Old Fashioned Rhubarb Cake – A Sour Cream Rhubarb Cake

With a cinnamon sugar topping to perfectly complement the tartness of the rhubarb, this old fashioned rhubarb cake makes a sweet treat for dessert or breakfast.

Wondering how to use up frozen rhubarb? We have you covered as this sour cream rhubarb cake can be made with fresh or frozen rhubarb.

Using Frozen Rhubarb in Baking

You’ve packed the freezer with frozen rhubarb, and now what?  It’s time to find recipes that use frozen rhubarb. This task is tricky since frozen rhubarb can lose some of it’s structure during freezing, and it releases its juices during the thawing process.

To learn more about how to properly freeze rhubarb, check out our post with Grandma’s best rhubarb recipes that explains it all! As a bonus, we’ve collected our favorite rhubarb recipes as well as some of our friends’ favorites all in the one post.

There are many rhubarb recipes that can use frozen rhubarb such as Rhubarb Bread, Rhubarb Muffins and Rhubarb Coffee Cake, but I was glad to find this sour cream rhubarb coffee cake to add to my collection in a vintage church cookbook from Quailtown.

The trick to using frozen rhubarb in recipes is to thaw completely, and then drain the excess fluids. This prevents the batter from becoming too thin which can totally change the end result.

Old Fashioned Rhubarb Cake Recipe

What makes this old fashioned rhubarb cake so moist? The secret is that it’s a rhubarb recipe with sour cream.  Adding sour cream to cake batter changes the texture to make it extra moist and tender.

When you touch a sour cream cake, it almost springs back.  The reasoning is that sour cream is acidic.  When it’s added to cake batter, the acid tenderizes the gluten in the flour, lending to the more delicate texture after baking.

Check out our Sour Cream Coffee Cake recipe, a specialty cake recipe from our Grandma.

What can I substitute for sour cream in rhubarb cake?

If you’re in a bind and don’t have any sour cream to use in the cake batter, try using yogurt, mayonnaise, or buttermilk.

Is green rhubarb safe to eat?

Yes, you can use green rhubarb in your baking!

The color of rhubarb stalks vary by variety and can be anywhere from bright red to a light green (our grandma’s patch is usually light green to light pink). The color does not usually affect the taste of the rhubarb as much as the cultivar (variety).

When choosing fresh rhubarb, you want to look for firm, unblemished stalks. Remember NEVER eat the leaves on the rhubarb as they are poisonous.

Old Fashioned Rhubarb Cake Ingredients

This recipe is a simple from scratch cake using pantry ingredients you should already have on hand.

Diced Rhubarb, fresh or frozen

White Sugar

Sour Cream

Large Egg

All Purpose Flour

Baking Soda

Salt

Brown Sugar

Chopped Nuts

How to Make Sour Cream Rhubarb Cake Using Frozen Rhubarb (or fresh)

Step by Step Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 13 x 9 inch baking dish or pan.
2. Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, cream sugar, sour cream and egg in a large bowl; add sifted flour, baking soda and salt and mix in flour mixture until combined.
3. Stir in rhubarb into the mixture.
4. Spread into the prepared pan.
5. Combine brown sugar and chopped pecans (or your favorite nut); sprinkle streusel topping over top the cake.
6. Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick comes out clean.

Storage Instructions

Let leftover cake cool. Cover with a tight-fitting lid, and store at room temperature for 3-4 days. For longer shelf-life, store in the fridge.

For the ingredient amounts and full instructions for rhubarb sour cream cake, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Recipe FAQs

• Use fresh or frozen rhubarb.
• If using frozen rhubarb, thaw completely and drain before adding to the rhubarb sour cream cake batter.
• To lighten up this rhubarb coffee cake, use low fat or non fat sour cream.
• Use your favorite chopped nuts; we typically use pecans or walnuts.
• Eat for breakfast with coffee or as a dessert.
• Check out our Amazon Store for our favorite pantry essentials and kitchen items.

What can I do with too much rhubarb?

There’s a plethora of rhubarb dessert recipes out there including cakes, crisps and cobblers. But if you’re looking for one recipe to use up several cups, try making a rhubarb jam or rhubarb sauce to serve over ice cream.

Rhubarb Dessert Ideas

Strawberry Rhubarb Streusel Dessert

Rhubarb Cobbler

Rhubarb Dream Dessert

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

Rhubarb Crumble

Grandma’s Rhubarb Pie

Fruit Dessert Recipes

While we love chocolate desserts, we understand the appeal of a good, homemade fruit dessert. Here are some of our favorites:

Grandma’s Easy Apple Crisp

Peach Batter Cake

Easy Cherry Crisp

Blackberry Batter Cake

Bakery-Style Blueberry Muffins

Glazed Strawberry Bread

Linking it up to Weekend Potluck.

Kitchen Utensils

• Stand Mixer or Hand Mixer
• Spoonula
• Cutting board and sharp knife
• Sifter
• Nut Chopper
• Cake pan with lid