Rhubarb Streusel Cake with Warm Vanilla Sauce
This rhubarb streusel cake with warm vanilla sauce is unreal in it’s deliciousness. Tart rhubarb folded into a moist buttermilk cake. Yum!
This cake. Oh, this cake. It is so unreal in it’s deliciousness that I had to post about it immediately.
I love me some rhubarb but have only ever enjoyed the pie and crisp variety of rhubarb desserts. Until this cake, that is.
Leisel, a sweet reader, sent it my way, telling me it turned her rhubarb-hater of a husband into a rhubarb-lover.
Since I was already a lover of rhubarb, it completely sealed my fate to adore rhubarb forevermore.
Tart rhubarb is folded into a deliciously moist and sweet buttermilk cake and topped with a buttery, crunchy streusel.
Baked to golden perfection, the cake retains it’s moistness and the rhubarb softens to perfect puckery tenderness.
Smothered in the creamy sweetness of the warm vanilla sauce and this unbelievable cake becomes absolutely irresistible.
Rhubarb Streusel Cake with Warm Vanilla Sauce
Ingredients
Cake:
- 2 tablespoons (28 g) butter, softened
- 1 cup (212 g) sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 cups (284 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup buttermilk (see note)
- 2 cups chopped fresh or frozen rhubarb
Streusel Topping:
- ½ cup (71 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (106 g) sugar
- 4 tablespoons (57 g) butter, melted
Vanilla Sauce:
- ½ cup (113 g) butter
- ¾ cup (159 g) sugar
- ½ cup evaporated milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9-inch square baking dish and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar for the cake. Beat in the egg. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed butter/sugar mixture alternately with the buttermilk, beating just until moistened. Fold in the chopped rhubarb. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the batter to the edges.
- In a medium bowl, combine the streusel topping ingredients, mixing them together until the mixture is coarse and combined. Sprinkle the streusel evenly over the batter. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean and the top of the cake is lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.
- For the sauce, melt butter in a medium saucepan. Add the sugar and milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2-3 minutes or until slightly thickened (it will thicken more as it cools slightly). Remove from the heat; stir in the vanilla. Serve warm with the cake.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted slightly from a reader, Leisel, who got it by way of allrecipes.com
I subbed raspberries for the rhubarb and skipped the sauce and it was delicious – the whole family loved it. FYI – one-and-a-half-ing the recipe fit perfectly in a 9×13 pan and was just right for my family of 9.
Yum! Raspberries sounds amazing in this!
Can you at strawberries to the cake? Or instead of vanilla put strawberry flavoring instead of vanilla in sauce?
Thank you
Stacy
I haven’t tried either of those variations, but you could definitely experiment!
Love love love this cake but I always forget it absolutely does not fit in a 9” square dish. Should be changed to 9×13. Took well over an hour to bake in a 9×9
Perfect dessert for Mother’s Day!! My family LOVED it (even those who think desserts must have chocolate) and want it again this rhubarb season! I baked it the night before, stored it in the fridge, and then warmed the cake in a 325-degree oven for a few minutes to take the chill off before serving with the warm sauce which worked great. I would say the cake is softly flavored with rhubarb – I might try adding an extra 1/2 cup rhubarb next time to make it a little stronger. Oh, and go ahead and double the sauce recipe so you have extra to serve as syrup with buttermilk pancakes 🙂
I made this tonight for dessert after Mother’s Day dinner (which was your shrimp tacos that people went nuts over!!) and I think this must now be my newest favorite rhubarb recipe of all time! The sauce was so good, I literally scraped out and ate the last little bit from the pan. It was the perfect way to end an awesome meal! Thanks for another winner!
I made this today after being given rhubarb by a neighbour. It’s such a great cake, really moist and the rhubarb is delicious in it! My only change for next time will be to add preserved ginger, as I know they go well together and I think a hint of spice will make this perfect (for me!).
This is INCREDIBLY DELICIOUS! (And yes, yelling is necessary.) I made this for a family reunion and everyone who tried it went back for more. I have a deep 9×13 pan and I used it since I doubled it. It fit great, but did need about 20 extra minutes to cook because of the depth. I was so excited that this is another one to add to my bulging favorites all from you.
I made this for my family and they were licking the plates!! Definitely on my go to list. That sauce is definitely addictive ❤️
I made this yesterday and it was very delicious. I doubled the streusel and did 1/2 white sugar and 1/2 brown sugar. I also added some orange zest to the sauce and going forward I will experiment with other spices (cardamom) and anise. Next time I will try the streusel exactly as you suggest, not x2. I think it makes it too sweet and takes away from the sour flavor of the rhubarb. Thanks!!
I want to make this in a 9 x 13, however I’m not sure how much to fill the pan. I know you said to double the recipe. Any idea how many grams of batter will fit in the pan? Or, I suppose I could eyeball it, maybe fill it 2/3 of the way up? Please let me know. Thank you (:
Hey Laura – sorry I don’t have the amount in grams. Did you try it?
