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Home » Home Baking » Easy Rhubarb and Ginger Cake

Easy Rhubarb and Ginger Cake

Author: Karon Grieve Published : April 2020

Recipe
easy rhubarb and ginger cake
easy rhubarb and ginger cake
This delightful Rhubarb and Ginger Cake is spring time on a plate. With the oozing gingery rhubarb filling dripping down the sides of the super moist sponge, it makes the perfect dessert or tea time treat.. By Larderlove

Spring has most definitely sprung and with it lovely rhubarb. What to do with a wonderful gift of rhubarb? Make a tart, stew it, make gin? No, I made this Easy Rhubarb and Ginger Cake and it was gorgeous.

slice of rhubarb and ginger cake on saucer with main cake behind

Why you’ll love this recipe

  • Rhubarb and ginger is a classic flavour combo, it mixes sweet with tangy and a bit of heat too.
  • This is basically a ginger sponge cake with rhubarb filling and it’s super easy to make.
  • Perfectly sesonal for spring to use the best fresh British rubarb.

As I’ve already made Rhubarb and Ginger Gin this year I felt duty-bound to drag myself away from the hooch and do something different. if I’m not making booze with my rhubarb then a rhubarb cake had to be next on the list of great uses for spring rhubarb.

Unlike many recipes this is a round rhubarb and ginger cake instead of a rhubarb and ginger loaf. I think it makes this cake a bit more special.

top down shot of cake with swirl of rhubarb sauce on top

Ingredients

Rhubarb of course. I have used fresh British rhubarb for my rhubarb and ginger cake recipe but feel free to use frozen rhubarb if that is what you have.

Ginger – I have used fresh grated ginger for the fillilng of my rhubarb and ginger sponge cake and I’ve also used dried ground ginger in the cake batter itself to make the sponge.

This gives you lots of lovely ginger flavour but it is still not too hot!

Other ingredients are all the usual suspects for a sponge cake.

The complete list of ingredients and full instructions for making this recipe can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.

ingredients in bowl

Rhubarb and Ginger

The whole rhubarb and ginger combo is a bit like Fred and Ginger really. Almost seems rude not to put them together. There is a reason why rhubarb and ginger go so well together. The acidity of the rhubarb marries really well with the spicy heat that comes from the ginger. Some ingredients just work well together.

Don’t just think of the rhubarb and ginger combo for sweet things. It works just as well in savoury recipes like my Rhubarb And Raisin Relish/Chutney.

Anyway I decided just to do a simple sponge cake but to put some ginger in the mix and then concentrate on putting in some effort on my rhubarb filling.

What does rhubarb go with?

Rhubarb marries very well with strawberries, check out my strawberry and rhubarb jam recipe. It goes beautifully with raspberries too, like my rhubarb and raspberry tarts.

cake bases by larderlove

Keeping the cake base simple meant I could really let the rhubarb shine. The filling was all-important. I simmered the rhubarb with fresh grated ginger (use ground ginger if you don’t have any fresh stuff), a vanilla pod, juice, zest and pulp of an orange, sugar and some of my homemade Rhubarb And Ginger Gin Liqueur.

Well come on, it was there and the urge to chuck some gin into my rhubarb and ginger cake was just too much for me. Obviously the addition of gin is optional.

side view of completed rhubarb and ginger cake

Easy Rhubarb and Ginger Cake

OK so I might have gone just a tad overboard with the filling. But you see I had in my mind a rhubarb cake that would be really special and cheer us up. A bit more of a pudding than just a normal sponge cake you’d have with a cuppa.

I simmered that rhubarb and ginger filling till all the rhubarb had completely collapsed and the whole thing was reduced to a lovely syrupy mush.

top down shot of cake with slice taken out

This rhubarb and ginger cake was so easy to make. As I said, the sponge was very simple with just the addition of ginger.

What cake tins do you use

I also used smaller cake tins than normal. The standard tins I use are 17cm. These are only 16cm and a little deeper.

It makes the cake look a bit more special without having to up the ingredients. Don’t want to be going mad on the flour, eggs and butter just now.

Substitutes

I’ve used unsalted butter but it doesn’t matter if you use salted. When it comes to the frosting I had some cream cheese in the fridge. Mascarpone or ricotta would work just as well. If all else fails just use Greek yogurt.

You could also use my homemade rhubarb and ginger curd as a filling for this amazing cake.

rhubarb and ginger cake on glass cake stand with stack of plates and forks in front

The trickiest part of making this rhubarb cake was fishing the vanilla pod out of the stewed rhubarb mixture. Honestly, that was it. I really went to town on that filling.

Instead of just sandwiching the cake with the rhubarb mixture I mixed a little of it with my cream cheese frosting then spread that on the cake base.

Then I spooned on lots and lots of the rhubarb and ginger mixture. When I put the top cake in place the filling started to ooze out all round. Exactly what I wanted!

top down shot of finished cake

Storage

Your rhubarb and ginger cake is super moist so it will keep for 3-4 days in a cake tin. You can freeze the sponge cake bases for up to 3 months. Just wrap them well in clingfilm and foil and pop them in the freezer.

Serving ideas

This Rhubarb and Ginger Cake was a really special spring time treat. Right now when things are pretty shitty I wanted to make something that would make everyone smile. This rhubarb and ginger cake did it.

The base having this glistening saucy filling all around the sides gave exactly the special cake verging on dessert that I wanted.

