I love rhubarb desserts, but rarely make them. Most of them have strawberries mixed in but this one allows the rhubarb to shine by itself. It’s especially good with some vanilla ice cream or whipped cream – or even both!
Rhubarb Upside Down Cake
Servings: 16
Equipment
- 12" cast iron skillet
- Stand mixer with paddle beater
Ingredients
- 2½ sticks (10 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature, divided
- 1½ lbs rhubarb (approx 4 cups) rinsed, sliced into ½" pieces
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 1½ cups granulated sugar, divided
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 cups cake flour
- 1¼ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp table salt
- 1 lemon zested and juiced for 2 tsp
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs
- ⅓ cup sour cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325. In a medium bowl, mix rhubarb, cornstarch and ½ cup of the granulated sugar. Set aside. Rub lemon zest and remaining granulated sugar together in a small bowl until mixture is uniform in color. Set aside.
- Mix brown sugar and ½ stick (2 oz) butter in a 12" cast iron skillet over medium heat. Whisk until smooth and bubbling, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool a few minutes. Place pan on a sheet pan lined with foil. Spoon rhubarb mixture over brown sugar/butter mixture and level with a spatula. Make sure to add any liquid from the rhubarb mixture.
- Sift or whisk together the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside
- Whip 2 sticks (8oz) butter in stand mixer with paddle beater at medium speed for 2 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add lemon sugar and cream together with butter at medium-high until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down bowl after 2 minutes.
- Add vanilla and mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping down bowl and beater after second egg. Mix in sour cream and 2 tsp lemon juice and mix well. Scrape down bowl and beater again.
- At low speed, add the flour mixture gradually, and mix until well combined. Scrape down bowl and beater and mix again briefly to incorporate.
- Spoon batter over to cover all the rhubarb and smooth with a spatula. Bake for 1-1¼ hours, until the to of the cake is firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out without any large crumbs.
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes and run a knife around the edge of the pan. Place serving plate over skillet and invert. Release the cake from pan while warm or it won't come out. Serve with vanilla ice cream and/or whipped cream.
Notes
This can be used with almost any fruit – I imagine it would work well with berries, stone fruit or even apples or pears. Although big slices may look more appealing, I’ve found that cutting fruit smaller makes it much easier to cut and serve.