Easy Rhubarb and Ginger Cake

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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

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