I wanted to make this in a 9×13 pan, but only had 3 cups of rhubarb. I checked the original recipe on Allrecipes and saw it was baked in a 9×13, so decided to go for it (with a little fear and trembling, because I’ve come to trust you, and figured you had a reason to use a 9×9). Other than using 3 cups of rhubarb and the 9×13 pan, I followed your recipe exactly. Oh, and my rhubarb was frozen – just folded it it without thawing. It baked up to within an inch of the top of the pan. It is amazing! And that vanilla sauce!! Good thing I need most of it for guests tomorrow or I would piece away until I’d eaten the whole thing myself! Another keeper – thank you!!
Don’t know if you really meant one star 🙂
Wow this was AMAZING!!! I think I will have it again for breakfast!! The perfect texture. I was out of buttermilk and so I used your substitution list to make my own out of yogurt and milk. It still turned out great!!
Hi Mel – I need to make the cake the day before and am wondering can I make the sauce the day before too and then just warm it and add the vanilla before I serve it? Thank you so much for all your wonderful recipes! I did not grow up in a family of cooks and your site had been a life saver! No exaggeration- you taught me to cook!
Thank you, Jen! 🙂 And yes, that would work great to make the sauce ahead of time and warm when you ned it.
My mom made a similar recipe for us when we were kids. I always thought she was the best gardener in the world, because she had the biggest rhubarb plants in the neighborhood! Anyway, your recipe calls for more rhubarb and a streusel topping, so it wins the thumbs up. I might add that a 9 x 13 pan works just fine for this cake.
Could I use something other than rhubarb in this recipe?
Could definitely try! I’ve only ever made it with rhubarb.
Yummy! Waiting for the cake to come out of the oven to take to work tomorrow, but wondering if you have any suggestions for the sauce? Pour it on top before I take it in or serve it on the side? I won’t be able to keep the sauce warm once I get it there. Love your recipes, I’m a long time fan!!
Hmmm, that’s a good question. I’d probably warm the sauce and pour it on the cake before you take it to work. Hope it’s a hit!
Thanks for this wonderful recipe! The cake and sauce were amazingly delicious. This one will be a keeper for my recipe box.
Raquel
I made this for a church picnic. Everyone loved it! One person said it was the best dessert she had ever eaten.
I made this over the weekend. Holy smokes! It was amazing! I’ll definitely be making it again!
Mel, my grandmother used to always use rhubarb but I’ve never baked with it. Do you do anything special before putting it in the batter? Cook it? Anything? Or do you just chop it and throw it in? Thanks!!!
Hilary – I don’t do anything special to the rhubarb unless the recipe calls for it. For this cake, I just toss it in!
Do I need to thaw the rhubarb first?
No.
You always come through for me, Mel! I recently received a big bag of frozen rhubarb and wanted to make this exact kind of cake. I was SO thrilled when I saw you had a recipe for it, and true-to-form, it was amazing!! My husband is a freak for “cold” sweets. Like, he always puts his chocolate in the freezer, likes frozen cookies, etc, so I made the cake a day ahead, refrigerated it and then served it with the warm vanilla sauce on top. No kidding, I blacked out for about the 2 minutes it took me to shove it in my mouth it was so good!
Thanks for another tried and true recipe. I’ll never make a different rhubarb cake again! 🙂
Mel, this recipe takes the cake (pun intended). I have never tasted such…I can’t even find the words to express the explosion of yuminess I experienced with each bite. The cake was scrumptious, but then add the warm vanilla sauce (which i wanted to eat by the tablespoon) and it was divine. I doubled the recipe and it fit perfectly in a 9×13 pan. I made it for my friend’s bday at work who loves rhubarb. I can’t thank you enough for posting this recipe. You undoubtly are a lean-mean-recipe-rocking-machine! U-know!
This was seriously amazing. The cake isn’t very sweet, but that makes it perfect with the sauce. I will definitely add about double the rhubarb next time.
I also did about 3/4 tsp of vanilla and 3/4 tsp of almond extract in the sauce and having the hint of almond in it made it AWESOME.
my family loved this! some had never had rhubarb and was pleasantly surprised of how good it was, the vanilla sauce was soooo scrumptious, i could drink it! thanks again for a great dessert and after that one i need to add one more yoga and cardio class!! HA 🙂
I found a bag of frozen Rhubarb in the back of my freezer this morning. A search lead me to this recipe, so good. I think I’ll make it for my friends for lunch next week.
What do you do with a bag of frozen rhubarb? I knew you would have the answer. I made this tonight… yum! My picky little a 4 year old called me a culinary genius. Okay… he just said, “Yummy,” but I take that seriously when I hear it come from his lips. This is not the first recipe from your blog to elicit such a response, nor will it be the last, I’m sure. Thank you!!! Also, thanks for the effort you put into occasional gluten free recipes. With several Celiacs in the extended family, I appreciate the ideas.
