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This is a soft, old-fashioned Rhubarb Cake with Butter Sauce: a simple one-bowl cake to stir together and bake in a 9 x 13 pan. This is perfect for a potluck or picnic.
Rhubarb Cake with Butter Sauce
Tangy Rhubarb Cake becomes completely irresistible when paired with the sweet Butter Cream Sauce. This cake is a twist on a classic Christmas dessert, cranberry cake with butter sauce.
I’ve updated it for spring and substituted rhubarb for the cranberries. It works so well, as both cranberries and rhubarb are tart and pair well with the butter sauce.
How To Make An Old Fashioned Rhubarb Cake
This is an egg-less cake which makes it super easy to make in one bowl. First, you’ll sift all the dry ingredients together. They are just the basics: flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
To that mixture you’ll gently stir in the milk, melted butter and diced rhubarb. Pour into a pan and bake.
This is seriously the easiest dessert. It’s just as fast as using a cake mix and doesn’t require and special ingredients (other than rhubarb, of course.)
The Rhubarb Cake is perfect for last minute company or anytime you want to bring a dessert somewhere.
The lack of eggs in this cake makes it especially tender and I love that. Be careful not to over bake it as it will be dry. Don’t worry though, a healthy dose of butter sauce will fix it.
How To Make Butter Sauce
Butter sauce is just butter, heavy cream and granulated sugar – and it is oh, so delicious when poured warm on cake. Think of it as a superior frosting since frosting is just sugar and butter too.
In a small saucepan, melt the butter, stir in the heavy cream and sugar, bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute.
Ta da, magic butter sauce that is perfect over cake.
In addition to seeing this butter sauce over cranberry cake, I’ve also seen it served over a Pecan Praline Cake and a Warm Gingerbread Cake.
More Rhubarb Recipes
Both my family and my reader’s love rhubarb recipes. If you’re looking for ways to use up extra rhubarb, check out one of my other rhubarb recipes.
- Rhubarb Bars
- Rhubarb Coffee Cake
- Rhubarb Crunch
- Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
- Rhubarb Sauce
- Old Fashioned Rhubarb Custard Pie
- Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler
Can I Freeze Rhubarb?
Rhubarb season is short, but never fear, you can use freeze rhubarb and use it throughout the year without any issues at all. You can also purchase frozen rhubarb at most grocery stores.
To use frozen rhubarb: thaw the rhubarb first and let any excess liquid drain off. Don’t squeeze any liquid out, just drain what naturally thaws out of the rhubarb.
Rhubarb Cake with Butter Sauce
Ingredients
For the cake
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 cups rhubarb diced (see note below about using frozen rhubarb)
- 2 cups milk
- 6 tablespoons butter melted
For the butter sauce
- 1/2 cup 1 stick butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the diced rhubarb, milk and melted butter. Stir just until combined.
- Pour the batter into a greased 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and cool
- To make the butter sauce, combine the butter sugar and cream in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat and boil for 1 minute stirring frequently. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
- To serve, cut pieces of cake and serve with a generous amount of warm butter sauce. The sauce can be gently reheated on the stove or in the microwave if necessary.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
{originally published 4/20/19 – recipe notes and photos updated 5/6/21}
I’ve made this cake several times. I do cut out 1/2 c sugar as its pretty sweet. If I make the butter sauce, we just spoon it on the individual piece, but usually don’t make it at all, as its very sweet and not necessary. It mixes up quickly, is moist and always turns out.
I’m so glad you like the recipe, Bonnie!
Soooooooo good! Our new spring go-to rhubarb dessert!
Tina – Rhubarb season is one of my favorites!!!
About how many rhubarb sticks for this cake?
It’s usually just 1, but might be 2 depending on size, Bernie.
I started reading the reviews on this cake, because I felt that any cake recipe without eggs was not going to turn out well. BUT the really shocking part was the statement “Usually takes 1 stick of Rhubarb” That is SO far off. I have been growing Rhubarb for 3 years, which is still a pretty young crop. My plants produce all different sizes of stalks. There is nothing generic or predictable about the size of a Rhubarb stalk, hint– 4 cups!! For an author to generalize the amount, makes me SUPER leery about her recipe. This recipe is not worth wasting Rhubarb. I’ll pass!!!!!
Tammy – This recipe takes 4 cups of rhubarb.
I think there was a mistake in reading. I think she thought Bernie was asking about butter maybe, not rhubarb. It clearly states 4 cups of rhubarb so 1 or 2 would definitely be far off. But again, I think it was a miscommunication.
This cake had no flavor at all.. and the butter sauce did not help it.. I’m sorry but this was a huge disappointment.
I’m sorry to hear that you didn’t enjoy the cake, Shirley. It’s always a hit for us.
The cake was very good although the butter sauce is what makes it. I make the same cake using raw whole cranberries and it is more flavorful with the contrast of the sour cranberries and sweet sauce. Of course a little ice cream on the side is also good!
I’m so glad you like it, Kathy!
This one is just fantastic! I will bake it many many more times!
I’m so glad you like the cake, Pieter!
Made this recipe to take to a 4th of July potluck! I wanted to love this recipe but I can’t. I was so embarrassed by the way it tasted. It was so dense and doughy even though it was cooked all the way through. I ended up bringing over half of the pan back home. I was initially going to make another recipe I have made for a long time but I decided last minute to try this one! I wish I had never laid eyes on this recipe. It is clearly needs oil and or eggs or something else because as is it is not good! Disappointed ?
I’m not sure what went wrong with the recipe for you, Lisa. It’s always frustrating when things don’t turn out right. The butter and milk should’ve added plenty of moisture and the baking powder leavens it nicely. Did you substitute any ingredients? or change something in the directions?
I changed nothing with the recipe. I don’t know how it can’t turn out dense without eggs or oil or something else added to it. It needs something else! Perhaps some like dense cake but I don’t!
I added 2 eggs and a 5 Oz. Cup of coconut Greek yogurt . It came out nice and moist …
I found this to be more of a consistency of bread pudding, but delicious!
I’m thrilled you’re enjoying the cake, Penni.
My daughter and I made this cake this morning. We love making Rhubarb shortbread. This seemed like a nice change of pace but we aren’t sold on it. It tastes very much like a super sweet biscuit with very little rhubarb taste. We made notes; if we make it again we would cut the sugar in the cake to 1 cup and up the diced rhubarb to 6-7 cups. For us not a keeper as is; if you really love rhubarb – the tang/ sour taste is just not there.
I’m sorry to hear it wasn’t a hit with your family, San. Typically, this cake has that tangy flavor that I love as well. I know that when rhubarb is more green it will have a sharper taste, but even if it was completely red, it still should have given you rhubarb flavor here. Thanks for sharing your thoughts either way!
This is so good! The butter cream sauce is just right for the tartness of the rhubarb.
I’m thrilled you like the cake, Arletta!