Rhubarb Streusel Cake

This rhubarb streusel cake recipe is buttery and tender, with tangy rhubarb pieces and a cinnamon and walnut streusel topping.

This is also known as a rhubarb coffee cake. It gets its name because it’s a delicious slice of cake served with a cup of coffee, not because there is coffee in it.

rhubarb coffee cake

Rhubarb

Rhubarb is a real treat to use in sweet baked goods so rhubarb season is an exciting time! It Is very astringent and tart on its own, but when it’s cooked down with some sugar it becomes soft and so flavorful.

It pairs wonderfully with a buttery cake and crunchy streusel topping. The rhubarb helps to keep the cake extra moist too. If you have a bumper crop of rhubarb growing, then this recipe is for you! You could make this rhubarb custard tart next!

The cake

The cake base is buttery, moist, and tender. Coffee cake traditionally has sour cream added to the batter to help create this tenderness.

The sour cream in this rhubarb cake recipe has been substituted with plain or Greek yogurt, though you can also use buttermilk.

sliced rhubarb cake

The cake tin

This easy rhubarb cake recipe has been baked in a 9 x 13-inch rectangle baking tray, making it the perfect rhubarb slab cake to feed 12 people!

The easy streusel topping

The streusel topping is made up of crumbly butter, cinnamon, sugar, and flour mixture that’s worked together by hand to create a range of coarse crumbs, in all different sizes.

They bake up nice and crispy on top of the cake. For another delicious rhubarb recipe, try these Rhubarb Muffins with Crumble Topping!

The ingredients

The amounts for each ingredient are listed in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post. Here is a rundown of what you will need.

  • Flour. A cake flour with low protein works best, or use all-purpose. See the section below for more details.
  • Baking powder + baking soda for rising
  • Salt – for flavor enhancements
  • Unsalted butter – both in the streusel topping and the cake
  • Brown sugar and granulated sugar – The cake base uses granulated sugar but the streusel uses brown sugar, to bring some deeper caramel notes.
  • Cinnamon – a great flavor partner to rhubarb
  • Eggs – 3 large eggs for the cake structure
  • Natural yogurt – This can be swapped for sour cream or buttermilk
  • Rhubarb – Fresh rhubarb stalks, chopped into small pieces.
  • Walnuts – add extra crunch to the streusel
rhubarb crumble cake on a rack

The flour

This cake is best made with cake flour as this makes the softest and fluffiest cake A cake has a low protein content, between 7-9%. If you’ve only got all-purpose flour you can soften it by substituting corn starch for some of the flour.

The recipe calls for 300g cake flour, but this can be substituted for 260g all-purpose flour and 40g cornstarch. Sift the all-purpose flour and cornstarch together well to remove any lumps of starch.

Alternatively, just use all-purpose. It makes a slightly sturdier cake this way.

Step by step instructions

The topping & filling

In a medium bowl, add all the streusel ingredients except for the walnuts, and use your fingers to crumble the butter into the sugar and flour to create pieces of streusel. They can be all different sizes. Add in the walnuts and set the bowl aside.

Chop the rhubarb into 1/4-inch (1/2cm) sizes pieces and set them aside.

The cake batter

Grease or line a 9×13 inch cake pan with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 350°F /175°C. Place a rack in the middle of the oven.

Whisk together the main cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set it aside.

In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter, and the sugar together on medium speed until light and creamy. Take your time with this, and scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed, until the mixture is light and airy. You can also use a handheld electric mixer and a large mixing bowl.

Beat in the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract. At this point, the mixture will look curdled which is totally normal. Add in half the dry ingredients and half of the yogurt and fold them together carefully. Continue with the rest of the dry ingredients and yogurt to create a thick cake batter.

Spoon the mixture into a prepared pan and use a knife or offset spatula to spread it out.

Add the chopped rhubarb over top of the cake batter and then sprinkle with the streusel crumb.

layering of coffee cake ingredients

Baking

Bake the rhubarb crumb cake for around 35-40 minutes until cooked through.

Check that the cake is done by inserting a skewer into the middle of the cake. When the skewer is removed there will be a few moist crumbs sticking to it but there should be no wet cake batter left.

Storing

Leftover cake can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. The cake can also be wrapped tightly and frozen for up to three months.

Additions or substitutions

Substitute the walnuts for almonds, hazelnuts, or macadamia nuts.

You can also change the streusel to a crumble topping and use oats like in this plum crumble cake.

a slice of yellow cake with pink rhubarb

Other recipes you might like

rhubarb cake.

Rhubarb Streusel Cake

Yield: 10inch cake
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Additional Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

This rhubarb coffee cake is a moist and buttery cake with tangy rhubarb pieces and a cinnamon streusel topping.

Ingredients

Streusel Topping

  • 60g (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 60g (7 ½ Tablespoons) cake-flour or all-purpose flour
  • 50g (¼ packed cup) soft brown sugar
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • pinch of salt
  • 50g (¼ cup) walnuts, chopped

Cake

  • 300g (2 ½ cups*) cake flour**
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • ¾ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp baking soda
  • 170g (¾ cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 200g (1 cup) granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla paste or extract
  • 240g (1 cup) natural yoghurt, room temperature
  • 300g (2 ½ cups) chopped fresh rhubarb stalks

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) .Grease or line a 9x13inch baking tray.
  2. In a bowl, add all the streusel ingredients except for the walnuts, and use your fingers to crumble the butter into the sugar and flour to create pieces of streusel. It will be soft and cookie-dough-like. The pieces can be all different sizes. Add in the walnuts and set it aside.
  3. Chop the rhubarb into ¼-inch (½cm) sizes pieces and set them aside.
  4. Whisk together the main cake flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda and set it aside.
  5. In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, beat the butter and the sugar together until light and creamy. Take your time with this, and scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed, until the mixture is light and airy.
  6. Beat in the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract. At this point, the mixture will look curdled which is totally normal.
  7. Add in half the dry ingredients and half of the yogurt and fold them together carefully. Continue with the rest of the dry ingredients and yogurt to create a thick cake batter.
  8. Spoon the mixture into a prepared cake tin and use a knife or offset spatula to spread it out.
  9. Add over the rhubarb and top with the streusel.
  10. Bake for 35-40 minutes until the cake is cooked through. When the skewer is removed there may be a few moist crumbs sticking to it but there should be no wet cake batter left.
  11. Let the cake cool in the tin for 10 minutes before removing it.
  12. Leftover cake can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Notes

*The cup sizes given are for US cups. Note that these are smaller than metric cup sizes. For best results, use grams.

**Cake flour will create a fluffier cake than all-purpose. To make your own cake flour using all-purpose flour, you can substitute some of the flour for cornstarch.

To make cake flour, take 260g all-purpose flour and 40g cornstarch. Sift the all-purpose flour and cornstarch together well to remove any lumps of starch.

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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 430Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 89mgSodium: 300mgCarbohydrates: 56gFiber: 2gSugar: 23gProtein: 7g

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2 Comments

  1. I don’t have fresh rhubarb, can I use frozen for this recipe? If yes then do I need to thaw the rhubarb first or just mix frozen with the rest of ingredients.

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