Norwegian Rhubarb Cake
This Norwegian Rhubarb Cake is deliciously balanced between tart and sweet. The sweet almond tones are surprisingly complementary to the tartness of the rhubarb making this a well-rounded rhubarb cake. Lower in sugar than the average cake and with the high-protein almond flour which makes this a great keto dessert for those who are carb conscious.
Rhubarb is a light and delightful staple of spring. You know it’s spring when the grocery stores are filled with it. I get a little nostalgic about my grandma’s baking during this time of year. She would often make rhubarb pies, crisp, or jam that was freshly picked from their garden, which was always full of organic fruits and vegetables. Memories of picking fruits and vegetables till our shirts were brimming but barely making it back without eating ¾ of what we’ve picked.
Rhubarb is usually combined with a sweet fruit to balance out its tartness. In North America, the combination of choice for rhubarb is strawberry. However, you can combine rhubarb with a lot of other sweet flavoured ingredients to balance it out. In Norway, another area where rhubarb is quite common, they have a different take on it. They commonly use almond flour and essence alongside some orange rind with rhubarb to make a “Rebarbrakake”. Oh goodness, what a lovely twist! It doesn’t need too much sweetness.
This Norwegian Rhubarb Cake is:
Refreshing
Sweet
Tart
Aromatic
Keto
Low-Carb
Low-Sugar
Making this was a cinch. Just as easy as any plain vanilla cake and during rhubarb season it’s a fabulous way to wow people with a delicious rhubarb dessert. The most traditional way of preparing rhubarb is in a pie, and don’t get me wrong, rhubarb pie is soooooooo delicious. However, sometimes trying new things can be incredibly rewarding too and this was an incredible find.
Sometimes my recipes are a slam dunk, perfect on the first shot. Other times it takes a few shots to get it perfect. Texture, taste, and beauty are all important. This one took me a couple of shots. Believe it or not, it took me 4 tries to get this just right. The bright side of all of this is that our neighbours love us right now because they’ve gotten so many pieces of that delicious rhubarb cake. It’s a great way to make new neighborly friends.
Making a Gluten-Free and Vegan Rhubarb Cake
In making a gluten-free and vegan rhubarb cake you’ll need to replace eggs and dairy. Typically, in a regular cake, eggs and yogurt are key ingredients in baking, and depending on what your baking, some replacements are going to be better than others. Replacing yogurt is easy; there are so many varieties of vegan yogurt available on the market these days. Eggs will depend on what you are making. For this cake, I used flaxseed. It gives it structure and moistness.
Cake Batter
When making cake batter, not all gluten-free flours are equal. Some are made for making yeast-based flours, and others are more for cakes. This was the original mistake that I made. I had used bob’s red mill 1 to 1 baking flour because I have some success with it in the past but the ratio to starches & xanthan gum is much higher in this mix than in cake flours giving it a thick “gooey” consistency. This is why I decided to come up with my own mix and that way everyone should have the same results. Almond flour, potato starch, and cornstarch were a good ratio for keeping it light and fluffy while still having a nice consistency and texture.
When mixing the cake ingredients, I like to separate the dry ingredients from the wet ones. This gives it the best chance for fully mixing the ingredients and makes it easier to get rid of any clumps before mixing in the wet ingredients. Once you are done mixing in all the ingredients, you should have a barely pourable cake batter. This is the consistency that you are looking for.
Before Pouring the Batter in the Cake Tin
Make sure that you own an 8” cake tin with a removable bottom (springform pan). You really don’t want to flip this cake upside down. For one, it would destroy the integrity of the delicate cake structure, and two, you don’t want to put your hand on the beautiful yet soft and moist rhubarb topping. Also, I would highly recommend adding parchment paper on the sides of the cake tin. This makes it so much easier to remove the cake once it is baked and less likely to make a mess.
Final Steps to the Rhubarb Cake
When adding the toppings, I added the rhubarb first keeping it mostly to the center, then the almond slivers to the sides with a few slivers in the center and sprinkling the whole thing with raw cane sugar to get that nice crisp, golden sugar coating. Bake it at 350˚F for 30-40 minutes or until your toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for 5-10 minutes until the cake tin is cool to the touch, and carefully remove it. Serve warm with either a little vegan whipped cream, yogurt, or vegan ice cream. Enjoy for 3-4 days refrigerated.
Norwegian Rhubarb Cake
Equipment
- Springform Pan
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 cups Almond flour (packed)
- ¾ cup Potato starch
- ¼ cup Cornstarch (or arrowroot starch)
- 1 tsp Baking powder
- ½ tsp Baking soda
- 1 tbsp Ground flax seed
Wet Ingredients
- ½ cup Sugar of choice
- ⅓ cup Vegan butter
- ¼ cup Plain Vegan Yogurt
- ½ tsp Apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup almond milk
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- 1 tsp Almond essence
- 1 tsp Orange rind grated
Toppings
- 4 Stalks rhubarb chopped
- ½ cup Almond slivers
- 2 tbsp Raw cane sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350˚F and grease an 8" cake pan with removable bottom. Also, line the sides with parchment paper for easy removal.
- In a large bowl, mix in your dry ingredients till well combined.
- In a separate bowl, cream your sugar and butter together until you have a homogenous mixture. Then, mix in the rest of the wet ingredients.
- Make a well in the dry ingredients then pour wet ingredients and mix till well combined.
- Pour batter in the cake pan then add chopped rhubarb, almond slivers and raw cane sugar in that order.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
- Remove from oven, let cool for 10 minutes, then remove from cake pan. Keep refrigerated for up to 4 days.
I’m making this for our next barbecue!
Looking forward to getting your feedback, im sure you’ll love it! We sure did!