Rhubarb Raspberry Upside-Down Cake

This rhubarb upside-down cake has a few raspberries tucked into the rhubarb fruit layer to enhance the colour of pink rhubarb while also lending lots of flavour and sweetness to this dessert

Upside-down cakes are traditionally made with rings of canned pineapple and pink maraschino cherries to add a pop of colour and sweetness to the retro, classic fruit dessert. That makes it particularly easy to bake this type of cake year-round because you can always find canned pineapple at the grocery stores, and maraschino cherries, too, regardless of the season.

The fruit is baked on the bottom of the cake pan, underneath the cake batter. Once baked, the cake is flipped onto a serving plate to reveal the fruit layer that was hidden under the cake. This is how this dessert gets its name.

Upside-down cakes are known for being very decorative because you can take time to arrange the fruit in a pattern which bakes into the cake, anchoring the fruit in place.

The upside-down cake recipe is a perfect example of a classic recipe that you can tweak to suit the seasons with the fresh local fruit at the market. You can imagine using summer berries mid-summer, or sliced peaches or nectarines in the late summer months. And in the spring and early summer, replacing the canned pineapple with flavourful stalks of rhubarb is ideal!

What You Need To Make An Upside-Down Cake With Rhubarb

The vanilla cake batter is a variation on a pound cake recipe, also called a quatre-quarts (which is the French baking term for pound cake). The pound cake is made with roughly equal weights of flour, butter, sugar, and eggs.

The original rhubarb upside-down cake recipe first appeared in the New York Times, and I started baking this rhubarb raspberry version in 2011. I've since converted it to metric weights and done a little tweaking based on my experience. Here's what you need to make my version:

• butter—use unsalted butter or cut back on the salt if you are using salted
• sugar—we are using white sugar in the cake batter so that the vanilla flavour shines and brown sugar in the quick caramel sauce for flavour
• flour—instead of using cake flour, we are using a combination of all-purpose flour plus ground almonds to reduce the gluten and create a moist, tender cake
• leavening—the cake layer is made with baking powder not baking soda. Read about baking soda versus baking powder if you are unsure the difference.
• salt—I always bake with Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using table salt, add half the amount to avoid making the cake too salty
• fruit—I used a combination of rhubarb and raspberries to create a more vibrant pink fruit layer that is bright in colour and flavour and that can stand up against the sweet vanilla sour cream cake layer
• cornstarch—there's a little cornstarch added to the fruit to help the juices gel so that the fruit topping is not so liquid because both rhubarb and raspberries have a lot of water in them
• sour cream—always use full-fat sour cream if you can for the best cake texture
• eggs—I bake with large eggs. Using smaller or larger eggs may affect the texture of the cake

Please see the recipe card for the exact ingredients and quantities.

Substitutions And Variations

How To Make The Best Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake

Step 1—Combine the sugar and cornstarch first (image 1) and mix it really well with a whisk to eliminate any clumps of cornstarch (image 2) before adding in your fruit (image 3). Let the fruit sit to macerate and draw out some of the juices.

Step 2—Combine the butter and brown sugar (image 4) in a small saucepan and heat them until bubbly and boiling (image 5) before transferring to your cake pan (image 6).

Note: you can either use a 9-inch springform pan that is buttered and lined with parchment or you can use a 9-inch round cake pan with 3-inch straight sides

Step 3—Whip the butter and sugar for several minutes until really light and fluffy (image 7) before adding the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla (image 8). Whip the mixture really well to incorporate air (image 9).

Step 4—In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, ground almonds, leavening, and salt (image 10), then add one third of it to the mixer at a time (image 11), alternating with the sour cream, half at a time (image 12). You will end up with a thick, fluffy cake batter (image 13).

Step 5—Arrange the macerated fruit over the caramel layer in a decorative pattern in your springform (image 14). Dollop the batter over top and spread it from edge to edge with a mini offset spatula (image 15). Bake the cake until the top is an even, deep golden-brown and a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean (image 16).

How To Flip An Upside-Down Cake

You can't cool the cake completely in the springform because we need to be able to unmould it: otherwise, the cake will adhere to the sides of the pan, and the fruit syrup will set and stick to the parchment if the cake gets too cold.

For this reason, you can only cool the cake briefly in the pan, just long enough to be able to handle it. Fifteen to thirty minutes is all you need to wait before flipping it onto a serving plate:

• Run a knife around the edges between the cake and the pan to ensure the cake isn't stuck to the edges
• Place a large plate over the pan
• Place your left palm flat under the cake pan, and place your right palm flat on top of the plate to hold them together (or vice-versa)
• Flip swiftly, maintaining the pressure of your palms on the plate and the pan. Don't hesitate. Just do it!
• Set the plate down on your counter
• Lift the pan upwards slowly with both hands, gently, to release it (or unlock the buckle of the springform to release the sides, then carefully release the springform base and parchment off the fruit layer)
• If any fruit sticks to the parchment, don't panic! Just transfer them back where they belong!

With upside-down cakes, it's important to take the time to melt the sugar for the fruit layer, which helps reduce sugar crystallization when the cake is baked. The thing to note is that your brown sugar quick caramel may crystallize in the pan while you prepare the rest of the cake. If this happens, don't panic. The cake takes so long to bake, and with the fruit juices, the caramel will dissolve because both the rhubarb and the raspberries contain a lot of water.

On the other hand, for a pineapple upside-down cake, you may have to take extra steps to prevent crystallization because the fruit isn't as juicy. A squeeze of lemon juice added to the brown sugar mixture when it's on the stove can help, as can a spoonful of honey, both of which help prevent crystallization of sugar syrups.

Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake Baking FAQs

Other Rhubarb Recipes

Rhubarb is such an interesting ingredient because it is so sour. If you've got some, here are some more great rhubarb recipes to bake this spring:

If you tried this recipe for the best rhubarb upside-down cake with raspberries (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

📖 Recipe

Rhubarb Raspberry Upside-down Cake

AuthorAuthor : Janice Lawandi

This moist rhubarb raspberry upside-down cake is made with ground almonds to lighten the cake layer and raspberries to add colour to the fruit layer.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 25 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 45 minutes mins

Total Time 2 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 12

Calories 452 kcal

Equipment

• ▢
  OXO balloon whisk
• ▢
  9-in springform
• ▢
  Braun mixer
• ▢
  GIR spatula

Need measurements in CUPSUse the button options below to switch from Metric to US measurements! It's that easy!

Ingredients

 

MetricUS

 

0.5x1x2x3x

For the quick caramel sauce

• ▢ 58 grams unsalted butter
• ▢ 100 grams light brown sugar

For the fruit layer

• ▢ 450 grams fresh rhubarb cut into pieces to help them fit the springform from about ½ to 4 inches
• ▢ 170 grams fresh raspberries or frozen
• ▢ 100 grams granulated sugar
• ▢ 10 mL cornstarch

For the cake layer

• ▢ 190 grams bleached all-purpose flour
• ▢ 50 grams ground almonds
• ▢ 6.25 mL baking powder
• ▢ 0.625 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
• ▢ 230 grams unsalted butter room temperature
• ▢ 250 grams granulated sugar
• ▢ 5 mL pure vanilla extract
• ▢ 4 large egg(s) room temperature
• ▢ 80 mL sour cream (14% fat) or full-fat Greek yogurt

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 325°F (165 °C).
• Prepare a 9-inch springform pan by lining the bottom with parchment (I basically cut a large square of paper, place it on the base, then clip the sides over so that the paper runs right through the springform). Butter the paper and the sides of the springform pan. Wrap the outside of the pan with 2 large sheets of aluminum foil (in case your springform is as leaky as mine is). Set aside.

Make the quick caramel sauce

• In a small saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar until it gets bubbly. Let it bubble for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
• Pull the pan off the heat and pour the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Smooth it out so that it forms an even layer. Set aside.

Prepare the fruit

• In a medium bowl, combine the fruit with the granulated sugar and cornstarch. Mix it carefully to not damage the raspberries too much, and let it sit. Stir the fruit every few minutes to evenly distribute the starch and sugar.

Make the cake batter

• Whisk together the flour, ground almonds, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Set them aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and the granulated sugar.
• Add the vanilla, and then the eggs, one at a time, beating well, and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Don’t worry if the batter looks curdled at this point.
• Alternately, add the dry ingredients (one-third at a time) and the sour cream (half at a time), beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Be sure to scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl occasionally.

Assemble the upside-down cake and bake

• Arrange the fruits evenly on top of the sugar layer (either decoratively or just neatly arrange them to fit snuggly). Pour the juices over the fruit.
• Dollop the cake batter carefully over the fruit being sure to smooth the top without disturbing the fruit layer. Bang the pan on the counter so as to remove any air pockets (you could also swirl a knife through carefully to remove any air pockets, just be sure to avoid the fruits at the bottom).
• Bake for 1 hour 40 minutes to 1 hour 50 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Because the cake is tall, it takes a long time to bake the middle so make sure you bake it for long enough!
• Let the cake cool for 15 minutes in the pan, then place your serving plate over top, and flip it very carefully because the fruit juices are boiling hot! Set the plate on a wire rack to cool completely. Do not let the cake cool in the pan because the fruits and juices will stick to the bottom, and you’ll have a hard time getting it out after.

Notes

• You can either use a 9-inch springform pan that is buttered and lined with parchment or you can use a 9-inch round cake pan with 3-inch straight sides
• Substitutions and variations:
  • This recipe calls for Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount or the recipe may be too salty!
  • Yogurt—If you don't have sour cream, a baking substitution you can try is to replace it with the same volume of full-fat Greek yogurt (around 10 % fat if possible). Low-fat works too, but reducing the fat may lead to a drier cake or affect the texture.
  • Strawberries—I love to combine raspberries with rhubarb, but if you prefer, strawberries will work too. Try to stick to the total weight of fruit for your rhubarb and strawberries. Otherwise, you may run into trouble getting the cake properly baked.
  • Plain rhubarb—I have baked this recipe without the raspberries with 1 pound (454 grams) of fresh rhubarb, and it worked perfectly. The fruit layer was a bit more beige and lacked the vibrancy of the pink raspberries, but the flavour was still great!
  • Pistachio or hazelnut—you can replace the ground almonds with ground pistachios or hazelnuts. For a nut-free version, try ground pumpkin seeds (like in this moist rhubarb cake made with pumpkin seeds!) or even sunflower seeds.
  • Cake flour—you can replace the weight of nuts plus all-purpose flour with the same weight of cake flour, as in the original recipe. Cake flour is a softer, finer flour that has more starch and less protein than all-purpose. 

Nutrition

Calories: 452kcalCarbohydrates: 55gProtein: 5gFat: 25gSaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 110mgSodium: 54mgPotassium: 244mgFiber: 2gSugar: 39gVitamin A: 763IUVitamin C: 7mgCalcium: 98mgIron: 1mg

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