This vegan Rhubarb Ginger Upside Down Cake will tickle your tastebuds -- and your appetite for dessert -- with the tangy-sweet rhubarb and spicy-sweet candied ginger.
This vegan rhubarb ginger upside down cake is my mea culpa to the many readers who tried out this recipe, which I first posted two years ago on this blog, and wrote in to say they loved the taste of the cake -- but, something was off with the liquid measurements because, in some cases, the cake sank a bit in the middle, or simply took too long to bake.
I had been wanting to try out this rhubarb cake recipe again, but rhubarb is not an ingredient I can easily find even during the few weeks it's in season, so when I did see some ruby-red rhubarb stalks on my weekly grocery trip this past weekend, I grabbed them up to make this cake. Again.
I baked up the cake exactly according to the instructions I had posted, but I made two changes -- I reduced the liquid by half a cup, and I increased the oven temperature from 325 to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
I got a perfect cake, which leads me to believe that I may have messed up the amount of water in the post the first time round. But -- I am here to make things up to you with this now-perfect vegan Rhubarb Ginger Upside Down Cake. I have even added new pictures of the cake I made this week, so you can see for yourself how gorgeous it is.
I do love baking with rhubarb because this lip-puckeringly sour stalk magically transforms during baking into soft, subtly tart sweetness.
In this rhubarb cake, it is marvelous and even a revelation.
As they bake up, the juices of the ruby-red rhubarb and the sugar caramelize into a thick, gooey syrup that glazes the top of this moist, voluptuous cake and flows down its sides.
You really don't have to worry about decorating this cake because it's so pretty to look at right out of the pan-- as indeed any upside down cake is. But the gorgeous color of the rhubarb, I think, makes this cake even more special (keep in mind that the color will depend on the color of the rhubarb you put in -- some rhubarb stalks are more deeply colored than others).
It is rather important that you bake this cake in a springform pan, because that just makes it so much easier to unmold without messing up the glossy, exquisite top. If some pieces of rhubarb come off, just put them back on -- no one will be able to tell the difference.
Once again, my apologies to readers who attempted this rhubarb ginger upside down cake and left me notes with their constructive criticism/feedback. This cake is for you! I hope you will make it again, and enjoy it.
More vegan cake recipes:
- Vegan Blueberry Buttermilk Bundt Cake
- Vegan Lemon Yogurt Bundt Cake
- Vegan Carrot Cake
- Vegan Apple Cake
- Vegan Cucumber Cake
More vegan rhubarb recipes:
Vegan Rhubarb Ginger Upside Down Cake recipe:
Vegan Rhubarb Ginger Upside-Down Cake
Ingredients
- 2 ⅔ cup unbleached all-purpose flour (You can make this a whole wheat cake by using whole-wheat pastry flour or half all-purpose and half whole-wheat.)
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 16 tablespoon vegan butter (at room temperature)
- 1 ¼ cup nondairy milk
- 2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the rhubarb topping
- 4 cups (about 4-5 stalks) rhubarb chopped into 1 ½-inch-long and 1-cm wide sticks. You can also just cut into cubes.
- ½ cup brown sugar (I used coconut palm sugar this time which was wonderful)
- 3 teaspoon cornstarch
- ¼ cup candied ginger (chopped, optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a bowl, mix the chopped rhubarb, candied ginger, brown sugar and corn starch and set aside.
- Mix the milk and vinegar and set aside to curdle for a couple of minutes.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl, using the whisk attachment or a regular whisk, cream together the butter and the sugar until soft and fluffy, about two minutes.
- Add the milk-vinegar mixture, sugar, and vanilla extract and mix well.
- In another bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients in three batches, mixing for about 20 seconds after each add, and scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula to ensure even mixing.
- Prepare a 10-inch springform pan by greasing the bottom and sides with oil or vegan butter. Cover the bottom with parchment paper which will make for much easier unmolding. Place the springform pan on a cookie sheet to catch any juices from the rhubarb that may leak out as the cake bakes.
- Place the chopped rhubarb in the bottom of the pan and spread evenly. You can make a decorative pattern, if you like.
- Pour the cake batter on top of the rhubarb and spread evenly. Smooth the top.
- Bake for 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Then invert a dish or a cake stand over the cake pan and carefully but quickly flip the cake. It is important to unmold the cake while it is still warm otherwise the juices will start sticking to the pan.
- Open the springform pan and remove. Carefully lift off the bottom and the parchment paper.
- Garnish, if you like, with more strips of candied ginger. Et voila!
Kerry
Delicious. I made it for Xmas pudding and everyone loved it 11/10
Lydia
Is it possible to freeze this cake?
Vaishali
Yes!
Joy
Mine didn’t look as beautiful as the photo but it tasted great, my best vegan cake yet! Great recipe that I can adapt to different fruit.
Vaishali
Hi Joy, so happy you enjoyed the cake! The color really depends on the color of the rhubarb stalks you use, and they do lose a bit of color during baking.
Anokhi
This cake is amazing - so easy to make with no weird ingredients, and tastes even better the next day as the ginger permeates the rest of the cake!
Alice
This is my go-to summer cake recipe now, tastes amazing, works every time, all my friends expect it when rhubarb season arrives!
Vaishali
That's so great to hear!!
Gabe
Question: Do you think this could be delicious with 3 cups of rhubarb instead of 4? I have some frozen, but I don't think I have exactly the amount you call for here.
Vaishali
Yes, absolutely. Since the rhubarb is mainly the topping that's fine!
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I like your website. No fluff, just helpful info. Great job.
Risa
I have made this several times as written and it is absolutely delicious. Enjoyed by vegans and non-vegans.
I too have found it needs a bit more bake time before the cake tester comes out clean.
Has anyone tried making this not only vegan but also gluten free?
Tania Watt
I made this GF and it turned out fine. I also added 1tsp of ground ginger with the flour and didn’t use vanilla, and I added a bit of the ginger syrup to the topping. It was delicious and everyone loved it - also good with custard as a dessert.
Vaishali
Sounds so delicious!
Amanda
Made this rhubarb cake for the first time today as my parents came over for supper.
Absolutely fabulous desert, everybody loved it, will definitely be making it again. My neighbour gave me fresh rhubarb from his garden so I took some cake over for him and his wife to try. Printed off the recipe for his wife and my parents.
I used coconut nectar sugar for the rhubarb topping and used candied ginger.
Cant wait for tomorrow so we can eat what's left!
Vaishali
So happy you loved the cake! I envy the fresh rhubarb. 🙂 I bought a rhubarb plant last year but it didn't survive for some reason so I now need to look for it at the market. Can't wait to start making more rhubarb recipes.
Bill
Is it possible to get a metric weight for the vegan butter, 16tbsps seems very imprecise to us Europeans haha!
Vaishali
Added, it's 224 grams!
Ann Smith
Thank you, I would also like to see metric (or imperial) measurements o if possible please.
Can’t wait to make this later, I love rhubarb and ginger but haven’t used them together before surprisingly.
Looks yummy
Ann Smith
Ignore me, I’ve just found the metric conversion tab above!
🙄🤗🥰