Rhubarb Orange and Cardamom Cake - I couldn't wait to share this brand new recipe on the blog!! A golden almond cake bursting with tart juicy rhubarb, sweet orange, and earthy citrusy cardamom. It's as vibrant and alluring as a summer sunset.
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This recipe uses just a few ingredients and the simple two-bowl mixing method--wet and dry ingredients. So don't feel intimidated the next time you see those gorgeous fushia stalks at the farmer's market. Grab them and make this cake!
Baking in Season
We see rhubarb pop up in baked goods everywhere, especially pies and tarts, when it finally bursts onto the scene in spring. Strawberry-Rhubarb is a common and very delicious combination. But I knew I wanted to explore different flavors…..and I wanted to make a cake!
Rhubarb is quite tart and needs to be sweetened when cooking-which produces the uniquely delicious sweet-tart flavor that makes this such a sought-after seasonal treat. It also has a crisp firm texture so softening with the sugar first for 30 min releases the juices and works really well in this preparation.
Texture
The almond flour, butter, and orange juice produce an incredibly moist stick-to-the-fork crumb. As it cooks the rhubarb softens into a preserve-like texture and dots the cake with crimson bits of sweet-tart bliss!
Flavors
I love the way the sweet-tart orange juice and zest complement the rhubarb. Cardamom has definite citrus notes which play up the brightness of the cake. But it also has a floral and earthy taste that rounds out the flavors and adds a cozy warm feeling similar to cinnamon.
Ingredient Spotlight
- Rhubarb - Crimson fuchsia fading to spring green stalks. Technically a vegetable but always grouped with fruits. ONLY the stalks are edible, discard the leaves, as they are not edible. Rhubarb is quite bitter so it works perfectly in sweetened baked goods. In season Spring to Summer.
- Almond Flour - GF, nutty flavor, produces moist dense baked goods.
- Ground Cardamom - complex Indian Spice, earthy, floral, herbal, citrusy. An incredible addition to baked goods and desserts. Try out my quick and easy white chocolate bark with cardamom
Tips
- Remember to zest the orange before cutting in half. Then squeeze out the juice
- Keep the almond flour in the refrigerator for freshness as nut flours have oils that can become rancid. You can also freeze it
- It can take more or less time to bake this cake depending on your oven. Insert a wooden skewer in the center and make sure that it comes out clean
- If the top starts to brown before the cake is fully cooked, cover it with aluminum foil
- Since Rhubarb is available in late spring and summer, I often dice and freeze it in zip-lock bags so I have them for the rest of the year!
How to Make Rhubarb Cake
Here is the step by step recipe with photos. Printable recipe card along with the ingredient measurements are at the end of this post:
- Grease the bottom and sides of a 9" spring form cake pan. You can also cut a parchment paper and place it on the bottom and grease the sides. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Rinse and dry the rhubarb. Cut into small ½-inch cubes. Add rhubarb to a bowl and sprinkle sugar on it. Lightly mix and allow the sugar to dissolve 20 to 30 mins
- Zest the orange. Cut into half and then squeeze out the juice.
- Melt butter in a large bowl by microwaving it for 30 to 40 seconds. Remember not to make it too hot. Add orange zest, orange juice and sugar. Whisk together until well blended. Add eggs.
- Mix the butter and eggs.
- In another bowl add all purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder, cardamom powder and salt. Mix it well.
- Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture and mix well.
- Add the rhubarb mixture and gently fold it in the batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the sliced almonds and sugar on top. Bake at 350 F for 40 mins to an hour or until a wooden skewer in the center comes out clean. If the top starts to brown before the cake is fully cooked, cover it with aluminum foil for the last 10 minutes or so.
- Allow it to cool on a cooling rack for 20 minutes before opening the spring form pan. Cool completely and cut into slices.
How to Serve
This is a perfect cake to serve at parties, get-togethers, and special occasions like birthdays, anniversaries, Mother's Day, or Father's Day! Although the cake tastes delicious as is here are a few ways to fancy it up:
- Dust the cake with powdered sugar
- Enjoy with a scoop of vanilla ice cream
- Add some sweetened whipped cream on top
Storing
Rhubarb cake has nice crisp edges and pillowy soft center. Keep it at room temperature for a day. Any leftovers can be refrigerated for up to a week. You can also freeze individual slices.
