A perfect way to enjoy Spring rhubarb! This rhubarb pudding cake is an easy, warm and comforting treat.
When it comes to Spring rhubarb, this rhubarb pudding cake is the dish I always make first. If you have nostalgic memories of stewed rhubarb (dating myself here :), then you will find that in this dish. The bottom layer fruits cooks up soft, sweet and saucy, while on top is a lovely light cake. And to top it all off, a crispy, caramelized sugar topping.
Enjoy this pudding cake warm from the oven, as it is, or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
While this is a delicious rhubarb treat, you can make this warm pudding cake with any Summer fruit. Simply adjust the amount of added sugar to suit the sweetness of the fruit you are using. Blueberries, peaches, strawberries, plums, raspberries or blackberries are all great choices. You can even take it into Fall with apples and pears.
Ingredient Notes
Rhubarb: You can use either fresh or frozen rhubarb for this dish. In fact, I think frozen rhubarb makes the fruit at the bottom even a bit saucier.
Sugar: Sweetness is a always a very subjective thing. I’m one who will rarely declare anything “too sweet”, but for others, you may want to tweak the amount of sugar in both the cake batter and to sugar topping, to taste. Rhubarb obviously needs more sugar to balance the tartness. Sweeter fruits, such as strawberries, would not need quite as much.
Cornstarch: You can substitute arrowroot starch for cornstarch, if you prefer. The cornstarch is used to thicken the fruit sauce. If you don’t happen to have any on hand, it isn’t a deal-breaker. Your fruit sauce at the bottom will still be delicious, just not be as thick.
Flour: Make this one gluten free by simply substitute any “1 for 1” gluten free flour for the all-purpose flour in this recipe.
Milk: To make it dairy free, simply use a milk alternative (almond milk, for example) instead of regular milk. For the butter, you can use a “vegan butter” or an oil, such as coconut oil. Use slightly less oil than the amount of butter specified. In this recipe, using about 2 Tbsp oil to replace the 3 Tbsp butter would be about right.
Cook’s Notes
- Any glass or metal baking pan, square or round (or deep dish pie plate) around the 8 to 9-inch size will work here. Be sure to look for something not too shallow, to avoid bubble-overs.
- Feeding a crowd? Double the recipe and bake it up in a 9×13-inch baking pan.
- If starting with frozen (or partially frozen) rhubarb, add 5-10 extra minutes of baking time.
- Be sure to bake with a baking sheet underneath, particularly for pans with shorter sides, just to catch any bubble overs.
Top Tip!
Change it up! As mentioned above, use any fruit of the bottom and tweak the flavouring of the cake batter by adopting any one or more of these additions, to complement the fruit you are using: adding some lemon zest and/or a bit of lemon juice; a bit of cinnamon, cardamom or nutmeg; a bit of almond extract or a more generous splash of vanilla.
Get the Recipe: Old-Fashioned Rhubarb Pudding Cake
Ingredients
Fruit:
- 2 – 2 1/2 cups rhubarb, fresh or frozen, diced
Batter:
- 1/2 – 3/4 cup white granulated sugar, *see notes below
- 3 Tablespoons butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
For topping before baking:
- 1/2 – 3/4 cup white granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- 2/3 cup boiling water
Instructions
- Set some water to boil for adding later in step 3.
- Cover the bottom of an 8 or 9 inch square pan with the diced rhubarb.
- In a medium bowl, mix together 1/2 – 3/4 cup sugar (depending on how sweet you like it or the sweetness of the fruit you are using), the butter, baking powder, salt, vanilla, milk and flour together. Spoon over fruit and spread to cover as much as possible. (There is not a ton of batter and it is thick-ish, but do try to cover the fruit as completely as possible, even if it seems quite a thin cover).
- In a small bowl, stir together the remaining 3/4 cup white sugar and cornstarch. Sprinkle over the batter in pan. Pour boiling water over the top.
- Place baking pan on top of a baking sheet (to catch any bubble overs). Bake at 375°F for 45 minutes (slightly longer is starting with frozen or partially frozen fruit, about 5-8 minutes longer). Allow to stand a few minutes, before enjoying warm as is, or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Notes
More Rhubarb Recipes to Love!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
AWESOME!!!! I love this recipe! Sooooooo good 👍🏻
So glad you enjoyed it, Cindy :) Thanks so much!
