Rhubarb Raspberry Upside-down Cake

Raspberry rhubarb upside down cake on a parchment lined black round tray

5 from 1 vote

Rhubarb Raspberry Upside-down Cake

This moist rhubarb raspberry upside-down cake is made with ground almonds to lighten the cake layer and raspberries to add colour to the fruit layer.

Prep Time25

Cook Time1 45

Total Time2 10

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 452kcal

Author: Janice Lawandi

Equipment

Ingredients

For the quick caramel sauce

58 grams unsalted butter
100 grams light brown sugar

For the fruit layer

450 grams fresh rhubarb cut into pieces to help them fit the springform from about ½ to 4 inches
170 grams fresh raspberries or frozen
100 grams granulated sugar
10 mL cornstarch

For the cake layer

190 grams bleached all-purpose flour
50 grams ground almonds
6.25 mL baking powder
0.625 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
230 grams unsalted butter room temperature
250 grams granulated sugar
5 mL pure vanilla extract
4 large egg(s) room temperature
80 mL sour cream (14% fat) or full-fat Greek yogurt

Metric - US

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325°F (165 °C).
Prepare a 9-inch springform pan by lining the bottom with parchment (I basically cut a large square of paper, place it on the base, then clip the sides over so that the paper runs right through the springform). Butter the paper and the sides of the springform pan. Wrap the outside of the pan with 2 large sheets of aluminum foil (in case your springform is as leaky as mine is). Set aside.

Make the quick caramel sauce

In a small saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar until it gets bubbly. Let it bubble for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Pull the pan off the heat and pour the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Smooth it out so that it forms an even layer. Set aside.

Prepare the fruit

In a medium bowl, combine the fruit with the granulated sugar and cornstarch. Mix it carefully to not damage the raspberries too much, and let it sit. Stir the fruit every few minutes to evenly distribute the starch and sugar.

Make the cake batter

Whisk together the flour, ground almonds, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Set them aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and the granulated sugar.
Add the vanilla, and then the eggs, one at a time, beating well, and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Don’t worry if the batter looks curdled at this point.
Alternately, add the dry ingredients (one-third at a time) and the sour cream (half at a time), beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Be sure to scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl occasionally.

Assemble the upside-down cake and bake

Arrange the fruits evenly on top of the sugar layer (either decoratively or just neatly arrange them to fit snuggly). Pour the juices over the fruit.
Dollop the cake batter carefully over the fruit being sure to smooth the top without disturbing the fruit layer. Bang the pan on the counter so as to remove any air pockets (you could also swirl a knife through carefully to remove any air pockets, just be sure to avoid the fruits at the bottom).
Bake for 1 hour 40 minutes to 1 hour 50 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Because the cake is tall, it takes a long time to bake the middle so make sure you bake it for long enough!
Let the cake cool for 15 minutes in the pan, then place your serving plate over top, and flip it very carefully because the fruit juices are boiling hot! Set the plate on a wire rack to cool completely. Do not let the cake cool in the pan because the fruits and juices will stick to the bottom, and you’ll have a hard time getting it out after.

Notes

You can either use a 9-inch springform pan that is buttered and lined with parchment or you can use a 9-inch round cake pan with 3-inch straight sides
Substitutions and variations:
- This recipe calls for Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount or the recipe may be too salty!
- Yogurt—If you don't have sour cream, a baking substitution you can try is to replace it with the same volume of full-fat Greek yogurt (around 10 % fat if possible). Low-fat works too, but reducing the fat may lead to a drier cake or affect the texture.
- Strawberries—I love to combine raspberries with rhubarb, but if you prefer, strawberries will work too. Try to stick to the total weight of fruit for your rhubarb and strawberries. Otherwise, you may run into trouble getting the cake properly baked.
- Plain rhubarb—I have baked this recipe without the raspberries with 1 pound (454 grams) of fresh rhubarb, and it worked perfectly. The fruit layer was a bit more beige and lacked the vibrancy of the pink raspberries, but the flavour was still great!
- Pistachio or hazelnut—you can replace the ground almonds with ground pistachios or hazelnuts. For a nut-free version, try ground pumpkin seeds (like in this moist rhubarb cake made with pumpkin seeds!) or even sunflower seeds.
- Cake flour—you can replace the weight of nuts plus all-purpose flour with the same weight of cake flour, as in the original recipe. Cake flour is a softer, finer flour that has more starch and less protein than all-purpose.

Nutrition