This Rhubarb Cake with Hazelnut Meringue is moist and the perfect refreshing spring dessert. If you get your hands on some rhubarb, I highly suggest you make this easy Rhubarb Cake.

3 layers

This cake is really simple to make. Like, seriously, it sounds so complicated, exquisite and luxurious; the kind of dessert you’d get at a very posh 5-star restaurant. Well, that isn’t the case – you can make it in your own kitchen and without being a French Chef.

Layer 1

The first layer is, of course, the cake itself. There are only a handful of ingredients, and making the batter is e.a.s.y. Make sure that when you separate the eggs (egg yolks for the cake, egg whites for the meringue), you don’t break the egg yolk! Otherwise, your meringue won’t whip up, and if you don’t have a stiff egg white mixture, you can’t make the meringue. Read further to find out about my 2 ways of separating the egg whites from the egg yolk.
The cake bakes a total of 60 minutes. After 40 minutes, you take the cake out of the oven and spread on the meringue. Then you bake the cake with the meringue for the remaining 20 minutes.

I love all those beautiful shades of rhubarb!

Layer 2

Layer number two is the tart rhubarb. Rhubarb is quite sour, and when it gets baked, it turns into this sweet-sour soft mixture. As you’ll read in the recipe notes, you can also sub in some other juicy fruits, such as apricots or plums.
Peeling rhubarb can look a bit overwhelming, but all you do is cut off the leafy top, the bottom end, and then, from the bottom, peeling off the outermost layer with a sharp knife. It isn’t hard at all 🙂

Layer 3

The 3^rd layer is of course the tasty hazelnut meringue on top. To get a perfect meringue layer, you need to start with an ONLY – egg white mixture. Your bowl needs to be spotless, and NO egg yolks are allowed to be seen in the otherwise clear mixture. The meringue will not whip up, and that would be quite a pity.
I have two ways to separate the egg:

• If I am feeling confident, I will crack open the egg on a flat surface (I learned that cracking the egg on a flat surface instead of an edge of a bowl or something is a lot safer, because you won’t have teeny-tiny eggshells). If the two shell-halves are equally sized, I will carefully pour the egg whites into the bowl and keep the egg yolk in the shell.
• The easiest way, and I think my preferred way, is carefully cracking the egg into a small bowl. Then I use my bare hands, carefully pick up the egg yolk and remove it into a different, bigger bowl. Then I pour out the egg white into the mixing bowl. This way, you crack each egg one after the other, which is the safest method to also check if you have a bad egg. Seldom, but it does happen.
• BONUS TRICK: I add a pinch of salt to the egg whites before I beat them stiff. It helps the egg whites stiffen.

When the egg white mixture is quite stiff (still soft peaks, but going into the stiff stage), I slowly pour in the sugar. Your mixture will begin to shine almost immediately. When the sugar is incorporated and it is stiff, remove the bowl from the stand mixer and use a spatula to fold in the grated hazelnuts. Carefully spread the meringue over the already baked cake. I suggest you make the meringue in the last 10 minutes of the 40 minutes baking time, like that you take the cake out, put the meringue on, and put the cake right back in the oven. Time-management skills are on fleek! 🙂

How and when to serve the cake

You can either eat the cake as a snack, as your afternoon tea or also as a refreshing dessert – options are endless 🙂
When the cake is cooled, I sprinkle some almond slices on top (I like them slightly roasted: 160°C convection oven for 10 minutes). Then we eat it with some cold whipped cream – and all problems are forgotten. Enjoy 🙂

If you make this Rhubarb Cake with Hazelnut Meringue, please leave me a comment and rate the recipe! 🙂 And don’t forget to tag me on Instagram and Facebook.

Rhubarb Cake with Hazelnut Meringue

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• Author: Joelle
• Prep Time: 25 minutes
• Cook Time: 1 hour
• Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
• Yield: 8 big slices 1x
• Category: Cake
• Method: Baking
• Cuisine: Swiss

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Description

The tart, sweet-sour rhubarb pairs perfectly well with the crunchy-crinkly hazelnut meringue. Rhubarb cake is very moist and tangy – very appropriate for afternoon tea or for a refreshing dessert. Enjoy!

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Rhubarb Cake

• 125 g butter
• 125 g white sugar
• 1 packet vanilla sugar
• 3 egg yolks
• 200 g flour
• pinch salt
• 1 packet baking powder
• 700 g rhubarb
• 2 tbsp brown sugar

Hazelnut Meringue

• 3 egg whites
• 110 g white sugar
• 100 g grated hazelnut

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Instructions

Rhubarb Cake

1. Preheat oven to 180°C convection oven. Butter and line a 24cm diameter round cake tin.
2. Wash the rhubarb, cut off the ends and peel off the outermost layer. The outer “skin” is rather thin – be careful not to peel off too much.
3. Cube the rhubarb. The pieces should be about as big as a thumb nail. Set aside.
4. Cream together the butter, sugars, and egg yolks. Add the flour, salt and baking powder. The batter will be quite thick – more like a dough consistency.
5. Press the dough into the prepared cake tin. Make the dough a little higher around the edges, so you have a small well in the middle of the cake.
6. Pour the rhubarb pieces into the well. Spread evenly with a spatula. Sprinkle the two tablespoons of brown sugar over the rhubarb.
7. Bake for 40 minutes.

Hazelnut Meringue

1. During the last 10 minutes when the cake is baking, beat the egg whites stiff. Slowly add the sugar.
2. When stiff, fold in the hazelnuts with a spatula.
3. take the cake out of the oven, spread the meringue on top and bake for further 20 minutes.
4. Let cake cool for about 10 minutes, and then remove from the tin. Enjoy the cake at room temperature with whipped cream.

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Notes

• This cake can be made with any other fruit that is slightly sour and/or releases some juice. For instance apricots, peaches, or even plums. If it is a sweeter fruit like plums, I suggest adding a tablespoon of lemon juice to the batter.
• The cake bakes a total of 60 minutes. After 40 minutes, you take the cake out to spread the meringue on, and bake for the further 20 minutes.
  So: After about 30 minutes of baking, make the meringue, so by the time your meringue is ready, the 40 minutes of baking will be over.