Rhubarb is a favorite springtime plant of mine. The gorgeous red-hued stalks have such a mouthwatering lemony-tart flavor. In my experience, starting in early spring you can find them at the farmers markets, and by late spring they’re popping up in well stocked grocery stores. I typically bake pie with them because strawberry rhubarb pie is the best pie flavor. But when you’re looking for something a little different, and a perhaps bit more sophisticated than a pie, this cake is it. It has the softest, most fluffy almond cake base studded with ruby bites of rhubarb. Just the right amount of tart to balance the sweetness of the almond. Finished with a humble but beautiful glossy strawberry rhubarb glaze, because I can’t get enough of that combo! Rhubarb has such a lovely tart fruity flavor to it, making it perfect to pair with creamy sweet flavors. It’s why strawberry rhubarb pie is best served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped coconut cream (anyone else hungry?). And it’s why rhubarb pairs so wonderfully with almond. Desserts flavored with almond always have such a delicate sweet taste. Almond flavored desserts also happen to be my husband’s favorite. In this cake you get a double dose of almond: almond flour for a delicate and tender crumb and almond extract for that concentrated almond flavor. It’s the actual best! This cake is simple yet beautiful. It’s perfect for pairing with some tea or coffee for a mid-morning breakfast or afternoon snack. It also makes a fantastic dessert! Bundt pans are an effortless way to make stunning desserts. It’s the best lazy girl (or guy!) cake ever!
Making the bundt cake:
Before starting the cake, preheat the oven and prepare the pan its going to bake in by spraying with some oil. In this cake that’s a 12-cup bundt pan, in the shape of your choice! Then, combine the rhubarb and a bit of sugar and set aside. This softens the rhubarb and turns it nice and juicy for the cake. It also will keep it from releasing all of its water at once in the cake and interfering with the bake. Now we start the cake batter! In one large mixing bowl whisk together all the wet ingredients. That’s plant milk*, oil, vegan yogurt (though I’ve subbed vegan sour cream and it works well too!), lemon juice, vanilla extract, and almond extract. *I like soy or oat milk, but almond would be great (duh) and any should work! Avoid watery milks like rice milk for this cake. The lemon juice adds a nice acidity and brightness to the flavor of the cake, and also works to react with the leaveners (e.g. baking soda). In a second bowl sift together the dry ingredients: all purpose flour, almond flour (this is not the same thing as almond meal), sugar, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Sifting is important because almond flour can be a bit clumpy. At this point the oven should be preheated. If not, twiddle your thumbs until it is. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and whisk until the batter is fairly smooth. Add those macerating rhubarb slices and fold them into the batter. Pour your batter into the pan and set it in the oven to bake per recipe instructions.
Meanwhile, we can work on the compote for the glaze!
The strawberry rhubarb compote is as simple as it gets: some strawberries (frozen works as well as fresh for a compote), some rhubarb, a bit of sugar, a splash of water, and a squeeze of lemon juice. Then simmer it until it the strawberries and rhubarb have cooked and broken down. The rhubarb in particular practically melts away and the only evidence left behind (beyond the taste) is little fibers of the stalk. Now this compote would be delicious as is, but since we want to use it to make smooth glaze, just hit the compote with a food processor or immersion blender. It takes very little effort to make this compote smooth. We only need a few tablespoons of the compote for the glaze, so there will be plenty of leftover compote. And it’s up to you if this means that you’ll need to make extra cake(s), smother some pancakes in it, or top a bowl of oats or chia pudding. Like, you could make a half recipe of the compote. But then you’d miss out on putting the compote on everything! So, what’s the sense in that!
Wait until the cake is completely cooled to glaze.
In fact, if you’re not going to serve the cake for a day, wrap it up well and store in the fridge or on the counter and wait to glaze it until a couple of hours before you serve. The reason for this is the glaze will tend to absorb into the cake somewhat as it sits, particularly if it’s wrapped up in plastic or sealed in a container. And you need to seal it up if its sitting out for a few hours or the cake will start to dry out on the edges! When you are ready to glaze the cake, take your compote (which should be fine in the fridge for a few days thanks to the sugar content, a natural preservative) and sifted powdered sugar and stir together to make a thick glaze. Set the cake on a wire rack over a baking tray (feel free to line with parchment for easy clean up) and pour the glaze over top. Let the glaze set until it’s dry to the touch before cutting into the cake! This shouldn’t take long, especially if the cake is chilled. Alternatively, you can always dust the cake in some powdered sugar for a simpler but also pretty presentation. Because the cake is so moist, wait to dust with powdered sugar until immediately before serving, as the powdered sugar will dissolve as it sits. If you make this vegan almond rhubarb bundt cake, leave a comment below and rate the recipe on the recipe card. And please share your photos with me on Instagram, tag @thecuriouschickpea and #thecuriouschickpea. I love seeing your recreations! This recipe was updated from the original post on June 27, 2019. Make sure you use almond flour, it is not the same as almond meal.
Nordic Ware Platinum Collection Heritage Bundt Pan Bob's Red Mill Super-Fine Gluten Free Almond Flour, 3 Pound Simply Organic Almond Extract, Certified Organic, 4-Ounce Container
