This Rhubarb Streusel Cake recipe is an old fashioned, tender cake made with fresh rhubarb and a sweet & crispy streusel topping!
This Rhubarb Streusel Cake recipe is tender and moist, and topped with a sweet and crunchy streusel topping with just a hint of warmth from a little cinnamon. My grandma used to make different versions of this cake all summer long at the lake using whatever fruit she had on hand of course, so making streusel cakes likes this always makes me think of her.
The tang of the rhubarb is perfectly balanced with the sweetness of the streusel topping. Desserts like this stand the test of time, and for good reason. It just doesn’t get any better than good old butter and sugar and really, why would you even try to modernize something so simple and tasty? Sometimes you just need a good, old-fashioned cake like Grandma used to make! I know you’re going to love this recipe!
Here at The Busy Baker we absolutely LOVE rhubarb. It’s one of those underrated ingredients that we just never use enough of, especially at this time of year when it’s plentiful and overrunning gardens everywhere! Rhubarb is just such a delicious addition to cakes, pies, muffins, jams…the list is endless, and it’s such a summery fruit!
Here are some more of our favourite rhubarb recipes:
- Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
- Strawberry Rhubarb Freezer Jam
- Best Ever Rhubarb Muffins
- Strawberry Rhubarb Skillet Cobbler
Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make this rhubarb cake recipe (paid links):
- unsalted butter
- granulated sugar
- eggs
- vanilla extract
- milk
- sour cream
- all purpose flour
- baking powder
- salt
- chopped fresh rhubarb
- cinnamon
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Here’s what you’ll need in your kitchen to make this recipe (paid links):
- a good mixing bowl
- a wooden spoon
- a silicone spatula
- measuring cups for dry ingredients
- measuring spoons
- measuring cups for liquid ingredients
- a hand mixer or stand mixer
Time needed: 1 hour and 10 minutes
Follow these steps for the best rhubarb cake.
- Prepare the ingredients first.
Chop your rhubarb and measure out your wet and dry ingredients. Be sure the eggs, butter, and sour cream are at room temperature.
- Make the streusel topping.
Prepare the streusel topping next, combining the ingredients until it’s crumbly, and set it aside.
- Preheat your oven.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Make the cake batter.
Make the cake batter as directed in the recipe, mixing just until combined.
- Bake to perfection.
Smooth the cake batter into the prepared pan, top with the rhubarb, then top with the streusel topping and bake.
- Cool, then serve.
Cool the cake almost to room temperature before slicing and serving.
Should rhubarb be cooked before baking?
No, it’s not necessary to cook rhubarb before baking. Simply cut into small pieces and add to your favourite baked goods.
How do you cut rhubarb for a cake?
Wash the rhubarb stalks and slice them into small pieces about 1 centimetre thick.
Why is rhubarb used in baking?
Rhubarb is tart which contrasts beautifully with the sweetness in cakes, muffins and other baked goods.
How do you store rhubarb streusel cake?
Rhubarb streusel cake can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container.
Can you freeze rhubarb streusel cake?
Yes, you can freeze rhubarb streusel cake in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature, uncovered, to prevent excess condensation from forming on the top of the cake while it thaws.
We hope you enjoy this Rhubarb Streusel Cake recipe as much as we do! Let us know in the comments below, what’s your favourite old-fashioned, tried and true dessert? We’d love to know!
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Rhubarb Streusel Cake
Recipe: Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup sour cream full fat is best
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter for greasing the cake pan
- 2 1/2 cups chopped fresh rhubarb
For the streusel topping:
- 2/3 cup all purpose flour
- 2/3 cup white sugar
- 4 tbsp melted butter
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Recipe: Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Wash 3-4 stalks of rhubarb and chop them into bite sized pieces (you’ll need about 2 and a half cups of chopped rhubarb to cover the cake.). Set them aside in a bowl while you prepare the cake batter.
- Add the butter and the sugar to the bowl of your stand mixer and beat them together until the mixture is fluffy and becomes a pale colour (about 4-5 minutes). It’s important that the butter is at room temperature before you begin. This will allow it to integrate properly with the other wet ingredients.
- Feel free to use a hand mixer if you prefer.
- Add the eggs and the vanilla and beat them in on medium speed until the mixture is smooth. It’s a good idea to scrape down the bowl periodically to make sure everything is incorporated evenly.
- Add the milk and sour cream and beat in these ingredients on low speed until they’re combined.
- To a separate bowl add the flour, the baking powder and the salt and mix these ingredients together with a fork or a wire whisk. Once they’re all incorporated, dump the flour mixture into the bowl of the stand mixer with the wet ingredients. Turn the mixer on low and watch the batter come together. As soon as you see the batter form with streaks of flour throughout, turn off the mixer and remove the bowl.
- Over-mixing at this stage can cause an overly dense and dry cake with large air bubbles, which you definitely don’t want. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl by hand and gently fold in the remaining flour. Be sure to stop folding as soon as everything is combined.
- Grease a 9×13 rectangular glass cake pan with some butter and pour the batter into the pan, using the spatula to push the batter into the corners and even out the surface. Don’t worry, the batter will seem thick but it’s supposed to be like that.
- Spread the rhubarb over the top of the batter.
