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 Bundt Cake with Cashew Cream Cheese Frosting
Vegan Apple Cake, whole wheat
Low-fat Cucumber Cake
***
More vegan rhubarb recipes:
Vegan Rhubarb Crisp
Vegan Rhubarb Bread
Rhubarb Pie
Homemade Rhubarb Jam
Rhubarb Mousse
***
Vegan Rhubarb Ginger Upside Down Cake recipe:
Vegan Rhubarb Ginger Upside-Down Cake
Ingredients
- 2 2/3 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 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 16 tbsp vegan butter (at room temperature)
- 1 1/4 cup nondairy milk
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
For the rhubarb topping
- 4 cups (about 4-5 stalks) rhubarb chopped into 1 1/2-inch-long and 1-cm wide sticks. You can also just cut into cubes.
- 1/2 cup brown sugar (I used coconut palm sugar this time which was wonderful)
- 3 tsp cornstarch
- 1/4 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!
Nutrition
Tiffany says
May 3, 2017 atYum I’ll have to try this! We have a ginourmous stash of rhubarb in the fridge just waiting to be eaten.
Vaishali says
May 4, 2017 atThanks, Tiffany, a stash of rhubarb– I’m jealous! 🙂 Hope you try the cake!
Helen says
May 15, 2017 atThanks a lot for sharing this recipe! I made it yesterday for a Mother’s Day celebration and followed your recipe meticulously, but the batter needed almost twice as long in the oven and was still a bit gooey in the middle after taking it out. Do you have an idea what I might have done wrong?
The taste of the cake was superb nevertheless, by the way! 😊
Vaishali says
May 16, 2017 atHi Helen, thanks for the feedback. I am surprised about the increased bake time– I have made this basic cake many times over the years, with different fruit, and it has always worked for me. The only possibility I can think of is that your oven may not be heating up accurately. Next time try raising the temperature to 350 degrees.
Janelle Peotter says
September 25, 2017 atI had the same problem. The cake has now been in almost an hour and a half and it is still soft in the middle.
Paula says
May 18, 2017 atThis cake looks amazing, Vaishali. I love those beautiful colors of the rhubarb. It’s a little late now for the season, but I am going to find some rhubarb just so I can make this.
Lisa C says
April 19, 2018 atHow much is a stick of butter in weight please? I’m over here so might be different to US thanks 🙂
Sasha says
May 25, 2018 atThis cake is amazing! I’ve made it for my mum and my parents in law and they all think it’s gorgeous! If there are cookbooks in heaven, this recipe must have dropped out of one! 😉 Thank you so much. If only rhubarb was easier to find here in Russia (we only get it in one shop nearby on Tuesdays in the summer or something)
Jennifer says
May 30, 2018 atHello, This recipe looks fabulous! I am wondering how much 2 sticks of vegan butter is. I can’t find vegan butter in my area but vegan margarine. How many cups (or grams) would 2 sticks of vegan butter be please?
Thanks,
Jennifer ~:o)
Vaishali says
May 30, 2018 atOne cup!
Ben says
July 4, 2018 atIs there really one and there quarter cups of milk in this? That sounds a lot.
Meri says
March 9, 2019 atMy cake also turned out very gooey. I left it in for 15min extra and it was still extremely gooey in the middle. Maybe worth putting in less of the milk. It was tasty though and would probably have been lovely if I’d gone with my instinct and put in less batter or made it less wet!
Janine Larsen says
May 11, 2019 atThis cake is delicious! I’ve made it twice now, the second time modifying the recipe to raise the temperature and increase the cook time, as I had the same results as many who commented above about the cake center remaining uncooked even after much more time. Raising the oven temperature to 350 helped, but it still needed 70-75 minutes to bake through. I used hemp milk; could be the type of vegan “milk” used makes a difference in cook time. I wonder if a tube pan might help, rather than the springform pan (which does leak a LOT of juice – could be helpful to increase the cornstarch in the topping directions). I also noted in point 5 the direction to add sugar to the milk-vinegar mixture, but as far as I can figure, all the sugar is creamed into the vegan butter (I used no-soy Earth Balance). So, that may be an error? At any rate, I’ve crossed it out and the results seem fine. I was intrigued with the tip to replace 2 Tbl flour with cornstarch to approximate cake flour – that’s a keeper! This cake is so good I’m going to experiment with different fruit & nut toppers. Yum! Thanks for this recipe; I”ll use it again and again, I expect, and share it with everyone who demands the recipe after they taste it and swoon. Rhubarb & ginger are a wonderful pairing.
Kat says
May 11, 2019 atI also had a challenge. The batter looked thin at the start so I added extra flour. But even then it was too much for the pan and took too long to cook. I definitely think the milk amount is off.
Sara says
May 22, 2019 atDo you recommend baking this on cast iron pan or should I stick to springform? Thanks.
Vaishali says
May 22, 2019 atYou can certainly use cast iron, but unmolding could be trickier, since you want your top to look as pretty as possible. I would recommend springform as the first choice!
Shannon says
May 23, 2019 atHello,
I made this cake last night. I followed the recipe as posted aside from having to bake it an extra 16 minutes. I do have a gas oven which tends to bake a bit more slowly. The folks at work love the cake. Lots of appeals to “open a bakery”. Thanks for the recipes.