Roasted Rhubarb Gingerbread Cake
For this pretty roasted rhubarb gingerbread cake the roasted stalks of rhubarb are left intact and laid on the cake before baking. This is a rustic, moist and delicious cake.
The whole stalks of rhubarb are roasted with sugar before being added to the cake batter which ensures that it’s soft and sweet when the cake comes out of the oven (an idea I got from a Donna Hay cookbook).
Interesting tidbit: rhubarb is a vegetable.
PrintRoasted Rhubarb Gingerbread Cake
Ingredients
Scale
- 2/3 cup butter, melted
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. cinnamon
- 1 ½ tsp. ginger (ground) or 2 tsp. fresh grated ginger
- ¼ tsp. nutmeg
- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup Crosby’s Fancy Molasses
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 2 tsp. vanilla
- 5–6 stalks of rhubarb (leave stalks whole, don’t chop)
- 2 Tbsp. sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 F.
- Place rhubarb on a parchment-lined baking sheet and sprinkle with sugar. Roast for 15-20 minutes (until softening).
- Remove from oven and reduce heat to 350 F
- Grease and flour a 9” square or round cake pan, or line it with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, stir together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.
- In another bowl whisk together the melted butter, milk, molasses, eggs, and vanilla.
- Add the wet to the dry and combine gently but thoroughly.
- Pour into prepared pan.
- Gently arrange roasted rhubarb stalks on top of the cake in parallel lines, cutting to fit.
- Place them close but not touching.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes, until a tester comes out clean.
- Serve on its own or with a little sweetened whipped cream on the side.
Roasting your rhubarb:
Sprinkle the stalks with sugar then roast at 400 F for 15-20 minutes, until softening. Be sure to leave them whole.
Rebecca Tunnacliffe
Hello Bridget,
I made the cake last night and oh my goodness, it is amazingly delicious. the roasted rhubarb is so delicious and unusual – kind of like fruit leather with the concentration of flavour. As my husband and I delighted in devouring it, we remarked on the pleasure of a new taste experience. Thank you!
Crosby Molasses
Hi Rebecca, I’m so pleased you enjoyed the rhubarb gingerbread. I have enjoyed trying new recipes for gingerbread and fruit and this is a favourite.
Ebee
5-6 stalks of rhubarb is a VERY inaccurate measurement for rhubarb. Stalk sizes vary. One of my plants has much larger stalks than the other one, which always seems to have slight or shorter stalks. Please be more specific. Cups or ml would be good. Thanks.
Crosby Molasses
Hi Ebee, Volume measurements don’t work for this recipe because you roast the stalks whole instead of chopping them. Your comment made me realize that I need to specifically state in the recipe that the rhubarb is not to be chopped!
Anna
Making this today – so excited for this gingerbread addition to my standard rhubarb baking! I was looking for something different and this is perfect.
Crosby Molasses
Hi Anna, It’s a lovely cake. I hope you enjoy it.
bonnie
How many cups of ruhbarb wld. this be – raw?
Crosby Molasses
Hi Bonnie, My guess is about 3 cups of raw rhubarb, but it could be a little more. You could always roast extra and if you have too much you could make a little compote to serve on the side (mixed with whipped cream, yogurt or ice cream).
antje maceachern
The cake sounds yummy and I do have some rhubarb growing and it is time to harvest it..thank you looking forward to more interesting recipes…..
Elaine
HI – Rhubarb has always been a big part of spring over my 70 years of life. The roots of a healthy plant can be divided many times over the years and it just seems to live on forever. The key to healthy sweet rhubarb is to fertilize it in the fall with good compost or cow manure… and perhaps, from your experience with the tree falling on yours, you should also cover it with a good thickness of leaves in the fall if your winters are really cold and dry… rhubarb needs lots of water so if you live where winters and springs are dry the cover of leaves will help with that also.
I will try this gingerbread…
Crosby Molasses
Hi Elaine – Thank you so much for the rhubarb tips. I will be sure to fertilize my plants in the fall and I think I’ll cover it for the winter too. I hope that you enjoy the gingerbread.
Nancy Pakkala
Hi Elaine, We love rhubarb too but have discovered that we can’t grow it because we are surrounded by black walnut trees and they don’t get along. The trees give off something called juglone that is poisonous to many plants, rhubarb, tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant and others. My rhubarb does come up but does not really grow much and not enough to even make a pie.
