A classic spring recipe, this rhubarb almond cake has a buttery almond base topped with rhubarb. Rich, not too sweet, and with a nice balance between the almond, rhubarb, and vanilla flavours.

I love rhubarb. It’s one of my favourite things about spring, and I share a number of new rhubarb recipes every year. Here’s a vegan lemon rhubarb cake, and a really great German rhubarb crumble cake with a yeasted base.

The crumb for this almond rhubarb cake is soft and a touch dense, very much like a coffee cake, so you can pack it up and cart it just about anywhere. Perfect for parties and a good way to use up some rhubarb! I always seem to end up with more than I can reasonably use. This recipe is adapted from my hazelnut fig cake, another great buttery nut-based cake.

Ingredients

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

• Spelt flour: As always, plain all-purpose white flour can be substituted for light spelt.
• Almond flour: another nut flour, like hazelnut, can replace almond. I do find hazelnut flour a bit strong here though.
• Sugar: use either cane sugar or coconut sugar.
• Eggs: I did several tests to try to make this cake without eggs, and it simply doesn’t work. You don’t have the extra lift provided by lemon juice, and the rhubarb is otherwise too heavy and makes the cake claggy.
• Vanilla: cardamom makes an excellent substitute for vanilla.

Step by Step

Step 1: sift the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl.

Step 2: beat the oil and sugar to combine, then beat in the eggs, milk, and vanilla.

Step 3: add the egg mixture to the large bowl and mix to combine.

Step 4: transfer to a prepared springform pan.

Step 5: top with the rhubarb in any pattern you like.

Step 6: bake until lightly golden and cool before serving.

Recipe Notes

The method for this recipe is more similar to butter/egg/sugar cakes than the easier one-bowl methods you more often see on OE, but it’s part of what gives this cake such a great texture. A tiny bit more work but well worth the result.

Of course you don’t have to add the rhubarb in a pattern, if you just throw it on any old way, it’ll taste the same. Frozen rhubarb can be used in place of fresh but should be thawed first.

How to Store

Storage: the cake will keep well in a sealed container for a couple of days at room temperature, but will soften slightly from the rhubarb.

Freezing: I don’t recommend freezing this cake, as the rhubarb is soggy when thawed.

Expert Tips

• Cut the rhubarb thinly: too big of chunks will weigh the cake batter down and cause under-baked sections.
• Don’t over-mix: spelt is slightly delicate, and if over-mixed, will make for a tough, chewy cake.
• Use the cake tin outlined: a smaller cake tin will make for a dense, unpleasant cake. It must be this large, for a fairly thin cake, or it won’t bake evenly.
• Warm up the eggs: to quickly bring cold eggs up to room temperature, submerge them in a bowl of warm (not hot) water for five minutes.

More Rhubarb Recipes

Rhubarb Ginger Muffins
Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler
Gluten Free Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
And here’s a small collection of healthy rhubarb recipes!

If you make this Almond Rhubarb Cake or any other vegetarian dessert recipes on Occasionally Eggs, please take a moment to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. It’s such a help to others who want to try the recipe. For more OE, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, purchase the Occasionally Eggs cookbook, or subscribe for new posts via email.