My first experience with rhubarb was when I was very young. My grandma made a rhubarb pie and brought it to our house for dessert. I took a bite and hated it for its tartness. One of my babysitters had rhubarb plants growing along the woods in her backyard, and I knew that the leaves were poisonous. Taken together, it was reason enough for me to shun anything rhubarb for a long time. I don't remember when I tried it again, but I do remember the first time I used it for baking. It was fall and I made a rhubarb pear crisp that wasn't such a great idea. The following spring, I made a strawberry rhubarb sour cream crumb pie. That was a hit. The next try was a batch of rhubarb upside down muffins. They were very good, but the recipe called for nutmeg which I thought was overpowering.
This time, I actually had a recipe in mind for the rhubarb: an almond desert with rhubarb between two layers of pastry from our seasonal cookbook. However, I've been really excited to have my cast iron skillet back (it was in storage for the past 3 months with all of my other belongings). For some reason, the cast iron skillet made me think pineapple upside down cake, but with rhubarb. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a rhubarb upside-down cake recipe that used a cast iron skillet and had good reviews. So, I chose Delectable Musings' Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake. I loved that the recipe called for buttermilk, but couldn't believe the recipe didn't call for any spices. I knew I didn't want to make the mistake of using nutmeg again and I'm not a huge fan of cinnamon. Instead, I decided to use cardamom because we have a lonely little bag with no more than 2 tbsp. of ground cardamom leftover from a batch of scones. For some reason, I decided rhubarb and cardamom had to go well together. I thought I'd throw in some ginger and cinnamon while I was at it. I wanted the spices to be warm as a contrast to the tart rhubarb.
Objective
Make a rhubarb upside-down cake with cardamom.
Materials
2 cups rhubarb, chopped to 1/4" sized chunks
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk, left out for awhile to get the chill off
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
Methods
1. Preheat the oven to 350ยบ. Grease a 9" springform pan (be sure to place a baking sheet underneath to catch drips). Place the chopped rhubarb in an even layer in the bottom of the pan. In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar with the cardamom and ginger. Sprinkle evenly over the rhubarb. Set the pan aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, whole wheat pastry flour, baking powder, cardamom, cinnamon, and salt. Set the bowl aside.
3. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter with a whisk until fluffy. Add the sugar, and continue whisking until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix until each eggs is fully incorporated. Add the vanilla. While the mixer is running, slowly pour in the buttermilk. Beware that the butter might curdle, but it will be just fine. Continue to mix on medium speed for about 5 minutes, until the mixture is fluffy and begins to come back together. It's not going to come back together as well as it was before the buttermilk was added, but the cake won't suffer.
4. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, gradually fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients (add dry ingredients in 2 to 3 batches). Only mix until the batter until the flour has been incorporated, no more. Spread the batter over the rhubarb and sugar in an even layer.
5. Bake 35-40 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean and the middle of the cake springs back when pressed gently (this is important because if you don't, the middle of the cake won't finish baking and the cake will sag in the middle).
6. Once the cake is done baking, cool it on a wire rack for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, loosen and remove the edge piece of the springform pan then place the serving plate directly on top of the cake. With the cake sandwiched between the plate and wire rack, flip the cake upside-down. Carefully remove the bottom of the springform pan (it will be hot and sticky). Cool completely before serving.
Results
The cake is perfectly moist and the flavor is slightly sweet but with a little tang. The rhubarb topping is delicious and soft. The rhubarb held its shape and did not break down to mush. The spices are complementary and comforting.
Discussion and Future Directions
I really enjoyed the cardamom with the rhubarb. It did exactly what I hoped it would do: provide warmth to make it a comforting cake in spite of the tart rhubarb. I'm sure the original recipe is great as written. If I decide to make a pineapple upside-down cake in my skillet, I think I'll use the same cake batter because it really is delicious. The cake is tangy and moist, which would be great with sweet, ripe pineapple. If I made this into a pineapple upside-down cake, then I'd probably omit the spices and let the caramely pineapple be the star. I was skeptical of upside-down cakes because they seem a little cheesy (thinking mainly of boxed yellow cake mix and perfectly placed fruit: rings of pineapple each dotted with a maraschino cherry or aligned strips of rhubarb that suspiciously hug the curves of the pan). I found myself pleasantly surprised by how much I liked the cake. And the topping was rustic enough to not look fancy.
Supplementary Materials
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