Easy Rhubarb & Ginger Cake with toasted almond topping is an utterly delicious and simple loaf cake. The tartness of the rhubarb contrasts beautifully with the caramel like sweetness of the Muscovado sugar and mellow warmth of the crystallised stem ginger.
If you’re looking for the best Rhubarb and Ginger Cake recipe then stop scrolling, I think you’ve found it!
Made with just 8 ingredients this easy rhubarb loaf cake is so simple yet incredibly moreish. I defy you to not have an extra slice!
This cake embodies the whole sweet and sour vibe!
Minced crystallised stem ginger gives a hit of mellow warmth throughout this luscious rhubarb cake which is finished off with the delicious crunch of toasted almond pieces.
The Ingredients
You will need:
- Rhubarb – pick the pinker-looking stems for pretty pink flecks in the cake if you can. However, pink forced rhubarb should be avoided as it’s too sweet.
- Softened butter – salted or unsalted (I leave my covered butter dish out on the counter these days for instant soft butter).
- Dark muscovado sugar – adds a beautiful caramel-like depth of flavour.
- Crystallised stem ginger (minced or finely chopped) – disperses evenly throughout this cake for an incredible flavour.
- Eggs – large.
- Plain white flour – or check out the substitutions below.
- Baking powder – make sure it’s in date!
- Blanched almonds (finely chopped) – these toast during baking to give a wonderful nutty flavour.
Substitutions
If you don’t have the exact ingredients to make this Rhubarb & Ginger Cake then there are a few substitutions you could make:
- Crystallised stem ginger could be substituted for stem ginger in syrup (and minced to a paste). However, stem ginger in syrup has to be used within 8 weeks of opening, whereas crystallised stem ginger keeps for 2 – 3 years. Hence, I find the crystallised ginger more convenient and there’s less danger of waste.
- White flour could be substituted for healthier white spelt flour which would add a further depth of flavour.
- Softened butter could be substituted for a buttery spread. I used to bake with buttery spread until the leading brand removed the butter from it, so now I use butter.
- Blanched almonds could easily be substituted for hazelnuts. Just don’t use toasted nuts as they toast during baking.
How to Make Rhubarb & Ginger Cake (see recipe for full instructions)
Making this Rhubarb & Ginger Loaf Cake couldn’t be easier:
- Grease and flour a 1 lb loaf tin and scatter in the chopped almonds.
- Cream the butter and Muscovado sugar with a whisk until light and creamy.
- Whisk in the eggs one at a time.
- Add the minced ginger and whisk in to disperse thoroughly.
- Sieve the flour and baking powder.
- Gradually fold the flour mix into the mixture with a large metal spoon (working in a figure of 8).
- Then fold in the rhubarb.
- Spoon cake batter into a loaf tin and smooth the surface with a spatula.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 200°C for 48 – 50 minutes. Then tip onto a wire rack to cool.
What sized baking tin do you use?
I use a 1 lb loaf tin that predates the more modern 450g loaf tins that are slightly smaller. My 1lb loaf tins measure about 21.5cm x 11.5cm x 6cm (from the top) and have a capacity of approximately 1.25 litres.
You could use any other shaped tin if it has this volume. Just fill your tin with water then pour it into a measuring jug to test.
How long will rhubarb cake keep for?
This cake will keep for 3 days in a cake tin.
Can you freeze Rhubarb & Ginger Cake?
Yes, you can, however, I find cake containing fresh fruit tends to make it a bit moist and sticky so if you can make it fresh it’s much better.
More Rhubarb and Ginger Recipes
Once you’ve made my Rhubarb and Ginger Cake, try the following delicious recipes:
- Rhubarb Pudding
- Rhubarb & Marzipan Cake
- Rhubarb & Ginger Jam
- Rhubarb & Gin Jam
- Rhubarb Compote with Vanilla Greek Yogurt & Meringue
- Rhubarb & Orange Food Dessert
- Rhubarb Bread Pudding with Orange Custard
- Rhubarb & Ginger Oat Crisp
- Easy Ginger Avocado Cake with Lemon Drizzle
- Pear Chocolate & Ginger Crumble
- Pumpkin & Ginger Jam
I know you’ll love this easy Rhubarb & Ginger Cake as much as we do!
Leave a comment and rating below when you’ve made this recipe; I love getting your feedback! You can also share your pictures by tagging @FabFood4All over on Instagram.
Pin Rhubarb & Ginger Loaf Cake for later!
Previously published 27/5/2013 (updated 17/5/2022).
Rhubarb & Ginger Cake
Ingredients
- 230 grams rhubarb chopped into 1.5cm pieces
- 30 grams blanched whole almonds finely chopped
- 150 grams butter softened
- 150 grams dark brown Muscovado sugar
- 30 grams crystallised stem ginger minced to a paste in a herb chopper/blender or very finely chopped
- 150 grams plain flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 large eggs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 190°C.
- Butter and flour a large loaf tin (21.5cm x 11.5cm x 6cm).
- Sprinkle chopped almonds into base.
- Cream (ie whisk) the butter and sugar together until light and creamy. (Takes about 10 minutes).
- Add the eggs beating in one at a time. Don’t worry if the mixture splits but it shouldn't if you've beaten it for long enough).
- Whisk in the minced ginger.
- Sift the flour and baking powder together and fold in gradually.
- Fold in the rhubarb.
- Place mixture into the loaf tin and spread out evenly with a spatula.
- Bake in the middle of the oven for about 48 – 50 minutes until cake springs back to the touch in the centre or a skewer comes out clean.
Susan
Our new family favourite. I often serve warm with a ginger cream as dessert.
Camilla
Ooh that sounds good Susan, so glad you all like the cake:-)
Michele
Lushness! I made this for a Yoga retreat day today. So simple, and delicious contrasts – stem ginger, crunchy almonds, rhubarb. Just gorgeous! There weren’t even crumbs left, it went down a storm! Perfect for my garden and allotment rhubarb. Thank.you!
Camilla
That’s so wonderful to hear Michele, a yoga retreat sounds divine:-)
Karen
Thank you! What a wonderful recipe! I made it twice already in consecutive weeks! I added some chopped apples to make it more moist. It’s a nice additional way to use up the rhubarb that I grow in my garden, in addition to rhubarb crumble and jam.
Camilla
Fabulous Karen, so glad you like the cake and made it your own with the addition of apple:-)
Lynnette Love
Thank you so much for this recipe, it’s the best one I’ve used for rhubarb cake, lovely!!
Camilla
Aaw, thank you so much Lynette, that’s so lovely to hear. It’s one of my favourite cakes:-)
Tracy
😀 Just made it, I have a fan oven and should have done it on 180c looked a bit chard lol. I dished it up with custard for hubby as a pudding 😉 and he said its a keeper, and the chard bits were really nice lol. I ate it neat, and its a gooden. I used 2 teas of dry ginger (i must get some crystal) and i stood at the sink with soaked almonds peeling the skins off. Ive also made your strawberry jam and fig jam 4 times 😉 Your my go to lady for great recipes ty lovely lady.
Camilla
Aaw, aren’t you lovely Tracy, so glad you and your hubby like the cake and that you like my jams:-) I feel bad about you soaking and peeling those almonds (remember doing this with my mum as a kid), if it was me I think I’d have just chopped with the skins on. I can thoroughly recommend the crystallised ginger so do get some:-) Thank you so much for lifting my spirits tonight:-)
Tracy
Aww glad I lifted your spirits, sorry to here they needed lifting! Don’t let the buggers get you down. Skinning almonds was quite therapeutic tbh and it’s only 30g.stay lifted ty
Camilla
LOL, yes you’re right, mindless repetitive tasks are quite therapeutic:-) xx
Christina
Sounds fabulous! Another rhubarb recipe to add to the list! Such a classic combination, you can’t go wrong!
Camilla
Thank you Christina, I’m sure you’ll love it:-)
Margaret Mowat
I really want to try this recipe i can only get frozen rhubarb would that work?
Camilla
Hi Margaret, I’ve never used frozen rhubarb in this recipe but I think it would work if you thawed it first (perhaps in a sieve to let the juices drain).
tata4now
I was looked for a way to use the rhubarb I stashed in the freezer last summer and found this delicious cake. Rhubarb-ginger is a fave flavor combination in our house. I used spelt flour and baked it in 6 giant muffin tins (approx 6 TB batter each) to make it easier to share. I rinsed the frozen rhubarb in sieve with warm water and gave it a good squeeze in a towel before adding to the batter. Next time I won’t chop the almonds so finely to enhance the crusty topping. Thanks for this recipe
Camilla
So glad you liked the recipe and adapted it to suit:-)
Odette Edley
Love this cake. Was just wondering if it will freeze so I can take it away with me.
Camilla
Hi Odette, I have to admit I have never frozen any cakes that I’ve baked but I think that the fruit would become icy and then once thawed deposit it’s water into the cake making it a bit soggy. So I wouldn’t freeze if it was me but you could take the chance.
Rachel
Do you need to pre cook the rhubarb please
Camilla
Hi Rachel, no it just cooks in the cake:-)
Euph
Lovely moist cake, the whole family enjoyed it.
Camilla
Awesome, so glad you all enjoyed it. Thank you for letting me know:-)
Keryn
Lovely….and now after posting on FB I have sent this recipe to alot of friends around the world….I didn’t have enough rhubarb so threw in a handful of raspberrys and used fresh ginger instead of crystallised. Also I would put the almonds on the top next time as I didn’t need to turn it upside down….easy and so yummy
Camilla
Great Karyn, so glad you liked it and made it your own:-) Thank you for sharing the link with your friends:-)
Mandy Street
I’ve just been given rhubarb from my daughters garden with a request “to bake something nice” this recipe looks promising.. However, as my son in law has a nut allergy the almonds will have to be omitted, is there an alternative you could recommend or should I just go without?
Camilla
Hi Many, I’d just leave them out.
Pat Morgan
I loved this cake. I used flaked almonds and stem ginger together with fresh rhubarb straight from my neighbour’s garden. So lovely and moist – I will definitely be making this again when rhubarb is back in season.
Camilla
Awesome Pat, so glad you like the cake. I’m growing rhubarb right now so must make this cake again when I finally pick it:-)
Linda
Great tasing cake definitely one to make again as everyone loved it. I used chopped walnuts instead of almonds and increased the nuts and ginger to 50g each.
Camilla
Hi Linda, glad you like the recipe and great to put your own stamp on it:-)
Brenda Bruce
Have just made this cake and it is so, so tasty. Anxious in case rhubarb would be too tart but this was not the case. I used stem ginger and this is perfect. Great recipe. Next bake will be rhubarb and marzipan!
Camilla
Excellent Brenda, so glad you like the recipe! I’m sure you’ll love my Rhubarb & Marzipan Cake too!
Kev Sargant
This recipe I will definitely use again. I used fresh ginger as I didn’t have crystallised and ground Almonds and sunflower seeds for the base,I only had duck eggs which helped the texture. Very pleased with the outcome.
Thank you.
Camilla
Thank you Kev, I really must re-shoot this recipe soon:-)
Julie Lewis
This cake was beyond delicious. As a vegan I swapped the two eggs for half a cup of blitzed bananas and cooked for a little less (I tested at 37 minutes as we have an Aga and that changes cooking times and it was done). I must say its the best cake I have ever tasted. I’ll definitely be doing this one again. Many thanks.
Camilla
Aaw, that’s so lovely to hear and love that you used banana in place of the eggs, I’ve been reading up on vegan egg replacements recently so can imagine that worked really well:-)
Sammi Roberts
Hi there I’m going to attempt this cake for the top tier of my mums wedding cake what buttercream icing would go nicely with it do you think? Just a vanilla buttercream icing? Kind regards sammi
Camilla
His Sammi, yes vanilla sounds good or even lemon would potentially work well. I’d have a dry run and see what you think ahead of the day:-) Good luck with the wedding:-)
Camilla
His Sammi, yes vanilla sounds good or even lemon would potentially work well. I’d have a dry run and see what you think ahead of the day:-)
Emma Bennett
Would you think it’s ok to use fresh ginger root??
Camilla
Hi Emma, I notice there is a Nigella recipe online which has 2 tsp of freshly grated ginger in it but as it’s on a US site I can actually click to see the whole recipe. I wouldn’t like to recommend substituting fresh ginger for crystallised as they are 2 different ingredients in composition and flavour and without having tried it I can say what the outcome would be.
Candace
Loving the sound of the warming ginger with tart rhubarb which I am a huge fan of
Camilla
Thanks, it is a luscious cake:-)
Joan Marriott
My rhubarb is from my garden, its rather sour, can I add more sugar, also does the rhubarb soften whilst the cake is cooking. ?
Camilla
I’m sure the sweetness of the cake would counter the sourness from the rhubarb, adding more sugar wouldn’t make the rhubarb any less sour. Yes the rhubarb cooks along with the cake so goes soft:-) You could just cut the rhubarb smaller to counteract the sourness.
malickai stee
hi can you add chocolate to the recipie
Camilla
I wouldn’t personally but it’s your cake and if you want to put chocolate in it….
buzylizzy
This looks yummy and quite different I love rhubarb and it’s nice to see it being used a lot more again 🙂
Camilla
It is really good:-)
Ursula Hunt
Love the fact there are chunky bits of rhubarb in this cake
Camilla
Thanks Ursula:-)
Jane Davies
I also don’t like Ginger so would try the rhubarb and marzipan 😀 looks lovely though 🙂
Camilla
Aah, well I have a rhubarb and marzipan cake elsewhere on blog for you then:-) https://www.fabfood4all.co.uk/rhubarb-and-marzipan-cake/
William Gould
Oh wow! Must give this one a go!
Ann Robinson
I really like the idea of the rhubarb cake, it looks great, i’m not so sure about the ginger so i’d maybe leave that out
Camilla
Maybe you’d like my Rhubarb and Marzipan Cake better then! https://www.fabfood4all.co.uk/rhubarb-and-marzipan-cake/
ujhunt1961
Its great when something good turns out from a mistake
Margot @ Coffee & Vanilla
This cake sounds fantastic Camilla, especially that it has ginger in it!
Camilla
Thanks Margot, it is a good marriage of flavours:-)
MamaCaz
My rhubarb isn’t quite ready for picking yet, but when it is I will be trying this recipe. It sounds lovely.
Camilla
It did prove popular with many readers last year who tweeted me their pics:-)
suewilly
this does look yummy. I need to bake with gluten free flour but the addition of baking powder probably means this recipes would still work well. My only problem is that we’ve somehow lost our rhubarb plant from the garden so I’ll need to buy some.
Paul Wilson
I’ll have to try this when my rhubarb has grown a bit.
Helen Allan
My boys love Harry – this is fab! 🙂 Great recipe idea.. I always wonder what to do with rhubarb and crumble can become tedious. Thank you.
Camilla
We love Harry too:-) The cake is well worth making:-)
sarah pearce
just lurve rhubarb,so will be trying this x
Maya Russell
Rhubarb and ginger is a super combination. Lovely recipe.
Ursula Hunt
We have loads of Rhubarb growing when in season and I am always on the lookout for new recipes so thank you, i will try this when it next grows
EMMA WALTERS
looks fantastic, saved loads of rhubarb from the garden so this will be perfect for a winter’s night 🙂
Lucy Loves To Cook
This looks delicious, I’m more of a chocolate girl but I reckon my boyfriend would love this! So jealous you met Harry Hill!
Camilla
I’m very big on chocolate too and so is husband but even he like this cake after his initial suspicions! Glad to hear you like Harry Hill too:-)
Claire Toplis
I never would have thought to put Rhubarb and ginger together ! looks yummy
Camilla
Thank you, no it’s not an obvious one but worked really well:-)
Coombemill
Popping over from simple and seasonal linky
Johanna GGG
I often misread recipes but usually can rescue a bake – though not always – this sounds like it was serendipity – and I think more comedians should sign sausages – it is by its very nature a comedy moment!
Jacqueline @How to be a Gourmand
Ha! Only you could give Harry Hill a sausage to sign Camilla. The child in me was sniggering all the way through reading that – Brilliant! Isn’t it great when baking mistakes turn out a triumph? It seldom happens to me! Well done on turning out such a delicious cake!
Camilla
Can you imagine my kids on the Antiques Road Show in years to come, they certainly have all the proof now that he signed it, they just need to find a copy of his pilot show now LOL! I was so pleased with the cake and luckily by changing the soft brown sugar to dark brown meant is wasn’t as sweet and worked really well with the sour rhubarb:-)
Javelin Warrior
Such a tasty combination, Camilla! I’m a big fan of rhubarb – but rhubarb and ginger is even better! I’ve never tried using crystalized ginger in combination with rhubarb, but I’d imagine it would be delicious…
DANIELLE VEDMORE
Camilla that looks fab – will definitely be giving it a try. Love Harry signing a sausage too 😉 xoxo
Camilla
Thanks Danielle, I wasn’t sure about the combo but it worked so well:-)
bakingaddict
I’m with your daughter on the ginger front – not a fan but it looks like a lovely bake and I know a lot of people who would love this cake! Love the pics of Harry Hill too and as Jen says there’s a dirty joke in there but I’ll behave too 🙂
Camilla
I wasn’t sure and my husband definitely didn’t want me to bake this cake but the ginger is not overpowering, in fact I let him decide how much I put in and it was just right! Yes the dirty joke is so obvious that we don’t even need to say anything do we:-)
Mark Whittaker
It looks fantastic , I love Rhubarb and Ginger cake . Will be trying that next weekend. I made my first by accident , well sought of. I was making some homemade rhubarb wine and never one to want to waist the fruit from the first fermentation decided to use it as the fruit weight in a fruit cake recipe. I had actually added ginger and some dried fruit to the fermentation already as rhubarb wine can be very light and bland on its own . I was really surprised by how well it worked. Obviously it did not have the chunks of fruit of yours , which is what I think looks incredibly appealing , mine did have raisons. I found that the rhubarb really helped with keeping the cake moist and I am guessing the activated yeast residue helped too in acting as a slight raising agent. Took me a Blinking ( possibly insert much stronger word) age getting the mix right though, but given the amount of wine I was making I did have a lot to work with lol x
Camilla
Ooh Rhubarb Wine sounds lovely, I can’t drink the ordinary stuff any more as it just gives me a headache, someone said it’s all the sulphites they put in it these days. My husband didn’t want me to make this cake but you an guess who ended up eating most of it! Hope you do give it a go:-)
Janice
It sounds a bit like a loaf version of the muffins I made the other week. I’ll be trying that out at the weekend I think, looks lovely. Good shout with the Harry Hill autograph, I’m sure your daughter will remember it.
Camilla
Thanks Janice, I’m very envious of your rhubarb plant, but luckily there’s a lot of half price rhubarb around at the moment for us!
Jen @ BlueKitchenBakes
So happy to see the recipe after you tempted me with this cake a few days ago on Twitter, sometimes the best cakes come out of a bit of experimentation.
Very impressed you got Harry Hill to sign your sausage, I’m sure there has to be some kind of rude joke to be made there, but I’ll behave!
Camilla
Thanks Jen, I do hope you give it a go as it was really good!
I think I break the record for the time elapsed getting a piece of memorabilia signed LOL! And I won’t be putting the sausage on e-bay!