A bright, moist, and vibrantly colorful spiced rhubarb upside-down cake that’s bursting with flavor and celebrates the best of the spring and summer rhubarb bounty, easily made all in a food processor.
A more accurate name would actually be Cardamom, Pistachio, Orange & Yogurt Rhubarb Upside Down Cake…but I thought that seemed just a teen *tiny* bit too long….don’tcha think?!?
Rhubarb stalks are simply beautiful! And not all stalks are the same! They vary in thickness, length, and color, and their deep red, pink, and green hues are dreamy.
Why this Recipe Works
- The cake is indulgently moist thanks to the yogurt in the batter.
- Adding ground pistachios to the flour adds a surprising nutty twist and more flavor to the cake batter.
- The batter quickly and easily comes together in a food processor.
- Brown sugar provides a bold flavor and mellow sweetness.
- Orange juice and zest add a touch of brightness to the cake complimenting the warm hints of ginger and cardamom that add complexity and depth of flavor.
- The tart and sour flavors of rhubarb are balanced out exceptionally well by the spiced brown sugar toppings that absorb into the rhubarb while baking.
An impressive spring and summer treat that’s as absolutely eye candy to look at and a pleasure to eat!
How to Make this Recipe
Please see my step-by-step shots below for easy cooking.
Cooks Tips
- When choosing rhubarb, looks for stalks with the deepest shades of red near the base and ones that are firm and crisp.
- Discard the toxic leaves!
- Aligning the rhubarb: this take a bit of trial and error! I align the rhubarb in a row and place the cake pan on top to get an idea of where to trim, snugly fitting in as many rows of rhubarb as the cake pan will allow, often putting a piece in only to take out and trim a bit more. It’s a bit like rhubarb Tetris!
- If you don’t have a cake pan, an ovenproof skillet can work as well.
- Be patient when turning the cake pan. May take several minutes for it to release.
- Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Wanna try another one of my rhubarb desserts? Check out my Berry-licious Macadamia Rhubarb Bars and Gluten-Free Almond Rhubarb Cake!!!
Have ya tried this recipe? I’d love to hear about it and see it too! Please leave a comment below and take a pic and tag it on Instagram with #chefdanielagerson. You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest to see more colorfully delicious food and all sorts of awesome adventures!
Lets make waves in the kitchen!
Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake
A bright, moist and vibrantly colorful spiced rhubarb upside-down cake that’s bursting with flavor and celebrates the best of spring and summer rhubarb bounty, easily made all in a food processor!
Servings: 10
Ingredients
For the Rhubarb Topping
- 6 stalks rhubarb about 1.5 pounds
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- zested & juiced 1 orange divided
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger or 1 tablespoon of grated fresh ginger
- ½ teaspoon cardamom
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
For the Cake
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 cup pistachios
- 8 tablespoons butter 1 stick, room temperature
- ½ cup white sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- zest & juice orange remaining
- 1 cup Greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
For the Rhubarb Toppings
- Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.
- Use a 9-inch cake pan or a 9-inch cast iron skillet. Cut the rhubarb to fit your pan. This takes a bit of trial and error. After aligning, take the rhubarb out and set aside in the correct order to you know how to put the pieces back in. If you have leftover rhubarb you can cut it in 1/2" chunks and incorporate into the cake batter.
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan on the stove and add the brown sugar, on one half of the orange zest & juice, cardamom, ginger and salt. Heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture begins to bubble around the edges. Pour this sugar mixture into the cake pan, then line the rhubarb into the pan as you just trimmed it. Set the pan aside while preparing the cake batter.
For the Cake
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cardamom, baking powder and salt with a whisk. Set aside.
- In a food processor fitted with the knife blade, finely grind the pistachios. Change the blade to the dough blade. Add butter and sugar and beat in processor until light and creamy. mix in eggs, one at a time, stopping to scrape down sides. Add the remaining orange juice and zest, vanilla and the yogurt. Mix well. Add the four mixture and pulse just to combine, again scraping the bowl to make sure the batter is uniform. Briefly mix in any reserved rhubarb chunks.
- Transfer batter to pan, on top of rhubarb stalks, and smooth top of batter.
- Bake in oven for 1 hr. and 15min. The top should be browned and the edges bubbly. A cake tester inserted in the center will be clean.
- Cool the cake for 5 minutes then run a small sharp knife around edges. Place a plate on top of the cake pan and invert. Slowly lift the cake pan away.
- I prefer the cake warm with lightly sweetened and freshly made whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, but it can also be served at room temperature, as is.
Notes
- When choosing rhubarb, looks for stalks with the deepest shades of red near the base and ones that are firm and crisp.
- Discard the toxic leaves!
- Aligning the rhubarb: this take a bit of trail and error! I align the rhubarb in a row and place the cake pan on top to get an idea of where to trim. Snugly fitting in as many rows of rhubarb as the cake pan will allow, often putting a piece in only to take out and trim a bit more. It’s a bit like rhubarb Tetris!
