Rhubarb Upside Down Cake (Gluten-Free)

This light gluten-free Rhubarb Upside Down Cake is one of my family’s favorite rhubarb desserts. I love that it’s made without any refined sugar (using only maple syrup) and it’s so tasty, it never lasts for long!

I first made this delicious Rhubarb Upside Down Cake a few years ago when our neighbor gave us a whole bunch of rhubarb. I was looking for a new recipe to try and stumbled upon this recipe from the Pioneer Woman’s Tasty Kitchen site.

I made a couple slight modifications based on what I had in my kitchen and later turned this upside down cake into a gluten-free dessert. This rhubarb cake is light and fluffy and so delicious!

It’s also fairly easy to make and only took me about 20 minutes (interrupted repeatedly by my kids too) to make it. Yes, there are a few steps to follow with this recipe but it’s not hard at all and well worth it. It’s really a wonderful way to use up rhubarb!

You could probably turn this into other fruit varieties if you wanted to, but I haven’t yet. Maybe a strawberry upside down cake at some point. Yum!

Gluten-Free Rhubarb Upside Down Cake

Rhubarb Layer Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp butter, melted
• 1 Tbsp maple syrup
• 2/3 cup + 1 1/2 Tbsp coconut or regular sugar
• 2 cups rhubarb, chopped into small pieces

Cake Ingredients:

• 6 Tbsp butter softened
• 3/4 cup coconut sugar (or regular sugar)
• 1 Tbsp maple syrup
• 2 large eggs, separated
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup + 2 Tablespoons gluten-free flour all-in-one blend (I use Bob’s Red Mill) – if your blend does not contain xanthan gum, add ½ tsp
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.
Grease and flour a 9” round cake pan.

In a small bowl, stir together 3 tablespoons melted butter, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, and ⅔ cup coconut sugar.

Pour/spoon this mixture into your greased cake pan.

Place the chopped rhubarb on top of the butter-sugar mixture in the pan. Sprinkle 1 ½ Tbsp coconut sugar on top. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream 6 Tbsp softened butter until fluffy. Add ¾ cup coconut sugar and 1 Tbsp maple syrup and mix well for about 3 minutes.

Beat in 2 egg yolks along with 1 Tbsp vanilla extract. Set aside.

In a separate small bowl, whisk together 1 cup + 2 Tbsp gluten-free flour all-in-one blend with the baking powder and salt.

Back to the creamed butter mixture. While mixing on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture with ¼ cup milk, beating well after each addition and scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.

Set aside again.

In a separate medium-sized bowl, beat the 2 egg whites along with ¼ tsp cream of tartar until stiff peaks form. Gradually fold the egg mixture into the batter. Do not overbeat.

The mixture should be light and fluffy at this point.

Gently spoon the batter mixture over the rhubarb in the pan.

Bake for 50-60 minutes or until the cake springs back when you lightly touch it.

Cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes before inverting onto a serving plate.

Serve your Gluten-Free Rhubarb Upside Down Cake with whipped cream and enjoy!

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