Strawberry Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake
Classic upside-down cake with a sweet, tart finish!
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I love a good strawberry rhubarb dessert, whether it’s pie, crisp, scone, or crumble! There’s just something about the tart, slightly sour rhubarb that pairs perfectly with juicy, sweet strawberries. Add in a deliciously dense, melt-in-your-mouth cake, and I’m all it!
If you’ve never had an upside-down cake before, you’re missing out! These cakes typically start with a sweet caramel sauce along with fruit. You’ll pour this in the bottom of your cake pan, then whip up the batter and pour it on top. After it’s done baking in the oven, you’ll flip this cake over and watch the decadent strawberry rhubarb caramel sauce drip down and cover the cake. Topped with whipped cream or ice cream, and you’ve got yourself a truly delicious summer treat!
To make this strawberry rhubarb upside-down cake, start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter just the sides of a 9-inch round cake pan, set aside. Next, prepare the caramel topping. Combine sugar and 1/3 cup water in a medium saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Cook, no longer stirring but gently swirling the saucepan occasionally, until the mixture is amber, 6 to 8 minutes.
Remove saucepan from the heat and carefully whisk in the butter. Pour caramel into the prepared cake pan, tilting the pan to cover most of the bottom. Then, toss rhubarb, strawberries, cornstarch, cinnamon, strawberry jam, and salt in a medium bowl, stirring to combine. Spoon mixture on top of the caramel sauce and smooth into an even layer. Set aside.
After that, we’ll prepare the cake. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together milk and sour cream. Then, in a large bowl, beat butter and sugar together with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition and scraping down the side of the bowl, followed by vanilla extract.
Reduce mixer speed to low. Pour in flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the milk-sour cream mixture, and mixing until just incorporated. Pour batter over the rhubarb and strawberries in the cake pan and spread evenly. Bake until the cake is golden brown, bounces back when pressed and a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean when inserted in the center, 55 to 60 minutes.
Run a knife around the edge of the cake to separate it from the pan. Let cool in the pan on a rack until cool enough to handle and almost room temperature, about 1 hour. Invert a serving platter over the cake pan and, while holding them together, quickly flip them over so the cake unmolds, fruit-side up. Let cool completely. Cut into wedges, and serve. Check out the full ingredient list and recipe below!
Strawberry Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake
Yield(s): Makes 8 servings
30m prep time
55m cook time
2h inactive
you're making mealtime meaningful.
Caramel Topping:
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, plus more for the pan
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 cups rhubarb, peeled, halved lengthwise, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 1/2 cups strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons strawberry jam
- Kosher salt
Cake:
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter just the sides of a 9-inch round cake pan, set aside.
Caramel Topping:
- To make the caramel topping, combine sugar and 1/3 cup water in a medium saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Cook, no longer stirring but gently swirling the saucepan occasionally, until the mixture is amber, 6 to 8 minutes.
- Remove saucepan from the heat and carefully whisk in the butter. Pour caramel into the prepared cake pan, tilting the pan to cover most of the bottom.
- Toss rhubarb, strawberries, cornstarch, cinnamon, strawberry jam, and salt in a medium bowl, stirring to combine. Spoon mixture on top of the caramel sauce and smooth into an even layer. Set aside.
Cake:
- Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together milk and sour cream.
- In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar together with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.
- Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition and scraping down the side of the bowl, followed by vanilla extract.
- Reduce mixer speed to low. Pour in flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the milk-sour cream mixture, and mixing until just incorporated.
- Pour batter over the rhubarb and strawberries in the cake pan and spread evenly. Bake until the cake is golden brown, bounces back when pressed and a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean when inserted in the center, 55 to 60 minutes.
- Run a knife around the edge of the cake to separate it from the pan. Let cool in the pan on a rack until cool enough to handle and almost room temperature, about 1 hour.
- Invert a serving platter over the cake pan and, while holding them together, quickly flip them over so the cake unmolds, fruit-side up. Let cool completely. Cut into wedges, and serve.
Recipe adapted from Food Network