This classic rhubarb buckle cake combines the sweet and tart flavors of rhubarb with a moist, buttery cake and a crunchy streusel topping. It’s the perfect way to savor the fresh flavors of the season.
Rhubarb Buckle Cake
This rhubarb buckle is a delicious combination of sweet and sour flavors and fun vintage dessert to try when fresh rhubarb is in season. The tangy rhubarb provides a burst of flavor throughout the moist buttery cake, which is topped with a sweet and crunchy streusel topping.
Back in the 60’s and 70’s folks in my neighborhood often had backyard gardens. I can remember picking rhubarb from the gardens and nibbling on it.
While rhubarb is edible raw, it is quite sour, so for the most part it was used in sweet desserts or jams. As a kid, we would often pick rhubarb stalks and try to eat them, but they are just too sour for that. But rhubarb looks like it should taste good, so we tried every summer.
I recently asked Granny about rhubarb, and she said she had loved it but found it difficult to grow herself, so she relied on our neighbors to share some of their garden bounty.
Rhubarb grows in stalks that have similar shape to celery (though they aren’t related). While rhubarb is also vegetable, it is often cooked like you would prepare fruit, with sugar in pies, buckles, or jams, where it provides a tangy and sweet alternative to other fruits.
If you like a little tartness to your fruit-based desserts, I recommend giving rhubarb a try. It’s has a delightful sweet-sour taste that is a perfect complement to a buttery cake or crust! — Sara
Ingredients
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For the Cake
- 1 pound plus 10 ounces rhubarb, trimmed and cut into ½ inch pieces
- 2 cups sugar, divided
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup sour cream
For the Crumb Topping
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup light-brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon coarse salt
- ½ stick butter melted
Helpful Kitchen Tools
Instructions
To Prep: Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in the center position. Coat two 9-inch square cake pans with cooking spray and line with parchment, leaving an overhang on two sides (Do not skip this step if you want to remove your buckle from the pan!)
To Make the Cake Batter:
- Stir together rhubarb and 1 cup of sugar. Set aside.
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Beat together the butter, the remaining 1 cup sugar, and lemon zest until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla extract.
- Beat in flour mixture in two additions, alternating with the sour cream.
Crumb Topping
- Stir together the flour, brown sugar, salt, and melted butter.
Assembly
- Divide the batter between the two pans.
- Top with rhubarb mixture, including the juice that has been created.
- Sprinkle with the crumb topping.
- Bake for about 1 hour until golden on top and cooked through. Let cool completely before cutting and serving.
Prep Tips
- Rhubarb – The recipe calls for 1 pound and 10 ounces of rhubarb, so if you buy two pounds you should have plenty after trimming the ends. I thought 1 pound 10 ounces wasn’t quite enough.
- Preparing the Pan – The directions call for spraying the pans and using parchment paper. Do not skip the parchment paper part even if you are using a nonstick pan. The rhubarb mixture will stick to the pan and make it impossible to cut into nice pieces.
- Clean-Up – Even though there will be hard sticky sugar stuck to the pan after the buckle is removed, just soak it in soapy water and it will wash right up.
- Storage – Keep leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days, or in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also freeze this buckle for up to 2 months. I recommend wrapping individual slices in plastic wrap and placing them inside a freezer bag.
Rhubarb Buckle Recipe (Printable Recipe Card)
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Rhubarb Buckle
Equipment
- Large mixing bowl or stand mixer bowl
- 2 9X9 SQUARE cake pans
- Parchment paper
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 pounds rhubarb trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch slices
- 2 cups sugar divided
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks) room temperature
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup sour cream
Crumb Topping
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter (1/2 stick) melted
Instructions
To Make the Cake Batter:
- Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in the middle.
- Coat two 9-inch square cake pans with cooking spray and line with parchment, leaving an overhang on two sides (Do not skip this step if you want to remove your buckle from the pan!)
- Stir together rhubarb and 1 cup of sugar. Set aside.
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, beat together the butter, remaining 1 cup sugar, and lemon zest until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time, then vanilla.
- Beat the flour mixture into the bowl of wet ingredients, in two additions, alternating with the sour cream.
To Make the Crumb Topping:
- Stir together the flour, brown sugar, salt, and melted butter.
To Assemble and Bake the Cake:
- Divide the batter between the two prepared pans.
- Top with rhubarb mixture, including the juice that has been created.
- Sprinkle with the crumb topping.
- Bake for about 1 hour until golden on top and cooked through.
- Let cool completely.
Notes
- Nutrition information is an estimate.
- The recipe calls for 1 pound and 10 ounces of rhubarb, so if you buy two pounds you should have plenty after trimming the ends. I thought 1 pound 10 ounces wasn't quite enough.
- The directions call for spraying the pans and using parchment paper. Do not skip the parchment paper part even if you are using a nonstick pan. The rhubarb mixture will stick to the pan and make it impossible to cut into nice pieces.
- Even though there will be hard sticky sugar stuck to the pan after the buckle is removed, just soak it in soapy water and it will wash right up.
Nutrition
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