This old-fashioned rhubarb pudding cake is a perfect way to enjoy Spring rhubarb! Comes together quickly and easily and is lovely served warm from the oven.
If you have nostalgic memories of stewed rhubarb then you will love this rhubarb pudding cake! The bottom layer of rhubarb cooks up soft, sweet and saucy, while the top is a lovely light, sugar-crusted cake.
Ingredients and substitutions
A few notes about the key ingredients …
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 always a very subjective thing. Rhubarb typically needs more sugar to balance the tartness, but the exact amount is up to you. Use the lower amount for the topping if you want a more tart rhubarb note or the higher amount for sweeter rhubarb.
Cornstarch: 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 as thick.
How to make rhubarb pudding cake
- Scatter fresh or frozen diced rhubarb into the bottom of a baking dish.
- Mix together the batter ingredients.
- Pour the batter over the top of the rhubarb and spread evenly.
- Sprinkle the sugar and cornstarch mixture over top of the batter.
- Pour the boiling water over the top of the sugar layer.
- Ensure that the baking dish is on top of a baking sheet to catch bubbleovers. Place into the preheated oven and bake.
Recipe video
Recipe tips!
- 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 too much bubble-over.
- 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 to catch any bubbleovers.
- It will seem like a lot of sugar for the topping, but keep in mind that its purpose is to sweeten the rhubarb. Most will bake down into the rhubarb layer, with just a sugar crust left on top after baking.
Variations
Feeding a crowd? Double the recipe and bake it up in a 9×13-inch baking pan.
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.
How to serve rhubarb pudding cake
Enjoy this pudding cake warm from the oven plain or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. A drizzle of heavy cream overtop is also nice.
Storing and freezing
Store leftovers in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Reheat in the microwave or cover loosely with aluminum foil and pop into a 350F oven until warmed about 10 minutes.
The baked pudding cake will freeze well for up to 3 months.
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Ingredients
Fruit:
- 2 1/2-3 cups rhubarb, fresh or frozen, diced
Batter:
- 2/3 cup white granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and levelled
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 Tablespoons butter, very soft
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For topping before baking:
- 1/2-2/3 cup white granulated sugar, *see Note 1 below
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- 2/3 cup boiling water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F (non-convection).
- Set some water to boil for adding later in step 3.
- Cover the bottom of an 8-inch square or round pan with the diced rhubarb. *You can also use a deep-dish pie pan or a ceramic baking dish of similar size.
- Make the batter: In a medium bowl, mix together the sugar, baking powder, flour and salt. Add the butter, vanilla and milk. Mix together with a wooden spoon, using the spoon to press any larger pieces of butter against the bottom of the bowl to break them up. The batter doesn't need to be completely smooth. A few butter bits are fine. Just avoid larger pieces. Spoon the batter over the rhubarb in the baking dish and spread to cover the rhubarb in a thin layer.
- Make the topping: In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar and cornstarch. Sprinkle over the batter in the baking pan. Place a spoon on top with the curved side up. Pour boiling water over the curved part of the spoon and allow it to spread overtop of the sugar mixture.
- Place the baking pan on top of a baking sheet to catch any bubbleovers. Bake at 375°F for 45-60 minutes or until the cake layer is set and the top is golden. Frozen rhubarb will need extra baking time and be sure to test the cake in the centre of the pan with a cake tester to ensure that it is set. If the cake is at risk of over-browning before the cake is set, loosely lay a sheet of aluminum foil overtop for the last part of baking.
- Remove from the oven and allow to stand a few minutes before enjoying warm plain or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
- Refrigerate leftovers for 2-3 days. Reheat in the microwave or cover with foil and pop into a 350F oven until warmed about 10 minutes. Leftovers will also freeze well up to 3 months.
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 :)