Upside Down Rhubarb Cake that is gluten-free and made with Almond Flour. Deliciously addictive, perfect for Spring!
It is the giving of attention – that keeps us awake.
In Spring, one of the first things to poke their arms out of the ground are the rosy colored stalks of rhubarb. They surprisingly have many uses in the kitchen- but what they are most known for, is pie.
Rhubarb is also called the “pie plant”- and paired with strawberries, berries, or apples, rhubarb is often thought of as a fruit – but in actuality, rhubarb is a vegetable, in the same family as sorrel. Rhubarb’s flavor and aroma hint of tart apples, berries, and more subtler notes of water and fresh green grass.
In this flour-less upside down cake, I resisted the temptation to add berries or other fruit, in order to highlight rhubarb’s true flavor. The bright liveliness of the rhubarb is front and center, the sourness mellowed slightly with vanilla and butter, while the base of the cake, made entirely of almond meal and no flour, whispers of cardamon. To my palate, the combination delights.
It starts with four cups of fresh rhubarb, cut into ½ inch cubes.
In a heavy bottom skillet, melt butter, and add rhubarb, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla. Stir until combined and sugar has dissolved, but do not cook the rhubarb, it will cook in the oven.
Make the batter.
Separate the yolks from the whites. Mix the yolks with sugar and lemon zest, and combine with dry ingredients. Whip the whites, and then combine all to create a batter.
Pour the almond flour batter over the rhubarb.
Bake in a 375 F oven for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
It will be fragrant and golden brown. Run and knife along the edges and immediately invert onto a platter.
Let stand 10 minutes before cutting, to let it set.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve with vanilla ice cream.
Related: 20 Recipes to Celebrate Spring!
Upside Down Rhubarb Cake (Gluten-free)
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 50 mins
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: Dessert, gluten-free
- Method: baked
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Upside Down Rhubarb Cake that is gluten free- made with Almond Flour. Deliciously addictive, perfect for Spring. Made in a cast-iron skillet.
Ingredients
Scale
- 4 cups rhubarb, cut into ½ inch cubes ( about 1 ¼ lb)
- 1 1/4 cups sugar -divided ( or use half brown sugar)
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- pinch salt
- 4 eggs, separated into 4 egg yolks and 4 egg whites, room temperature
- zest from one lemon
- ¼ teaspoon cardamon
- 1 1/2 cups finely ground almond flour or meal
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon white or cider vinegar
- Powdered sugar for sprinkling
Instructions
- pre heat oven to 375 F
- Over medium heat, melt butter into a well seasoned, 9-10 inch cast iron skillet, and brush the sides with it. Add rhubarb, ¾ C sugar, lemon juice, 2tsp vanilla and pinch salt and stir for 2 minutes, just until combined and sugar has dissolved. Turn heat off. Do not continue to cook rhubarb.
- In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks with lemon zest, cardamon and ¼ C sugar, until creamy and sugar has dissolved. Set aside. In a small bowl, whisk almond flour, pinch salt, and baking powder until combined.
- Add flour mixture to egg mixture and stir to incorporate. You will have a very thick heavy batter at this point.
- In a stand mixer, whip egg whites on medium high speed, and once you see bubbles, add a pinch of salt and tsp vinegar . Whip until egg whites have formed soft peaks, then add remaining ¼ C sugar a little at a time whipping until medium stiff peaks form. Turn speed to down to medium low and begin spooning in the thick flour – egg yolk batter, a heaping spoonful at a time, into the egg whites, until it is all combined, scraping downs sides as necessary.
- Pour batter over rhubarb in the cast iron skillet and place in a preheated oven, for 30 minutes. While baking, make sure to have ready, what you plan to flip the cake on to. At 30 minutes, check for doneness by inserting a toothpick or skewer into the middle of the cake. If it comes out clean, it is done. If not, bake 5 minutes longer, check again. Pull from the oven, and if making in a skillet, immediately place a cake platter or cake stand over the skillet, and invert, gently tapping the bottom of the skillet so it releases.
- Serve with vanilla ice cream or on its own. The cake is especially good the next day.
Notes
I personally use a cast iron skillet for this recipe! I’ve tried it with a spring form pan- and no leaks- but readers are having issues with leaks. So I recommend a cast iron skillet. 😉
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 346
- Sugar: 32.9 g
- Sodium: 331 mg
- Fat: 12 g
- Saturated Fat: 4.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 39 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 6.8 g
- Cholesterol: 108.3 mg
Keywords: gluten free rhubarb cake, upside down rhubarb cake, rhubarb recipes, rhubarb cake recipes, gluten free recipes
Yummy! It came right out of my cast iron pan with no problem. Almond flour cakes are sometimes delicate, and this one was. It’s not pretty enough for company, but for my husband and I, it’s perfect! Maybe a smaller cast iron would have worked better. Yours looks beautiful and mine, not so much. My rhubarb cooked up brown-ish as well, and your’s is red. But it tastes divine,and isn’t that all that counts
★★★★
So happy you enjoyed this Alene. For the photos, I purposely sought out the redist rhubarb stalks I could find. Another trick, try sprinkling a little beet powder or tossing in a little piece of raw red beet into the rhubarb mixture to bump up the color (remove before eating). 😉
Absolutely delicious flavor, but the rhubarb part was way too juicy, and it came out like oatmeal with a rhubarb sauce. I also used a sugar alternative (monk fruit) as I am diabetic. I would try making this again, but I think I would add some tapioca flour to the rhubarb ingredients to thicken it. And I would probably bake it a bit longer next time!
I really think it is the sugar substitute making it more juicy. I’m not positive, but it’s my best guess. 😉
Loved this recipe! the flavor was great and my gluten-free friends enjoyed it. Can this recipe be modified to us standard flour? At times I run out of almond flour and my immediate family doesnt have gluten issues.
You know, great question Ann and I’m not sure! I think it should work?? But not positive. 😉
Hello I am not going to rate the recipe, because I believe it failed due to my substitution of Swerve for the sugar. My daughter cannot have sugar while she is on her current diet. I used the exact amount (as the Swerve package states that substitution for sugar is 1:1) and my fresh rhubarb seemed to release A LOT of liquid (much more than your photo), however I didn’t drain it, as I would have removed the Swerve. Not sure if the excess liquid was due to my extra juicy rhubarb, freshly picked from my garden, or using the Swerve. The cake portion rose and baked beautifully, but it soaked up all the liquid. Although the cake surprisingly maintained it’s structure, it was very soggy – like a sweet, wet sponge! So perhaps I will try again subbing the sugar with honey (as she can have a little of that).
Oh shoot Robin! Yes not sure about the Swerve- I have never used it, so not sure how it works in recipes? I use fresh rhubarb here as well-it does get juicy, but not overly, so don’t think it was that? Appreciate you sharing this, maybe useful to someone else out there!
A hit! Could not find ruhbarb, used fresh picked blueberries. It wAs a treat!!!
★★★★★
Nice Katey! Yum fresh blueberries, that sounds amazing.
Deeelucious light and tasty. I baked the rhubarb in a round metal non stick cake pan with the butter in the oven until it bubbled and it worked perfectly.
★★★★★
Wonderful to hear Diane!
I wish that I had printed this recipe before the changes were made to it. I make it in a regular cake pan, without the fruit, topping it with a maple glaze instead.
★★★★
Hi Beth, the recipe itself has not changed- only the pan. It use to have a spring form pan option, but people were having issues with it leaking. A cake pan should work great!