More Almond Flour Recipes
Recipe
Rhubarb, Orange and Cardamom Cake
Equipment
Recipe Video
Ingredients
- 3 cups rhubarb diced into ½ inch pieces
- 1 cup sugar plus 1 tablespoon for topping
- grated zest of 1 orange, plus ½ cup fresh orange juice
- 1 cup butter melted room temperature
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup all purpose flour 4¼ ounces or 120 grams
- 1 cup blanched almond flour 95 grams
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 2 tablespoons sliced almonds
Instructions
- Grease a 9" spring form cake pan with butter or oil spray. You can also cut a parchment paper and place it on the bottom and grease the sides. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Zest the orange. Cut into half and then squeeze out the juice - you need half cup of juice.
- Rinse and dry the rhubarb. Cut into small ½ inch cubes. Add rhubarb to a bowl and sprinkle half a cup of sugar on it. Lightly mix and allow the sugar to dissolve 20 to 30 mins
- Melt butter in a large bowl by microwaving it for 30 to 40 seconds. Remember not to make it too hot. Add orange zest, orange juice and remaining half cup of sugar. Whisk together until well blended. Add eggs.
- Mix the butter and eggs.
- In another bowl add all purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder, cardamom powder and salt. Mix it well.
- Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture and mix well. Add the rhubarb mixture and gently fold it in the batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the sliced almonds and one tablespoon of sugar on top. Bake at 350 F for 40 mins to an hour or until a wooden skewer in the center comes out clean. If the top starts to brown before the cake is fully cooked, cover it with aluminum foil for the last 10 minutes or so.
- Allow it to cool on a cooling rack for 20 minutes before opening the spring form pan. Cool completely and cut into slices.
Notes
- Dust the cake with powdered sugar
- Enjoy with a scoop of vanilla ice cream
- Add some sweetened whipped cream on top
Nutrition
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Deb T. says
This was delicious! Because I have only large metal bowls (can't go in the microwave) I mixed the wet ingredients into the dry, judging it wouldn't make a difference. The batter is very forgiving and easy to mix by hand. I used a cake pan with a removable bottom and everything came out lovely. Very moist, just as described. Took the full hour at 350°. I did use aluminum foil for the last 10 minutes. Truly a keeper. (FYI, 3 cups of rhubarb = three large stalks).
Archana Mundhe says
So happy to hear it turned out so well! Love that you made it work with what you had on hand—and you're absolutely right, the batter is super forgiving. Thanks for the tip on the rhubarb measurement too!
Vidya Angeri says
Can I use all almond flour in this recipe and skip all purpose flour? Trying to keep it gluten free
Archana Mundhe says
Hi Vidya, so sorry i have not tried making this cake gluten free.
Shweta says
Do you use unsalted or salted butter?
Archana Mundhe says
unsalted butter.
Thea Morris says
I made this cake for our book club meeting where we discussed “The Henna Artist” by Alka Joshi. Everyone commented how tasty it was and wanted the recipe. The rest of your website has many lovely inviting recipes that I would like to try. But might I say, it has way too many ads/pop-ups and is so frustrating to try to navigate.
Archana Mundhe says
I love that this cake was part of your book club experience. So happy everyone enjoyed it and wanted the recipe!
Thank you also for the honest feedback about the ads. I completely understand the frustration and I am sorry it made navigating the site difficult. As a small independent food blogger, ads are what allow me to keep creating free recipes and content for everyone, but I hear you and always appreciate knowing when the experience feels overwhelming. I hope it does not stop you from coming back to try more recipes — I promise the food is worth it! I will be talking with my AD partner to make the site easier to navigate.
Sara says
I think I accidentally used half the amount of butter (one stick/half cup vs two sticks/1cup) but it came out ok. Oops!
Archana Mundhe says
That is amazing! Thank you for the feedback.