Do these rhubarb recipes freeze ok? Thanks Paula
Hi Paula, I haven’t frozen this one, but I find most baked recipes freeze pretty well :)
Our first year’s harvest of rhubarb had me looking for recipes. This cake is very easy to make and tastes delicious! I’ve made it around 10 times this season alone and, as one reviewer said, although it says it serves eight, four people can easily finish the cake in one sitting. It’s so good! Thank you!
So glad you are enjoying it, Mary Sue. And yes, serving sizes are always tough to quantify as it really does depend on who’s eating it ;) Thanks so much!
I thought this recipe sounded strange, with the sugar and boiling water on top, but It came out delicious! Lots of pudding-y rhubarb on the bottom, and the tasty cake as well. I added a bit of strawberry, subbed honey for most of the sugar in the batter, and added a bit of almond extract. I’ve been trying lots of rhubarb recipes this spring, and this one is a keeper! It even came out pretty, I would attach a photo if I knew how… Thanks for this one!
HI Patryce and yes, it is an unusual baking method, but always makes for a lovely, warm dessert that’s especially nice with rhubarb, I think. Thanks so much!
So delicious and very simple to make. Worked great with the gluten free flour blend I have as well. Thank you for sharing!
Glad to hear and good to know it works well with GF flour, as well! Thanks :)
I’ve made this pudding cake with apples and 1 tsp cinnamon and had great results. I usually use MacIntosh which break down quickly into a lovely sauce, but have also used a mix of apples to have sauce and chunks. Always get great reviews.
Sounds delicious, Janice! Thanks :)
A late cold wet spring here in PE made for expensive rhubarb. Nonetheless there are necessities!
Even though many of your rhubarb receipes are regular repeats, this sounded too good to pass up. A very easy & delicious dessert. Pleasantly surprised how light it was for a pudding cake. A definite repeat!
Rhubarb is a necessity for me, too :) So glad you enjoyed this. It’s great with other (less expensive) fruit, too!
Absolutely fabulous. Had no cornstarch great with out it.
You said it served eight . There were only three of us, I don’t eat dessert, had one mouthful, divine , my husband and fiend of 73 years ate the rest,
Merci beaucoup . Mes ami , North Saanich, Susan, getting ready for a month-in Beaune .
Nine million stars for this piece of art.
So glad you enjoyed it Susan! Thanks very much :) Bon voyage and enjoy your travels.
I haven’t seen any fresh rhubarb around here yet, and to be honest, I’m new to rhubarb. I bought a bag of frozen rhubarb a few weeks ago and made strawberry rhubarb chia jam, and now I am hooked. Can’t wait to get my hands on some fresh stuff. And this pudding cake looks like a great recipe to use it in!
Thanks Leanne :) As mentioned, this is the first thing I make with my rhubarb. It’s a great way to enjoy rhubarb!
Hi Jennifer….
Got the rhubarb…not inexpensive at my local market, but love it so and wanted/needed to make this asap!
You say ‘dice’…I usually slice my rhubarb stalk for stewed rhubarb or crisps. What size dice pieces are you suggesting? I can’t tell from the photograph of your finished presentation.
Thanks in advance…..
Susan
Hi Susan, sorry for the delay in replying. Your email ended up in my Spam folder for some reason. I usually just slice in 1/2-inch wide slice, for medium rhubarb stalks. If they are really wide, I’ll split it down the centre lengthwise before slicing. Enjoy!
We’re having a slow start around here for rhubarb, but it’s starting to grow. When it does this delicious cake would be the perfect thing to make and enjoy with a big ol’ scoop of vanilla ice cream :)
Thanks so much, Dawn :)
This looks like the best way to enjoy rhubarb! I should try growing it sometime – as my husband loves rhubarb. I’ll take mine warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream please :) PINNED!
Thanks so much, Tricia. Our rhubarb kind of grows wild-ish, planted long ago by someone else and just stuck here and there in the field. It doesn’t seem to mind where it grows :)
I’m still grabbing all the rhubarb I can find Jennifer. This cake looks totally delish. I’ve been freezing some too, so I can make cakes just like this in the fall and winter. This would definitely be perfect for dessert with vanilla ice cream or for breakfast with my coffee!
Thanks Mary Ann! It was totally worthwhile battling the bugs to harvest my rhubarb. I so appreciate it later in the year once it becomes impossible to find at the market. And it freezes so well, too :)