Melanie!
You did it again. I was given some rhubarb and I had remembered drooling over this cake. Thanks for giving me the perfect recipe to make with my rhubarb. This cake was amazing!! I added a little lemon, used a buttermilk substitute and more rhubarb and this cake was a perfect 10!! I posted the changes to my blog–and I figured the recipe amounts that worked perfectly in a 9×13 pan. Now I am going crazy trying to find me some more rhubarb so I can make it again.
Thanks so much!
http://www.dealstomeals.blogspot.com
I made this for my Friday coffee with my lady work friends this morning and brought it to work warm. They loved it and most of them asked for the recipe. I double the recipe all the way around and the cake fit nicely into my 11×15 pan. Enough to feed the entire crowd, and then some. Looking at some of your other recipes now and expect to try some of them too.
My family loves rhubarb so I like to make a lot of different dishes this time of year with it in. I made this last night and they really enjoyed it, especially with the sauce! Thanks for the recipe. You do a wonderful job with your blog, so many great recipes!
My rhubarb is going crazy! I made crisp last week and made this yesterday. It was delicious! I used 4 cups of rhubarb instead of 2 to give it a little more rhubarb flavor. The streusel topping was crunchy and wonderful. Turned out perfectly. Thanks for another great recipe!
hi Mel! I wondered if this could be made in a bundt pan? And why did you double it? Did you want the extra cupcakes or was the recipe as is not enough for a 9×13? Also, could the sauce and cake be made ahead and then the sauce heated up? Thanks! (LOVE your website!)
Since this cake has rhubard in it, should it be stored in the refridgerator?
CarrieW – I wasn’t aware that rhubarb needed to be refrigerated, so I’m not sure. The sauce should definitely be refrigerated and it probably wouldn’t hurt the cake to be chilled, also.
So I recently had my baby and the friend who first introduced me to your fabulous blog made this and brought me over some…Oh my heck, it was amazing!!! I’ve only had rhubarb in a jam before but this was so good, I wish I had more!
Ashlee – well first, congrats on your baby! And second, I wish your friend would bring ME some of this cake! Maybe I should have another baby. 🙂
i made this today. it was delicious, thank you. the next time i make it i think i will add more rhubarb – maybe one more cup.
Thanks, Helen!
Hey there. It’s me again. I just made this today for a big potluck and it was tastetastic! Every component is a delight from that ultra moist and yummy buttermilk cake, the tart rhubarb, the crunchy streusel and that ridiculous sauce—oh hold me! I get asked all the time for the recipes of the different dishes I make and 9 times out of 10–it’s from your website. I have sent many people your way for the best food around.
Hey Reyna – glad this cake got rave reviews! And thanks for the accolades on the website. I’m thrilled you enjoy it so much!
Yum, that looks seriously dreamy.
~ingrid
Ok, this has nothing to do with rhubarb, but i have to say, you’ve been my go-to website for quite some time, and I needed a meatloaf recipe. I have never cooked a meatloaf recipe during my almost 10 yrs of marriage cuz my hubby hates it. But, i searched it on here and found the “Best meatloaf” and it was a recipe for “mini meatloves”. TO DIE FOR!!! They are literally THE BEST i’ve ever tasted, the flavor is superb and the sauce on top is so irresistable! Plus it is so simple and quick!!! My kids gobbled them up. And I may or may not have eaten 21/2 of the 5 loaves i made, who are we kidding, I could’ve eaten all 5. This was a first for us, but most certainly won’t be our last. Thanks again for a tried and true recipe that has instantly become a favorite!! THANK YOU THANK YOU!!
Hillary – thank you so much for your comment! I always feel like I’ve made a real difference in the big ol’ world when a meatloaf-hater is converted to the mighty meatloaf. I’m thrilled the mini meatloaves were such a hit. Thanks for letting me know!
I have to say, I have never used rhubarb, but your struesel cake looks delicious….and you really got my attention with the warm vanilla sauce!
Sure — now you post a yummy rhubarb recipe. AFTER I move from the house that had more rhubarb than I knew what to do with! And now I have none. Guess I might just have to go buy me some and try this recipe out.
streusel and sweet, succulent sauce–it doesn’t even matter that i don’t care for rhubarb!
Seeing the photo’s reminded me how amazing this was! I’m going to have to make it again, right away!
I love Rhubarb I always ate it as a kid. I will have to try this recipe.
Rhubarb is phenomenal–I think a strawberry sauce would go over this great as well as the vanilla!
We love rhubarb around here — and this dessert looks wonderful! We have just inherited a bunch of rhubarb from the garden at our new house, so we’ll be trying this for sure!
I have never had rhubarb (I know-can you believe it?), but this cake looks delicious! The vanilla sauce looks amazing, too. This will go on my “must try” recipe list!
rhubarb is awesome! wish it grew all summer long.
I am drooling over the vanilla sauce. That sounds incredible.