Rhubarb upside down cake starts with an amazing sour cream pound cake topped with a sweet rhubarb and brown sugar glaze. Great for any Spring gathering.
My Mother-in-law and I have always loved cooking together. It was how we got to know each other when Mike and I were first dating. She was visiting this week and wanted to make something with rhubarb and we ended up with this amazing rhubarb upside down cake.
We’re always mixing rhubarb with strawberries so I wanted to try something a little different. We came up with this concoction and I’m so glad we did. It’s got the tartness of rhubarb sweetened with brown sugar over a buttery Southern pound cake.
In the early years, while cooking togehter, we had a few fiasco’s but most were still edible. I was sure this would be edible but wasn’t sure how the pound cake would compliment the rhubarb and if it would be sweet enough without being too sweet. I don’t know what I was worried about because she’s a great cook and the two of us together have quite a bit of cooking experience.
Our first attempt was perfect except for the overall presentation. I should have made sure the rhubarb was spread out evenly in the skillet before adding the batter, some of my pieces did’nt have as much rhubarb as others. Other than that, we were both pleased at our accomplishment. A light and buttery sour cream pound cake with a slightly sweet topping that worked it’s way into the batter so that you enjoyed the rhubarb flavor throughout the cake.
How do you make a rhubarb upside down pound cake
For the top, our goal was to sweeten the rhubarb just enough that you could still enjoy the tartness. For the cake we wanted a buttery pound cake that would hold the rhubarb without collapsing. She came up with the idea of using her infamous pound cake which was Aunt Millies’ recipe. She has made this pound cake a million times and if you live in Campbellsville you may have been lucky enough to have one of hers. We needed to adapt her recipe somewhat to work with the size and the fact that we would be pouring it into a hot skillet.
Step 1: Melt butter and brown sugar in a cast-iron skillet on the stove and add pecans and candied ginger. Add chopped rhubarb and cook for a couple of minutes to soften it a bit then spread it out evenly in the pan so that the top of your cake will have rhubarb on every slice.
Step 2: Cream together the butter and sugar then add sour cream and egg yolks. Add the dry ingredients. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form and fold them into the cake batter. Pour onto the rhubarb mixture in the skillet and bake for 35 minutes. Let cool for about 5 minutes and then flip it over onto a serving plate.
We topped this with whipped cream and ate it at room temperature for dessert but it would be great for a brunch or tea. Everyone loved it and I especially love that we created it together. I can’t wait for her next visit to see what we can come up with.
What is rhubarb
Rhubarb is technically a vegetable. It has pink or even green stalks that look like celery. The color does not determine it’s ripeness, so the green ones have just as much flavor as the pink. It’s very tart and is commonly combined with strawberries in jam or with peaches in a galette. It freezes well so if you find a bunch at the farmer’s market or grocery depending on what area of the country you live in, chop it up and freeze it for later. It’s available only in the Spring and grows in colder climates.
Looking for more Springtime desserts
- Mixed berry crisp
- Strawberry cobbler
- Fruit cream cheese tart
- Blueberry cobbler
- Rhubarb crisp
- Strawberry coconut crisp
- Lemon strawberry shortcake
- Strawberry shortcake
- Strawberry cake
- Blackberry crumble
- Raspberry hand pies
- Peach blueberry bundt cake
- Peach coffee cake
- Buttermilk praline cake
Rhubarb Upside Down Pound Cake
Ingredients
TOPPING
- ¼ cup butter
- ½ cup pecans chopped
- ½ cup dark brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon candied ginger chopped
- 2 cups rhubarb chopped
CAKE
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- ½ cup butter softened
- ½ cup sour cream
- 3 eggs separated
- 1 ½ cups flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º.
- Melt butter in a 10 inch cast iron or oven proof skillet over medium heat. Stir in pecans, brown sugar and ginger and cook until sugar dissolves. Add cut rhubarb to the mixture and cook for about 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Spread out the rhubarb and pecans evenly over the bottom of the pan.
- CAKE: In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine butter and sugar and beat until combined. Add sour cream and beat until smooth. Add egg yolks one at a time mixing after each. Add vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, salt and soda. Add to batter and mix until well blended
- Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form and gently fold into the batter. Pour onto the top of the brown sugar mixture in the skillet and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let stand for 5 minutes on a wire rack and then turn upside down onto a platter. Serve with whipped cream.
Nutrition
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