I have been waiting to share this recipe adaptation for an entire year. That is a long time to wait for cake. Especially something this good. Right after rhubarb season last year, I found this bundt cake recipe and the moment I read it I imagined it made with rhubarb. Finally, at long last, rhubarb season is here again and this version, rhubarb bundt cake with rhubarb syrup, is divine. Tangy rhubarb paired with a sweet dense butter bundt cake, a cake which is then soaked in rhubarb syrup. It is most definitely dreamy.
As I said, the cake is dense. Delicious dense. The butter and sugar are whipped together and then with each egg addition, the batter is whipped even more. This time through, I used farm fresh eggs and the yellow yolks made for a very yellow batter. Real vanilla bean lends its delicate flavor however, I think the sour cream is the secret ingredient. Incorporated alternatively with the flour mix at the end, it gives the cake the density and moistness that makes it amazing.
I experimented with the mix, adjusting ingredient amounts. (Cake experiments are yummy!) The first time through, there just wasn’t enough rhubarb in the cake. It’s my favorite part. The pieces get soft and the tangy sweetness is just amazing. So I added more. In this instance, more is better.
I adjusted the syrup too. The first version was a simple syrup, like this one I used in lemonade. It was good but the rhubarb flavor wasn’t strong enough and I didn’t make enough to satisfy. I adjusted the amounts to get more rhubarb and more overall. Then, instead of straining out the cooked rhubarb, I pureed it in my food processor. It’s a slightly thicker syrup but not too thick for soaking the cake and the flavor is better.
This year, I’m going to make sure I chop up and freeze bunches of rhubarb so when the snow and cold is back I can make this cake and dream of rhubarb season next year.
Recipe adapted from Week of Menus
Ingredients
- 3 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 3/4 cups sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 vanilla bean, split with the seeds scraped out
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 cups finely chopped rhubarb
- 1 1/2 cup water
- 1 1/2 cup sugar
- 3 cups chopped rhubarb
Instructions
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a mixer, beat the softened butter until creamy (about 2 minutes).
- Gradually add in the sugar and beat until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes).
- Add in one egg at a time, beating for 30-40 seconds after each addition. Scrape down the bowl as needed.
- Beat in vanilla bean.
- Finally, alternately add the flour mixture (three additions) and the sour cream (two additions).
- In a greased and floured bundt pan (or angel food cake pan), scoop half the batter, spreading with a spatula.
- Sprinkle with the two cups of finely chopped rhubarb.
- Top with the remainder of the batter and smooth with spatula.
- Bake at 350F for 50-60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
- Invert the cake on a cooling rack then place the cooling rack over a baking sheet.
- While the cake is baking, combine the water, sugar and three cups rhubarb in a pot over medium heat.
- Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Pour the cooked liquid into the bowl of a food processor or blender and process until smooth.
- When the cake is hot from the oven, use a pastry brush and coat the outside with the syrup. Allow to soak in and then reapply.
- Let the cake cool.
- When serving, add more syrup if desired.
Dang girl, that looks amazing! :)
Thanks, Ash!
Did I tell you I’m obsessed with this!?! I’m making it this weekend. I can’t wait!
It’s delicious. Swing by later, I have some leftover to tie you over until the weekend. :)
Excuse me while I wipe the drool from my keyboard. I’m thinking you should move to Baltimore and be my neighbor and make this for me. Sounds like a good plan to me ;)
Sounds good to me too!
This is so awesome. I made it tonight for company. It was a hit. There is even some left for breakfast.
Making this now, forgot to add the spur cream. Hope it’s okay with out.
Made this last night with fresh picked rhubarb. The cake was very moist and I loved the rhubarb syrup. My cake did come out in two halves when I was inverting the bundt pan. :-( I think next time I will not to put the rhubarb so close to the edges. Thanks for the great recipe, it’s definitely a keeper!
