This delicious rhubarb streusel cake is sweet and tangy, super moist, tender, and flavorful and will have you coming back for seconds!
My husband has always claimed he doesn’t care much for cake or rhubarb but he really enjoys diving into this Rhubarb Streusel Cake. It isn’t overly sweet and the tanginess of the rhubarb provides a nice contrast and balance. So if you fall into the camp of someone who doesn’t like rhubarb, this cake may change your mind!
Rhubarb goes back a long way. It has been used in Chinese medicine for thousands of years. Over the centuries the rhubarb trade increased and in Medieval Europe its value exceeded that of fine spices such as cinnamon and saffron! Rhubarb entered the U.S. in the 1820’s and has been enjoyed in the popular form of pies, crumbles, compote, and preserves ever since.
By the way, did you know that rhubarb is technically a vegetable? Yet interestingly it was designated as a fruit in the U.S. in a 1947 court ruling for the purposes of regulations and duties.
What’s interesting is that even though rhubarb is a vegetable, it’s generally only used in sweet dishes as a fruit. Yet tomatoes, which are technically fruits, are generally only used in savory dishes as vegetables. Have any of you ever made or seen rhubarb served as a vegetable or tomatoes served as fruits? Chime in if you have!
One last interest tidbit about rhubarb from Wiki: “In British theater and early radio drama, the words “rhubarb, rhubarb” were repeated for the effect of unintelligible conversation in the background.” Pretty amusing, huh?
Go grab some rhubarb while it’s still available and make this fantabulous Rhubarb Buttermilk Streusel Cake! A tender and moist crumb with a delightful buttery streusel topping (which, incidentally, comes from the German verb “streuen,” which means to sprinkle or scatter) . This cake is truly lovely and it’s easy to make. Serve it up with some ice cream and you’re all set.
Let’s get started!
Cream the butter and sugar in large mixing bowl with an electric mixer.
Add the eggs and vanilla extract. Beat until combined.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the flour, alternating the flour and buttermilk.
Be careful not to over-stir. Some lumps of flour will remain, and that’s okay.
Wash the rhubarb. Peel off the outer skin if it’s too tough. Dice the rhubarb and add it to the batter. Fold the rhubarb into the batter.
Spread the batter into a greased 8×8 inch square baking pan. I use the hand-forged aluminum pan by Magic Line, made in the USA. Love it!
To make the streusel, combine the butter, sugar and flour in a bowl. Crumb the mixture between your fingers.
Evenly crumble the streusel over the batter.
Bake in an oven preheated to 350 degrees F for 35-45 minutes or until the streusel is a light golden brown in places and a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
Let the cake cool before slicing it.
Serve with some ice cream and you’re all set! Enjoy!
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Rhubarb Streusel Cake
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 1/2 cups rhubarb diced
- For the streusel topping:
- 1/4 cup butter melted
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 8x8 inch square baking pan.
- Cream the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until pale and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and egg and beat until combined.
- In a small bowl, combine the flour with the baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Using a rubber spatula, fold the flour mixture into the wet mixture, alternating with the buttermilk. Be careful not to over-stir. Some flour lumps will remain and that is okay. Stir in the rhubarb.
- Spoon the batter into the greased baking pan.
- To make the streusel topping, combine all the ingredients and crumble with your fingers.
- Evenly sprinkle the streusel topping over the cake batter. Bake the cake for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool before cutting into squares. Serve with ice cream.
Beth says
we made this recipe twice this weekend it was so good. i have tried a few cake based recipes for rhubarb, but this one is by far the best. Everyone loved it so much including my son who is not a big cake fan. I added more rhubarb then listed. 3+ cups. I highly recommend this recipe.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m absolutely thrilled to hear that, Beth, thanks so much for the feedback!
Josie says
This turned out perfectly, just like the pictures! I did accidentally add twice as much butter as the recipe calls for in the cake batter… whoops! I used about a cup of strawberries and reduced the rhubarb to about 1 3/4 cups, and reduced the sugar to about 3/4 cup to compensate for the sweetness of the strawberries.
This is definitely an easy, delicious recipe that I’ll make again! (I’ll try it with the right amount of butter next time. Ha!)
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Wonderful, Josie, I’m so glad you enjoyed it! And adding twice the amount of butter probably wasn’t such a bad thing, lol :) Thanks so much for the feedback!