- In a clean bowl mix together the flour, sugar and cinnamon for the streusel topping. Add in the melted butter and mix everything together with a fork until the mixture becomes crumbly.
- Sprinkle the streusel mixture over the cake and the rhubarb, making sure to spread it at evenly as possible and into all the corners.
- Bake the cake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 47-50 minutes. When it’s finished baking the topping will be slightly browned on top, the rhubarb will be bubbly, and when you insert a toothpick into the centre of the cake it will come out clean.
- Try to let the cake cool in the pan for at least 20 minutes before cutting into it…if you can wait that long!
Recipe: Nutrition
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
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This is gorgeous, wish I had a piece right now for breakfast — pinned!
Thanks Sue!
Thanks!
Oh man. You KNOW I'm drooling over this one! I'll take the whole pan please!
Thanks Trish!!
This looks delicious Chrissy! I love the tart sweet taste of rhubarb.
Thanks so much Renee! Me too 🙂
Very tasty, my boyfriend was more than delighted as he's a big fun of rhubarb:)I have promised him to bake another one soon:)
That's great! So glad you enjoyed it!
This looks really good to me, but there’s a dairy allergy in my house. Any ideas on what I could use to sub out the sour cream? If not, would substituting my own basic white cake recipe work for that portion of your recipe? I have two big rhubarb plants going crazy right now so I’m looking for lots of new rhubarb recipes to try. Thanks for any suggestions you might have.
Great question! I’ve actually had success with substituting the sour cream for a dairy-free yogurt and a small splash of lemon juice (to replace the acidity of the sour cream). But you could also substitute your own cake recipe for the base if you’d like. I know you’ll love this recipe! 😉
can you make this with frozen rhubarb
Absolutely! I do all the time 🙂
Is there a printer friendly version of this recipe?
Hi Rhonda, I recently had my site redesigned and I’m in the process of making all my recipes printable. This one is next on my list and I’ll get it done for you as soon as I can 🙂 Thanks for your patience!
I am looking for the print option as well
Doris
The print button is at the top of the recipe card (big yellow box), just under the photo. It says “Print”. Just click it and it should open a window with the printable recipe!
Made this cake today and it was a success. Thanks for sharing!!
Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment! I’m so glad you enjoyed the cake!
I’ve been trying different recipes using fresh rhubarb lately, Chrissie (love when it’s in season). My most recent is this one, and it was thoroughly enjoyed by my family! So much so that I’m about to make it again this afternoon!
I also love to cook with fresh seasonal ingredients!! Hope it went out well!😊
If using frozen rhubarb, does it need to be thawed before use?
Yes, that’s how i do it too! Let me know how it was 😊
I made this today for 25 aged care residents and everyone absolutely loved it. Thankyou for a beautiful desert.💛
You’re welcome! So glad they loved it! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment! 🙂
Stop whatever you are doing right now and make this cake! It is divine. Everyone in my family loved it, from the sweet tooth to the non-cake eater. I used plain yogurt instead of sour cream (because I didn’t have any), and it still turned out amazing.
You are so sweet! Thank you so much Sarah!! We love this cake recipe too!🙂
Can you use almond milk instead of milk
Sure thing! I do it all the time because my husband is lactose intolerant.
This looks amazing and I will definitely be making it but wonder about your comment of substituting other fruits. Any tips for doing that? What other fruits work well and do you simply substitute? e.g do you think it would work to substitute 2 1/2 cups of apples, blueberries, or peaches? Thank you so much for sharing this recipe and answering questions!
Thank you for your question. I actually have streusel cake recipes containing apples and peaches(you can also just substitute blueberries). I’m linking them below for you.
https://thebusybaker.ca/caramel-apple-streusel-cake/
https://thebusybaker.ca/peach-streusel-cake/
Not fans of rhubarb so can anything else be substituted?
Yes, chopped apples work well!
Awesome. Added some oats to topping
Nice! Thanks for the comment!
Would like to make into muffins. Thoughts?
It’ s possible, but you’ll have to adjust the baking time. Unfortunately, we’ve never tried that so I couldn’t tell you exactly the baking time, but if you check on them frequently and use the toothpick test to check for doneness it should be fine.
I’m glad I came across this recipe. It is perfect in every way. The amount of sugar is just right to complement the tartness of the rhubarb. The cake is moist and light.
Thanks Minnie! I know we love this recipe too!😊
Hi! Beautiful photo. I’ve got lots of rhubarb but not a lot of time in the mornings. Can this be baked/made ahead of time and reheated the following morning for breakfast? Thanks.
Yes, you can absolutely reheat it!
Can a person use margarine instead of butter in this recipe or will it change it?
Sure, you can substitute it! Happy baking!
Can the rhubarb cake be frozen?
You can freeze this cake in an airtight container for up to 3 months!
Wow! this cake was delicious and moist. I didn’t have sour cream , so I substituted it with mayonnaise . Everyone loved it. It’s a keeper.
We’re so happy you enjoyed it! Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback!
I have lived next door to my neighbor who offers me rhubarb every year for the past 31 years. I have made a lot of recipes and without a doubt this is the best recipe ever. It’s a moist and not to sweet dessert. I can’t wait to bring her some of these.
We’re so happy you enjoyed them! Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback!