Happy Tuesday! I hope those of you in the United States enjoyed your Memorial Day weekend. We had unseasonably rainy weather, so we didn’t get out as much as we had hoped. It was kind of like a typical Memorial Day weekend in the Pacific Northwest!
For Tuesdays with Dorie this week, we made a delicious cake called Rhubarb Upside-Down Brown Sugar Cake. I made it for my parents last weekend when they were here to babysit.
This cake is exactly what the name suggests: an upside-down cake, with rhubarb in the fruit layer and a brown sugar-based cake. What makes this cake so good is that the rhubarb is sauteed in lightly caramelized sugar before being placed in the bottom of the cake pan.
I went the simple route when serving my cake. I did not use the optional glaze, nor did I adorn the cake in any way. Dorie’s suggestions of whipped cream or crème fraîche and sliced strawberries would be wonderful. Vanilla ice cream would be good too.
This cake was a huge hit! My parents love rhubarb desserts, so my Mom plans on making this one again. My daughter scarfed her serving down. I loved the flavor of the brown sugar cake with the sweet-tart rhubarb. The cake was moist, but light. A winner!
Altitude Adjustments
I made two minor adjustments to the cake layer for my altitude and dry climate:
- Reduced baking powder by 1/8 teaspoon
- Added 1 tablespoon water
They must have worked, because the cake was wonderful!
From Scratch 
So pretty with your pink hued rhubarb!
Glad this was a hit in your house, it looks great. Unfortunately, mine
was a big flop, and I don’t know where I went wrong.
Your cake is so pretty – your rhubarb must have been a lovely ruby colour. I enjoyed the cake unadorned as well.
Your cake looks great! I also thought it was a very nice and light cake!
so pretty! glad you all enjoyed it.
Wow, I don’t know if I could have eaten this without the accompaniments-I have a feeling you had some really good rhubarb to work with. The cake looks fabulous.
Your parents got a really nice meal when they came over. I am glad everyone enjoyed the cake. This was a hit in our house and with my son too. I didn’t think he would like but he did.
Yours turned out beautifully! I made mine for my parents, as well. We are all rhubarb lovers in my family, so it was very popular. 🙂