Tuesday, May 7, 2013

TWD: Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake

Tuesdays With Dorie baking through Baking with Julia
by Dorie Greenspan
Contributing Baker: Johanne Killeen



This turned out better than expected!

From the beginning I had my doubts on this one. I started this cake at a time when I was feeling tired and not in the mood to bake, but had to make it being I purchased the rhubarb almost a whole week ago. I never made it to Sur La Table (my all-time favorite culinary store) to purchase the paper molds to make this into baby cakes as the recipe called for - the original name of this recipe is Rhubarb Upside-Down Baby Cakes.

The book states you can use a 12-inch pan in place of the eight 4-inch pans called for. Unless you want a "torte" instead of a cake, a twelve inch pan works great. I think a 10-inch pan would have been a better choice.  My cake was not much higher than the height of a dime.

I had subbed the pecans called for in the recipe with walnuts. I'm trying to use what I have in the pantry, especially those bags that are already opened. I also used Cognac in place of the bourbon - again, that is what I had on hand. This is one of those cakes you can easily sub what suits your needs; in fact it begs to be played with - think pears or mango, even cranberries during the holidays.

This simple butter cake came out moist and tender with a slightly spongy feel and with a crisp exterior. I don't think I would have achieved a crisp edge using a smaller pan. The walnuts (which I'm not a big fan of) ended up being a nice addition, I used about a 1/2 cup rather than the two tablespoons - really? Only two tablespoons? - called for in the recipe. I would have liked to have a little bit more caramel as well. It may have been enough for the baby cakes, but for the twelve inch pan it was a bit scarce. 

I was on my own for dinner the day I made this (which I love when I have baking and blogging to do!) and must admit that I had two slices of this delicious cake for my meal before I proceeded to wrap it up and take it to my sister for her to take into work with her the following morning.

She texted me the next day to say "the cake was creamy-moist and the rhubarb was just the right amount of tartness", and the consensus from her co-workers: recipe please!

Success meter (1-3):


Spreading the caramel and nuts pretty much removed most of the butter and flour from the bottom of the pan.

 So very pretty - don't you agree?



 Not quite enough batter to completely cover the topping.

I flipped the cake out immediately after removing from the oven. Still the topping stuck. Good thing I did not painstakingly arrange the rhubarb in circles as instructed.


Looks a little better after scrapping the pan of the stuck topping and smoothing it back onto the cake. The only problem is the caramel did not disperse evenly.

 The crispy edge.




This turned out to be a delicious cake. If you would like the recipe, visit Erin of When in Doubt…Leave it at 350, our host for this recipe.

I'm looking forward to seeing what other substitutions were used from the talented bakers in the group - so make sure to check out their creations as well. You can find their links over at the TWD website listed under LYL: Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake.

25 comments:

  1. There was no way that two tablespoons of nuts were going to be enough - I reached in and grabbed a handful :-)
    Nice cake

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  2. Yup - I think this cake would go well with a variety of toppings. Yours looks great and delicious!

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  3. Looks perfect to me! I ate one baby cake and hid the rest from myself in the freezer!

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  4. I like the look of the crispy edge on your cake. Glad you liked it.

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  5. Beautiful cake - the advantage of a thinner cake is that there is more surface area for the caramel to melt into!

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  6. Proof yet again that you can't judge a cake by it's topping. My version wasn't too pretty either -- half of it stuck to the pan because i forgot to run a knife around the edge before flipping. But great taste trumps everything!

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  7. Your cake looks perfect and so yummy!!!!
    It worked very well for me too and, will become a classic to make with a lot of different fruits...

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  8. I also added more nuts--two tablespoons is nothing! But I do love nuts. I cooked mine in muffin tins and also had a difficult time removing them from the tins, But they tasted yummy. I do like the cranberry idea--or apple or blueberry etc. Fun, delicious recipe!

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  9. Great pics! Your cake looks wonderful. I too could have used more caramel. I made a half recipe, but think I could have used the whole amount of caramel for half the amount of cakes. It was good.

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  10. This was good, wasn't it. Your cake looks wonderful, and very dramatic against the purple backdrop.

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  11. Your cake looks fantastic. I bet you enjoyed it immensely!

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  12. Your cake looks great! I can't imagine laying all those bits of rhubarb into concentric circles. Way too fussy! Your freeform pattern almost looks like paisley. Very pretty.

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  13. Looks delicious, Cathleen! The batter is one of my favorites thus far, so easy to work with and so moist and yummy.

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  14. Cathleen, very delicious looking version of the rhubarb upside-down cake - so nice to read that you and all the other taste testers really enjoyed this wonderful cake! And isn´t it a wonderful compliment when people ask for the recipe after they enjoyed a slice or two of your delicious cake?!
    Have a great Wednesday!

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  15. I used a smaller pan, 9 inches, so the caramel was enough. But I increased the pecans and was glad I did. I wish I´d had rhubarb, because it looks so good Cathleen!

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  16. That looks great! I'm glad you liked it so much!

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  17. A beautiful upside-down cake! Great photos :)

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  18. I upped the amount of nuts too and was happy with the result. The rhubarb slices do look pretty...the pinks and greens are unusual. Your cake looks delicious.

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  19. Beautiful photography, Cathleen. Love the colors. Your cake looks amazing. We also enjoyed this recipe.

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  20. I really enjoyed looking at all of your process photos, and had to laugh when you said you were glad you didn't waste time arranging the rhubarb in circles. I arranged my figs in circles (twice) and regretted it. You could barely see the circles anyway.

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  21. I did not arrange the rhubarb either. Your cake looks good!

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  22. That looks just beautiful, and I know what you mean about the nuts! 2 T? Really? And you're right, this cake lends itself to a lot of flexibility. I can't wait to experiment.

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  23. Your cake looks absolutely perfect!

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  24. I totally agree 2 tablespoons are a ridiculous amount! Your cake looks great! It made my mouth water. :P Thanks for the link to the paper molds! I had no idea that molds even existed! What a great idea!! Totally going to stock up on those.

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  25. I could have eaten this before dinner, for dinner an after dinner. Yours looks great! And paper molds- brilliant!

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