We finally got out to harvest our Rhubarb. That’s the royal “we”. The DH actually did the harvesting part. But now it’s up to me to do the cooking part. I made a call for help for ideas on Twitter yesterday and ended up making a wonderful rhubarb and apple crisp for dinner last night (thanks Liz!). Today, I baked up another rhubarb treat. (I have lots of rhubarb!)
I spotted this cake on my travels around the internet recently. I was immediately intrigued by the mention of a secret ingredient. What was the secret? This cake has marshmallows in it! I knew right then and there that I’d just have to bake it.
The marshmallows gets tossed in with the diced rhubarb and sugar and are placed in the bottom of the pan. I didn’t have a pretty 9×9-inch pan, so I went with my deep-dish pie plate. A buttery cake batter is spooned on top of the rhubarb and marshmallows. The cake bakes for about 40 minutes (I left mine in a few extra minutes as it seemed a little pale in the middle, baking for about 43 minutes total).
The verdict? Delicious. Of course, you would never know there were marshmallows in there. And thinking on it, since I’ve made marshmallows, I know they are pretty much just gelatin and sugar, so they really just serve as extra sweetness and maybe some thickening of the sauce.
The original recipe (linked below) is for, and titled, an upside-down cake, meaning you turn the cake out after you bake it. I didn’t see any need to do that. Upside down or downside up, it still tastes just as good! (And one less dish to wash). Of course, feel free to upside down it, if you like.
If you’re looking for a rhubarb dessert, you’ll not go wrong with this one. Great on it’s own, or serve with some vanilla ice cream.
Downside Up Rhubarb Cake
Adapted from The Newlywed Cookbook by Sarah Copeland via her lovely website.
Summary: This is a delicious cake, best served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. If you like, you can turn this cake out inverted and make it an upside down cake. Best eaten on the day it’s baked.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups cake flour (I used cake flour, for a lighter cake, but I imagine all-purpose would work as well)
- 1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
- 1 3/4 cups granulated white sugar, divided
- 1/4 tsp. fine sea salt
- 5 Tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup whole (3.5%) milk
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 4 – 4 1/2 cups diced rhubarb, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- Handful of miniature marshmallows (or tear 4 or 5 regular size marshmallows into mini marshmallow sized pieces)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Butter a 9-inch square baking pan (or something of similar size of any shape).
- If using cake flour, sift. Add into a medium bowl, then whisk together with the baking powder, 3/4 cup of the sugar, and the salt. Mix in the butter with a fork, pastry blender or your fingers.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the milk, egg and vanilla. Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture, and using a fork to stir, bring it all together into a loose batter.
- In a large bowl, stir together the rhubarb, the remaining 1 cup of sugar and marshmallows. Add the rhubarb mixture into the prepared pan and spread out into an even layer. Spoon the batter over top of the rhubarb and spread to an even layer that covers the top. (Don’t worry if is seems thin or if the rhubarb is peeking through. It will be all good in the end.)
- Bake in the centre of the oven until the rhubarb is bubbly around the edges and the top is puffed and golden, about 40-45 minutes. The cake should spring back lightly when touched.
- Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Prep time: 15 min | Cook time: 45 min | Total time: 1 hour
Number of servings (yield): 6
I love that the secret ingredient is marshmallows, and not beans or cauliflower purée.
LOL! I agree :)