Gardeners in temperate climates know that in the late summer, bright red rhubarb stalks spring from the ground like so many weeds. Though technically a vegetable, rhubarb is more often used like fruit in baking; incorporated into sweet pies, jams, and crisps. Personally, my favorite way to enjoy it in this buttermilk rhubarb cake.

This rich rhubarb cake comes straight from a recipe submitted to a church lady cookbook. A staple of our household this time of year, this rhubarb cake is as perfect in the morning with a cup of strong black coffee as it is after supper with a dollop of vanilla ice cream.

Tips for Making Buttermilk Rhubarb Cake

This cake serves as a pretty classic coffee cake with delicious summer ingredients. Despite rhubarb’s. tart, complex flavor, this recipe is subtle and soft. Much like when one uses green apples to create a sweet apple pie, baking in cinnamon and sugar transforms the rhubarb into a sweet treat.

Recipe Difficulty

Due to the basic tools and ingredients required, this recipe is suitable for very beginners! If you’ve never made a single cake in your life, try this one. While an electric mixer cuts down on the time required to make a buttermilk rhubarb cake, you don’t strictly need one.

Serving Suggestions

I must confess: I stole this recipe from my grandma Betty. A consummate Texas woman, she once woke me up saying, “I hope you like your coffee strong.” In that spirit, I think this cake is best enjoyed alongside a big cup of black coffee.

If you don’t have rhubarb on hand, feel free to substitute with green, peeled apples. They will lend the same tart flavor to the cake. In addition, the similar water content will ensure your cake doesn’t turn into a soggy mess.

Buttermilk Substitutions

While I strive to keep buttermilk on hand, I tend to forget this goal. However, I have a quick trick that will ensure you can still make this cake even without buttermilk: lemon juice. Add 1 tbs of lemon juice, then fill your measuring cup up to 1 cup with milk. You can also use distilled white vinegar, and which one I use depends entirely on flavor. Vinegar has a more neutral flavor when baked, while lemon adds a nice subtle flavor to tart fruit dishes like a rhubarb cake.

Adding lemon juice to a high-fat milk ensures it serves a similar chemical function to buttermilk in the recipe. Do not add the juice to your milk until about 2 minutes before you’re ready to add it, otherwise it will cause your milk to seriously curdle (slight curdling is okay).

If you prefer to use non-dairy milks (or are lactose intolerant), you can add lemon juice to your preferred milk for the same result. I have done this many times when I didn’t have dairy milk on hand! For the best taste for this particular recipe, I recommend. the following milk types:

• Macadamia Milk
• Cashew Milk
• Oat Milk
• Soy Milk
• Almond Milk

Buttermilk Rhubarb Cake Recipe

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5 from 1 vote

Buttermilk Rhubarb Cake

This rich rhubarb cake comes straight from a recipe submitted to a church lady cookbook by a cousin. A staple of our household this time of year, this rhubarb cake is as perfect in the morning with a cup of strong black coffee as it is after supper with a dollop of vanilla ice cream.

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Chopping Time10 minutes mins

Course: Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: rhubarb cake

Servings: 20

Calories: 350kcal

Author: Blair Carpenter

Equipment

• Knife
• Cutting board
• 2 mixing bowls
• whisk
• wooden spoon or rubber spatula
• 9×13 inch cake pan
• electric mixer optional

Ingredients

• 1/2 c butter 1 stick, plus a bit more for greasing
• 1 1/2 c packed light brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 c flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 c buttermilk or 1 c whole milk with 1 tbs lemon juice
• 1 1/2 c rhubarb finely chopped (about 2 large stalks)
• 1/4 c granulated sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 350℉/180℃. Grease a 9×13 inch cake pan with butter and set aside.
• Chop up your rhubarb into finely diced squares (too big and it might be stringy – gross).
• In one mixing bowl, mix together butter and brown sugar until smooth and creamy. Beat in the egg until it's fully combined.
• In the other mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.
• Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the buttermilk between each flour addition. Stir in rhubarb.
• Pour batter into a greased baking pan. Sprinkle granulated sugar and cinnamon on top of the cake batter.
• Bake until the cake is nicely browned, around 30 minutes. Serve as soon as you can eat it without burning your mouth, preferably with a big cup of coffee.

Nutrition

Calories: 350kcal

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