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Best Ever Easy Rhubarb Cake

Easy rhubarb cake baked as a sheet cake with a moist, tender crumb packed with pink rhubarb. Made with a buttery crumble-style sugar-cinnamon topping and baked until golden for spring baking.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
cooling 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 12 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 420
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For cake
  • 2.5 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1.5 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 0.5 tsp salt
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 0.5 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 cup fresh rhubarb, diced
For topping
  • 0.5 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp cinnamon

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan

Method
 

Bake the cake
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9x13-inch baking pan, keeping the pan ready for batter.
  2. Whisk together the all-purpose flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt until evenly combined.
  3. In a separate bowl, mix the buttermilk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla extract until smooth.
  4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir just until combined, then fold in the fresh rhubarb, diced.
  5. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared 9x13-inch baking pan.
  6. Mix the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle evenly over the batter.
  7. Bake for 40–45 minutes at 350°F until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool and serve
  1. Cool the cake for 30 minutes to set the crumb before slicing, with a visible firm top and steaming reduced.

Notes

Pro tip: fold in the rhubarb just until streaks disappear so the cake stays tender instead of tough. Store covered in the refrigerator up to 4 days; freeze slices up to 2 months. For a dairy-light option, use a non-dairy buttermilk substitute in equal measure if you keep the flavor consistent.