My husband LOVES anything rhubarb, so I try to keep some in the freezer for the winter months to tide us over until the new crop in the spring. I’m not that much of a fan of rhubarb, but I love cake…SO this sounded like a good alternative to please us both. I of course made my own alterations as usual. I used one of the cups of flour with coconut flour, and added about a cup of chopped pecans and a half cup of brown sugar to the rhubarb mixture. Since my kitchen is in transition and I’m doing my baking with a little toaster/convection over. I divided the batter into two smaller bundt pans as the toaster oven can only hold smaller pans. The one pan I filled as the directions indicated, but the second I mixed the remaining rhubarb mixture in with the remaining dough ingredients and put it all in the second pan. The first one is still in the over now, so will see how they turn out. I’m sure we will eat them all up! Sure smells good baking!
Oh my, this sounds scrumptious! I will be trying this as soon as the rhubarb crop starts coming in! I bet this would also be good if you mixed strawberries in with the rhubarb!! Thanks for the recipe! Oh happy daaaayyy…!!
Made this delicious cake today but made the fruit half rhubarb and half strawberries in both the cake and the glaze. I’ll make this cake again and again! Absolutely delicious! Thank you…,
Strawberry and rhubarb?! Yummmy!! I’m going to have to try that myself. Thanks for the suggestion! And so glad you enjoyed it. :)
I couldn’t find vanilla bean. Can I just use vanilla extract?
Great question. I read that for every vanilla bean called for, you can substitute 1 tsp real vanilla extract. Hope that helps!
This looks amazing! Although I don’t have enough for the syrup :( do you think it’ll still be moist without it?
Oh no!! You can always get more rhubarb to make the syrup but the cake is moist without it. Making my mouth water just thinking about it!
I’m making this now. Fresh picked rhubarb! I didn’t have sour cream so I used Vanilla yogurt. Hope it turns out. It smells divine!
I hope it turned out, Lacey!
My dad is a big rhubarb fan, so I made this for his birthday. It turned out great, and everyone loved it! I did add just a few pinches of strawberry Jello to the sauce for extra redness.
Sounds yummy.
What a great idea! Love the rhubarb throughout the cake!
This looks absolutely delicious and I want to make it for Mother’s Day brunch! Should I go buy a bundt pan or can I use a different type of pan? Angel food?
Thanks!
How many times have you made this personally Amy?
So I made this recipe TWICE this week! AH-may-ZING!! The first time I accidentally forgot the bsoda and bpowder. I think because I was distracted by the beautiful simplicity of ingredients on the butter cake. Anyways, it turned out perfectly anyways and I did it the same way the second time on purpose. I think the process and the eggs do a great job of leavening the cake so it’s no problem, and it’s so dense and moist! Perfect crumb! Everyone loved it so much, thank you for this recipe. This will be one I make over and over, which is really something! I can’t wait to play with variations of the filling and syrup too.
This cake was a hit, everybody loved it. When I made the rhubarb syrup in halfed the sugar content as I like it a bit tart, it was delicious!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I think I need to make it again too.
Hi
I have Rubharb in freezer and would love to make this cake as my husband loves Rubharb.
Due to dairy allergies i will replace butter for margarine . What can i replace sour milk for?
I do not know where you live, but in Norway we have lactose-free milk products.
Maybe it is possible to use this if you can buy this where you live?
I don’t have a bundt cake pan and may not be able to acquire one before I need to bake the cake. Can this be made in another style cake pan?
This is a must for any rhubarb fancier. I made it for a fussy group of people and it disappeared very quickly. I didn’t have sour cream, so used my Greek yogurt and can’t get vanilla beans, locally, so used my pure vanilla. And I added way more rhubarb since mine isn’t really juicy this year. This recipe is much better than any others I’ve tried.
Thanks a bunch!
Can this cake be made a day ahead and?..Thanks
I made this cake for a get together of 10 women. I used frozen rhubarb, but when I thawed out the 2 cups required for adding to the cake, it was clearly watery from the frozen ice crystals that had melted. Surely no one wants a soggy cake so I squeezed out the excess water before adding it. That worked out well but would have been better with 3 cups to start with, because thawing and squeezing reduced the fruit to about 2/3 cup. One thing I don’t recommend is brushing the warm cake with the rhubarb syrup. It only results in a gummy top which is unattractive and doesn’t keep very well. The rhubarb sauce, which doesn’t need to go in the food processor, is wonderful on its own served on the side. This was well liked and I will make it again. This is a large cake good for a big crowd.