce, rhubarb bars, strawberry rhubarb crisp, or this rhubarb cake, I’m always going to take a second helping!
While rhubarb looks a little bit like celery with a reddish tinge, the flavor is mouthpuckeringly (is that a word?!) tart. That’s why you’ll almost always find it in desserts or accompanied by lots of sugar—it needs to be tamed a bit!
Rather than the tartness, I think the thing about rhubarb that’s so polarizing may be its texture. Before cooking, rhubarb stalks have the same stringiness as celery stalks. However, when cooked or baked, rhubarb gets meltingly tender.
The Best Rhubarb Cake
Perfect balance of sweet and tart flavors. Some rhubarb recipes completely drown out the tartness with sugar, but I find this rhubarb cake has just the right balance. I love the tart bite of rhubarb throughout. It’s a treat!
Moist, tender crumb. This cake has a tender crumb and streusel topping, giving it coffee cake vibes. Rhubarb releases moisture while baking, keeping the cake supremely soft and moist. The batter is made with butter, egg, and milk, ensuring that the cake will be rich and delicious.
Irresistible streusel topping. The buttery cinnamon-sugar streusel on top adds a fantastic crunch and cozy flavor to every bite. Of course, you can skip the streusel topping but wouldn’t you agree that streusel makes everything better? (Be sure to try my pumpkin streusel bread and cinnamon streusel coffee cake, too.)
A Couple Ingredient Notes
- Fresh rhubarb: Look for fresh rhubarb stalks in the spring. You may know it as pie plant. I don’t like using store-bought frozen rhubarb for baking; I’ve tested it extensively and it never works out well. But if you freeze your own rhubarb, that will work, and I tested it here. I thawed it slightly in the refrigerator, but actually, you can probably get away with not thawing it, and just adding a few extra minutes to the baking time.
- All-purpose flour: It’s important to measure the flour correctly. Lightly spoon it into the measuring cup to keep from compacting the flour.
Recipe Tip
I always use freshly grated nutmeg for this recipe but you can definitely use ground nutmeg. However, if you try freshly grated, I’ll tell you one thing: There’s no going back. It is so much better.
How to Make Rhubarb Cake
Prepare. Preheat your oven to 375°F and coat an 8 x 8 inch baking pan with cooking spray. (I also tested a 9 x 9 inch pan, which works well too.)
Make the streusel. Use a pastry cutter or fork (or your fingers!) to work together the streusel ingredients in a bowl. It’s important to make the streusel before you mix the batter. Once the baking powder is combined with the milk, it begins the rising process. If you wait too long to put the cake in the oven (while you make streusel), the chemical reaction will have already taken place and your cake may not rise properly.
Toss the rhubarb with flour. Place the rhubarb in a bowl. Add 1 ½ cups of flour to another bowl and remove 2 tablespoons. Toss the rhubarb with those 2 tablespoons of flour. Tossing the sliced rhubarb with flour helps to keep it from sinking to the bottom of the cake.
Mix the dry ingredients. Whisk the baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg into the bowl with the flour.
Cream the butter and sugar. In another bowl, beat the softened butter and sugar using a hand mixer. Once it’s creamy, fluffy, and smooth, beat in the egg and vanilla.
Finish the batter. Mix half of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Add ¼ cup of milk, followed by the remaining half of the flour mixture, and then the remaining ¼ cup of milk. Fold in the rhubarb.
Assemble. Spread the batter evenly into the pan and sprinkle the streusel over the top.
Bake. Place the pan on a center rack in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean.
Cool and serve. Let the cake cool on a wire rack. The cake can be served warm or at room temperature. Add our optional glaze if you want!
Recipe Variations
Add a glaze. If you’d like, you can make a simple glaze with powdered sugar and milk to drizzle over the top of the cake (as pictured).
Make it gluten-free. Use a measure-for-measure gluten-free flour blend in place of all-purpose flour for a gluten-free rhubarb cake.