Gerry
I made this yesterday and it is a keeper! You can reduce the sugar and fat and it is still fantastic. Had it today with stewed rhubarb and cream and loved it as well.
Crosby Molasses
Hi Gerry, Thanks for the feedback — it’s great that you can make it lighter and it still tastes delicious. Love the idea of eating it with stewed rhubarb!
Deborah Ross
This looks amazing and I can’t wait to try it. I love the look of the long strips of rhubarb on the top of the cake. I finally have my own flourishing plant this year and I am definitely making this along with a rhubarb coffee cake recipe I love.
Over the years traveling in Holland I had mouthwatering pork dishes served with a rhubarb compote with the merest hint of nutmeg; the two paired amazingly.
My grandmother used to stew rhubarb but the consistency was different from the compote and she made a ginger bread style loaf with the stewed rhubarb dropped by small teaspoonfuls into the batter. I always thought of them as little pockets of pucker power, lol :) She also made the best soft molasses cookies, sometimes she would add caraway to them and othertimes folded them over and stuffed them with stewed dates or the stewed rhubarb…both were delicious. Cheers!
Crosby Molasses
Hi Deborah, Your rhubarb recipes sound incredible! My mom used to stew rhubarb too and we’d eat it over ice cream but I love the idea of dropping it into a batter or folding it into cookies. The tang of rhubarb is so refreshing in this world of overly sweet baked goods. I’d love to get your recipe for rhubarb coffee cake…
Paul J. DuPlessis
Thank you for sharing this recipe I plan to make it tomorrow. I grew up in NB now living in Alberta and I am loyal to Crosbys molasses, it’s the only brand I buy. As for the rhubarb it was a regular in our home too, growing up we had 2 patches at the farm, one is the old fashion variety the other a newer variety, strawberry rhubarb. My Irish Grandmother always said there is a tonic in the rhubarb (and fiddle heads) as the first vegetables of spring it was essential to serve them. Thanks again all recipes welcome.
Crosby Molasses
Hi Paul, Thanks so much for your message. I love seeing big patches of rhubarb in farm yards. I still struggle with my patch but my neighbour has an enormous patch so I’m never short when I want to bake with it. Thanks for the Irish wisdom. I think that spring vegetables are good for the soul as well as the body…a reassurance that winter has passed. Which reminds me, I have a bag of fresh picked fiddleheads in the fridge to eat up! Glad you’re enjoying the recipes.
Dawn
I made this today and brought it into work, It was gone in record time, and we are still talking about how good it was!!!! Love this site
Crosby Molasses
Hi Dawn, Thanks for the feedback. I love it when people tell me about the recipes they have tried.
Colleen
This looks wonderful. All of my rhubarb is frozen can I still roast it after it has thawed??
Crosby Molasses
Hi Colleen, I’m not sure how it would work with frozen rhubarb since the rhubarb will be quite mushy after it has thawed. It’s worth a try though.
The Sketched Chef
Whoa I love rhubarb.
This looks so good.
Jane Larmand
Am anxious to try this recipe…..will do tomorrow. Thanks for posting.
Crosby Molasses
Hi Jane, I hope that you enjoyed it!
Mary Burnett
This recipe was a Big hit at our house this weekend. Delicious and very easy. I used spelt flour instead of all purpose.
Crosby Molasses
Hi Mary,
I love the idea of using spelt flour. Thanks!
Janice
This recipe couldn’t have come at a better time. I have so much rhubarb this year, I’m always looking for new recipes. Thank you
heather
Hi I TO WILL BE TRYING THIS OUT ON THE WEEKEND CAN,T WAIT LOOKS GOOD THANK YOU FOR SHARING LOOKING FORWARD OTHER RECIPE’S TY
brenda
sounds delish….love rhubarb recipes…thanks
Carol Baker
Thank You!
Carol Baker
Can’t wait to try this recipe. Have rhubarb, but not any recipes. Thank you for posting.
Crosby Molasses
Hi Carol, I hope you enjoy the cake. Also, I’m testing some rhubarb BBQ sauce this week and will share the recipe if it’s tasty.
Shirley Boggs
I can’t wait to try this recipe. Thank you very much.
Crosby Molasses
I’m so pleased to see that there are so many rhubarb lovers out there!