Rhubarb Upside-Down Yogurt Cake

If lip gloss was dessert. A cake enveloped in blush syrup with the perfect balance of tart and sweet.

Every year I do a few tests of this recipe to see if I can make it better and I always come back to what I originally wrote. Using a one bowl method, this cake is light, tender and tangy, but sturdy enough to hold up to the weight of the jammy rhubarb topping.

How to avoid a murky green bake

Not all rhubarb is ruby red, and it can sometimes lead to a cake that is the colour of overcooked peas. Not the most appealing! There are twos ways to boost up the pink hues:

• Add a few drops of red or magenta food colouring into the melted butter in step 2, ensuring to mix it well to create an even colour.

• After baking, mix 1/4 tsp of beet powder with 1 tsp of water and brush overtop of the rhubarb while still warm. The colour baked out when I tested adding the beet powder into the rhubarb topping, so apply it afterwards for more bang for your buck!

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Rhubarb Upside-Down Yogurt Cake

Ingredients

For the rhubarb topping

• 3 cups chopped rhubarb, about 300 grams
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2-4 drops of red or magenta food colouring, optional. If you want to avoid food dyes, see my notes above for a natural option.

For the cake

• 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp fine salt
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt or sour cream
• 1/4 cup milk or water
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Flavour variations

• Add 1/2 tsp ground cardamom to rhubarb topping
• Add zest of 1 lemon or orange to wet cake ingredients
• Fold in 1/3 cup chopped crystallized ginger to cake batter
• Drizzle warm cake in orange or elderflower liquor

Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 350. Line a 9 inch cake pan with a round of parchment paper, anchored with a smear of room temperature butter. Grease edges of pan with butter. Prepare a baking sheet to go underneath the cake pan to catch any syrup drips.
2. Arrange rhubarb in the bottom of the pan. Add flour and sugar evenly overtop of the rhubarb. To your melted butter, add vanilla and food colouring (if using) and mix well, then drizzle evenly over top of the rhubarb.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar, butter, egg, yogurt, and vanilla and whisk together well. Overtop of your dry ingredients, sift flour, baking powder and salt, then whisk to combine. Whisk in milk/water until mixture is smooth, but do not over mix. Fold with intention!
4. Add batter to your cake pan and smooth out evenly with the back of a spoon. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the cake. This cake can easily be under-baked due to the moisture of the rhubarb, so make sure to insert your toothpick all the way through to see if any raw cake batter remains.
5. Let sit for a few minutes, then flip out onto a serving plate. Serve warm with lightly sweetened whipped cream.