This rhubarb elderflower cake has a lovely texture from the almond flour layered with elderflower roasted rhubarb and a light tangy whipped cream.
We took a trip to Seattle last week for spring break and loved all the glorious spring blossoms saturating the air. The only thing we didn’t enjoy was the extreme cold weather. Going from 80 degree San Diego weather to 40 degree Seattle weather was too big of a change. Not only that, most of us got COVID when we came back from our trip. Last week was rough and this week proves to be equally as hard. I did find a bit of solace baking when everyone turned in for the night. I made the rhubarb and elderflower cake from the Joyful Home Cook cookbook after finding local rhubarb and elderflower. The cake has a lovely texture from the almond flour, spiked with elderflower cordial, then layered with roasted rhubarb and a light tangy whipped cream.
Ingredient Notes
- Rhubarb: to get the best tasting rhubarb, look for stalks that are dark red and thinner. They tend to be sweeter and more tender compared to the thicker stalks that are more fibrous.
- Elderflower cordial: dlderflower cordial or liqueur adds a wonderful floral note to drinks and desserts. My two favorite brands are St Germain and Belvoir Farm.
- Creme fraiche: creme fraiche is a popular French-style cultured cream. I added it to the whipped cream for a tangy flavor. My favorite brand for creme fraiche is Bellwetherfarms. You can find this brand at Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s. Once in a while when I can’t find creme fraiche at the store, I use this homemade recipe from Splendid Table .
How to Roast Rhubarb
Roasting rhubarb with a generous amount of sugar will intensify its flavor and reduce the tartness. I roasted the rhubarb in a mixture of orange juice, zest, vanilla bean, sugar, and elderflower cordial. The rhubarb needs about 20 minutes to soften.
Tips for Moist Cake
Everything that goes into making a cake affects its flavor and texture. Besides measuring the right ingredients and following instructions to the t, there are a few essential steps for getting a moist cake. Preheat your oven to ensure the proper temperature. Opening the oven door during baking creates great fluctuations in heat and causes your cake to collapse. Over-mixing the batter will incorporate too much air resulting in the cake falling and becoming dense. Don’t overbake or the texture will be dry. Place the cake on the middle rack so the heat is distributed evenly between the top and bottom.
How to Decorate the Cake
Wait until the cakes are completely cooled before decorating it. Place one cake on a large serving plate. Spread half of the whipped cream on top. Spoon half of the rhubarb compote on top. Add the remaining cake on top and repeat with the cream and rhubarb compote. Garnish with fresh elderflowers or your favorite edible flowers.
This rhubarb elderflower cake couldn't be a more perfect spring treat. The elderflower lends a lovely floral note throughout the sponge, rhubarb compote, and cream. Folding creme fraiche into the cream lends a good tang that cuts through the sweetness of the sponge. Unfancy and meant to be moreish, it's a delightful ending to your spring dinner.
For more spring dessert inspiration, you might like these recipes: rhubarb white chocolate blondies, strawberry elderflower pavlova, rosewater rhubarb meringue pavlova nests, no bake strawberry creme fraiche cheesecake, or mulberry crumble ice cream.
Equipment
- 2 8-inch cake pans
Ingredients
Elderflower roasted rhubarb
- 1 pound rhubarb, cut into 1-1.5 inch batons
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
- 2 tablespoons elderflower cordial
Rhubarb Cake
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs, room temp
- ½ cup creme fraiche
- ¾ cup almond flour
- ¾ cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon elderflower cordial
Elderflower Whipped Cream
- 1 ¼ cups heavy whipping cream
- ¼ cup creme fraiche
- 6 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons elderflower cordial
Instructions
Elderflower roasted rhubarb
- Place chopped rhubarb in baking dish. Scatter sugar over and scrape in seeds from vanilla bean, toss in pod, orange juice, and add elderflower. Let the mixture sit until rhubarb releases some juices, about 60 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Roast rhubarb, tossing once, until tender and juices are syrupy, about 20 minutes. Let it cool for 15 minutes.
- Strain the rhubarb from the poaching liquor, reserving the syrup for drinks. Put the syrup in an airtight container and refrigerate it.
Rhubarb Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the sides of two round cake pans and line the bases with parchment paper.
- Sift almond flour, all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large bowl, whisk oil, butter, sugar, and vanilla together.
- Beat in eggs, one a time. Add in creme fraiche and beat until combined.
- Whisk in dry ingredients.
- Divide batter between cake pans. Smooth batter with offset spatula. Top each cake with about ¼ cup of roasted rhubarb.
- Bake cakes on middle shelf in oven for 30 minutes until a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the middle of the cakes comes out clean. Let the cakes cool completely while you make the whipped cream.
- For the filling, whip the cream to soft peaks in a bowl with powdered sugar. Fold in creme fraiche and elderflower cordial. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Put one of the cakes flat-side down on a cake stand or plate, prick it all over with a skewer, and use a pastry brush to brush the cake with half a tablespoon of elderflower cordial.
- Spread on half the cream mixture on cake, then spoon half of the remaining rhubarb compote over cream. Top compote with the other cake, and brush that cake with cordial too.
- Spread remaining cream on top of cake and spoon rhubarb over cream.
- Spoon some poaching liquid on top and garnish with fresh elderflowers or edible flowers. Refrigerate cake until ready to serve.
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