Turn this into a rhubarb and ginger dessert cake by adding a dollop of really good quality vanilla ice cream.

larder links

Looking for more uses for lovely spring rhubarb? Then check out these recipes;

Rhubarb and ginger gin lilqueur

Raspberries and rhubarb with homemade cheese

Rhubarb and ginger gin jam

Rhubarb and raspberry tarts

Strawberry and rhubarb jam

Rhubarb and ginger curd

Rhubarb and raisin relish/chutney

Rhubarb and ginger tart

Finally, if you do try this recipe don’t forget to leave a comment/star rating below as I just love to hear from readers. Want more Larder Love? Then follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and sign up for my newsletter too of course.

Photos And Tips AboveMost of my recipes have step by step photos and useful tips plus videos too, see above.
rhubarb and ginger cake by larderlove

Rhubarb and Ginger Cake

Karon Grieve
This simple rhubarb and ginger cake is special enough to serve as a party dessert. It's spring time on a plate
4.24 from 13 votes
Print Recipe Comment Bookmark Saved! Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 mins
Cook Time 25 mins
Total Time 45 mins
Course baking
Cuisine British
Servings 8 people
Calories 465 kcal

Ingredients
 

  • 350 g rhubarb chopped into 2cm pieces
  • 1 tsp ginger grated or 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 vanilla pod split and seeds stripped out or 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 6 tbsp sugar
  • 1 orange zest juice and pulp
  • 2 tbsp rhubarb and ginger gin optional

Cake Base

  • 115 g unsalted butter
  • 115 g caster sugar
  • 2 medium eggs
  • 115 g self raising flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tbsp Greek yogurt or plain yogurt

Frosting

  • 80 g cream cheese
  • 30 g unsalted butter softened
  • 225 g icing sugar
Metric – US Customary

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 180C and grease two baking tins (I used 16cm tins but 17 is fine)
  • Place the rhubarb and all other ingredients for the filling in a small pan and bring to the boil
  • Lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes or untill everything is pulpy, allow to cool
  • Remove the vanilla pod and wash and dry and pop it in a jar of sugar to get vanilla sugar or to use again
  • Whazz the mixture in a mini food processor or with a hand blender till smooth

Frosting

  • Beat together all the ingredients till you have a firmish paste
  • Spoon out 2 tbsp of this and mix it with 2 tbsp of the cake filling

The Cake

  • Beat the butter and sugar till light and fluffy
  • Add the eggs and beat again
  • Sift in the flour, ginger and baking powder and fold into the mixture till everything is completely combined
  • Add the Greek yogurt and stir carefully into the mixture
  • Spoon into the prepared baking tins and bake for approximately 25 minutes till golden and a skewer comes out clean from the centre
  • Remove cakes from oven and cool for 5 minutes before removing from tins and cooling completley on a wire rack

Assembling

  • Spread the mix of frosting and filling on to the bottom cake first
  • Spread the plain frosting on the top of the other cake. It is easier to do this when the cake hasn't been assembled
  • Spoon on all the rhubarb puree on to the base cake so that is all oozes over the sides when you place the other iced cake on top. Reserve a couple of spoonfuls and drizzle this on top of the frosting to finish off your masterpiece

Notes

This is a moist cake so will keep for a few days in a cake tin.
You can freeze the cake bases well wrapped for up to 3 months.

Nutrition

Calories: 465kcalCarbohydrates: 68gProtein: 5gFat: 20gSaturated Fat: 12gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 91mgSodium: 107mgPotassium: 216mgFiber: 2gSugar: 55gVitamin A: 729IUVitamin C: 12mgCalcium: 99mgIron: 1mg
My Top Tips*Always read the full recipe first. *Assemble all your ingredients and everything you need before you start. *For baking check the size of tins I’m using as this makes a big difference to your cakes. * I use medium sized eggs unless otherwise stated. * I use extra virgin olive oil unless otherwise stated. * I use unsalted butter unless otherwise stated. * Check out My Preserving Kit!
Keyword cake, ginger, rhubarb
Tried this recipe?Mention @LarderLove or tag #LarderLove

Filed Under: ALL RECIPES, Home Baking, Spring

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Comments

  1. Sue says

    April 28, 2020 at 5:05 pm

    5 stars
    Oh my! I was not disappointed with this cake. It was so easy to make and tastes delicious. I made the frosting with ricotta which was quite loose and should have increased the sugar and butter which made the construction of the cake a bit haphazard and would use cream cheese next time. I will definitely make this again.

    Reply
    • Karon Grieve says

      April 28, 2020 at 5:45 pm

      Hi Sue
      Glad you loved the cake so much. Mine really was rather haphazard in construction anyway with all the oozing rhubarb but it all added to the charm.
      K x

      Reply
  2. Zoë says

    May 9, 2021 at 7:09 pm

    5 stars
    This cake is amazing! So delicious. I ended up just adding 2 tsp of ground ginger to a classic Victoria sponge all in one recipe and it worked out beautifully. I used mascarpone for the icing and the rhubarb oozing through was wonderful! Second helpings all round! Thank you – this will be a go to cake from now on in rhubarb season.

    Reply
    • Karon Grieve says

      May 10, 2021 at 10:29 am

      Hi Zoe
      So glad this cake has become a favourite for the rhubarb season.
      K

      Reply
  3. Karen wright says

    May 10, 2021 at 7:46 pm

    5 stars
    Yum

    Reply
    • Karon Grieve says

      May 11, 2021 at 8:48 am

      Hi Karen
      Excellent comment, thanks!
      K

      Reply
  4. Ferelyth says

    May 21, 2021 at 1:02 pm

    5 stars
    This cake was so delicious. I used half rhubarb, and half strawberry for the filling.
    I normally don’t like it when people substitute from given recipes, but I had some unused strawberries so just went with it.

    Reply
    • Karon Grieve says

      May 25, 2021 at 9:08 am

      Hi Ferelyth
      Rhubarb and strawberry is such a great combo and would be marvelous in this cake.
      K

      Reply

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