- If you don’t have a cake pan, an ovenproof skillet can work as well.
- Be patient when turning the cake pan. May take several minutes for it to release.
- Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Love this cake ?
You are so sweet!!! Thank you :)!
The rhubarb makes for a stunning color in this cake! I can’t wait to make it this weekend.
Absolutely agree on the color Deseree! And please let me know how it goes when ya make it this weekend… I’d absolutely love to hear :)!
I can’t believe how simple this way to make last night! I had to come back and brag about it. Simple and bursting with flavor!
Yessss!!!! So stoked to hear that Jacquelyn!!! Simple to make and bursting with flavor is exactly how I want my recipes to be! Thanks so much for the super sweet feedback :).
Oh, my — this is just the prettiest cake! I never thought to use rhubarb for an upside-down cake, but it’s such a great idea. Thanks for sharing such a great recipe!
Absolute pleasure Amanda!!! I just love how the color of rhubarb turns out in an upside-down cake! Stoked to hear you like it too :).
Ooh this is gorgeous! Love the idea of adding pistachios to the flour too for some flavor and crunch. Thanks for the tip on choosing rhubarb too 🙂
Absolute pleasure Heather and thanks so much for the super sweet feedback! The pistachios def take the batter up a notch! Really appreciate your comments :).
I need to try more rhubarb recipes. It’s the prettiest vegetable (or is it a fruit — ha?!) ever! This cake looks awesome. The perfect spring recipe!
Rhubarb is indeed a veggie but I still mistakenly think of it as fruit… and ya you do need to try more rhubarb recipe Kelly… I support that idea :)!
This cake recipe looks so good! I’ve seen rhubarb in the Farmer’s Market recently and wanted a way to use it, now I do!
Thanks so much for the feedback Sharon! And I def hope ya buy some rhubarb at the market and make this! Please let me know how it goes afterwards…. I’d absolutely love to hear :).
Rhubarb season started like weeks ago and I can’t believe I haven’t made ANY rhubarb recipe yet. This is definitely a sign that I must make this wonderful cake. Looks delicious and perfect. Will pair so nice with cup of tea on afternoons. Love it!
Hehehe Natalie I can’t believe it either! Rhubarb season started quite late this year in Northern Cali and I’m so super stoked it’s finally here! Happy to hear that my recipe inspired ya to get your rhubarb game on and would absolutely love to hear your thoughts on it after you make it :).
The color of this upside down pie is perfect for Mother’s Day. I know what dessert I’m serving my mother this year.
Sooooo super stoked to hear that Jacquelyn!!! Thanks so much :)! And please let me know how it goes after ya make it… I’d absolutely love to hear!
Pineapple upside down cake is my absolute FAVORITE but it’s pretty clear that this rhubarb version is gonna be right up there! Yum!!!
So stoked to hear that Lorie! Would love to hear your thoughts on how this compares to your favorite pineapple upside-down cake after ya try it too :)!
Oh my gosh, this is beautiful!! Where do you live that your rhubarb grows such an incredibly vibrant shade — it’s practically purple! Here in the mid-Atlantic, it’s a tomato-red at best.
Thanks so much for the super sweet feedback Julie! I live in San Francisco. And definitely not all rhubarb is the same! The color changes throughout the season and is highly dependent on where I buy it… and I’m always looking for those stalks with incredibly vibrant shades :).
I never had rhubarb before (hides face in shame lol) and I need to change this asap! This cake sounds delicious! Thanks for the recipe
Absolute pleasure Ana and I really hope I inspired ya to give rhubarb a try! Just don’t try to like it raw cause it’s real tart and sour… but it bakes wonderfully :)!
Rhubarb is just the prettiest! I cannot wait to have it here, still maybe a month to go… Love the Greek yogurt in the batter, it makes for very moist cakes. Beautiful!
Thanks so much for the super sweet feedback Nicoletta!!! And yes the greek yogurt makes the cake wonderfully moist! Wishing you get rhubarb by you super soon :)!
As others have said, this is a beautiful and delicious recipe! I used walnuts instead of pistachios, since it’s what I had on hand. Any thoughts on why it was still mushy under the rhubarb after 1h25mins? Yours seems to be nicely browned!
Hi + so stoked to hear ya made this Jenna :)! By mushy do ya mean not fully cooked?
Yes, it didn’t seem fully cooked, and there was no crust on the top. I’ll note that I did use unbleached cane sugar instead of brown sugar, which I didn’t have on hand! Oops!
Heya Jenna I’m so sorry to hear this happened to your cake! If you’re ever in LA I’d love to make one for you! I’ve fiddled with the re-tested the recipe and increased the oven temp to 350. Hope this solves all for you and I really appreciate you taking the time to give me feedback :)!