Switch up the fruit. If rhubarb isn’t in season, feel free to substitute other fruits like blueberries, apples, or plums, and so on. Just keep the overall proportions the same. You can also combine the rhubarb with another fruit. Strawberries and raspberries both pair well with rhubarb!
Room temperature: Once it has cooled completely, cover the cake and store it at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Refrigerator: The cake will last up to 5 days when stored in the refrigerator. Note that even though the storage life is longer in the fridge, the rhubarb cake tends to dry out more when refrigerated.
Freezer: Wrap individual slices or the whole cake tightly in plastic wrap and then foil before freezing for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before serving.
More Coffee Cake Recipes
Rhubarb Cake
Ingredients
For the streusel:
- ½ cup sugar
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ cup butter, softened
For the cake:
- 2 cups sliced fresh rhubarb, ¼ inch slices (see note)
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup milk (or buttermilk)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly spray an 8 x 8 inch baking pan with cooking spray. (A 9 x 9 inch pan works fine, too.)
- Make the streusel. In a small bowl, mix together ½ cup sugar, ⅓ cup all purpose flour, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ cup softened butter until well blended. Use a pastry cutter, a fork, or your fingers. Set aside.½ cup sugar, ⅓ cup all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ cup butter, softened
- Put the sliced rhubarb in a small bowl. In another medium-sized bowl, measure out 1 ½ cups flour. Remove 2 tablespoons of the flour and mix it with the rhubarb until the rhubarb is coated with flour. Set the rhubarb aside.2 cups sliced fresh rhubarb, ¼ inch slices, 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- Whisk the baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg into the bowl with the flour; set aside.2 teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- In another medium bowl, cream ¼ cup butter and ¾ cup sugar, using a hand mixer, until blended, fluffy, and smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla extract.¼ cup unsalted butter, softened, ¾ cup granulated sugar, 1 large egg, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Add in half of the dry ingredients, mixing to combine. Add ¼ cup of milk, mixing to combine. Repeat with remaining half of flour mixture and remaining ¼ cup of milk.½ cup milk
- Fold the rhubarb into the batter.
- Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. Sprinkle streusel evenly over cake batter before baking.
- Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few crumbs clinging. Cool on a wire rack.
- Cut into squares when ready to serve. Cake can be served warm or at room temperature.
Notes
- About rhubarb: When testing this recipe, we found that fresh rhubarb worked the best. Commercially frozen rhubarb doesn’t soften properly. If you freeze your own rhubarb in the spring, that works fine. There’s no need to thaw it first, simply add a couple of minutes to the baking time.
- Variations: Other fruits can be substituted for the rhubarb. Try blueberries, apples, apricots, plums, or nectarines. If the fruit is large, chop or slice it into smaller pieces; you’ll need 2 cups.
- Optional icing drizzle (as pictured): In a small bowl, combine 1 cup powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon milk. Adjust consistency if necessary by adding more powdered sugar or milk. Drizzle over baked cake.
- Recipe retested and revised 3/2025. Previously published as Rhubarb and Nutmeg Layer Cake.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?Share a comment and rating below! I love hearing what you think!
I wouldnt worry about the rhubarb sinking, it looks so perfect it looks like it was meant to be that way! Your photography is awesome too, spesh the shot of the nutmeg :)
Gorgeous cake and absolutely adorable photo!!!
Thanks, Lauren!
That’s great! Thanks for coming back to share that with me! Totally made my day. Marscarpone sounds fabulous.
She is just gorgeous! I’ve never cooked with rhubarb before… but I love nutmeg :)
I love the difference fresh nutmeg makes. I’m with your hubbie and not a huge rhubarb fan! Your little one is tooo adorable!
Thanks–the cake would be great with another fruit, maybe apples or strawberries?
Oh good….so I’m not the only one who hears food calling to me from the fridge??;)
The cake looks wonderful…and my recent obsession with nutmeg is making me want to try this ASAP!
I am obsessed with nutmeg too! It is so good!