Rhubarb Pound Cake with Fresh Vanilla
on Jun 13, 2018, Updated May 20, 2025
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Today we showcase this Rhubarb Pound Cake from Melissa Clark via the New York Times. It’s clearly another rhubarb sensation and in case you don’t care for rhubarb, we’ve got you covered.
One of our favorite cake recipes for spring, you can make this gorgeous vanilla pound cake with blueberries, strawberries, peaches, or nothing at all. It’s that good!
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Table of Contents
What is Rhubarb Pound Cake?
Homemade cakes are my favorite thing to make in the kitchen. The only thing better than making a cake from scratch is eating it, like this rhubarb pound cake! Some real-life examples include homemade almond cake, easy lemon loaf cake, and a carrot cake with toasted coconut.
When I was a kid, I wouldn’t go near anything that my mom would make with rhubarb. Now I’m growing old and I can’t imagine myself staying away from the stuff that signals the beginning of summer and all of it’s glorious foods.
I’ve had my eye on this rhubarb pound cake recipe for a few weeks now, and when I first saw it in the New York Times Cooking section, I knew I had to make it.
Different varieties of Rhubarb
Most of us think that the red stalks of rhubarb are sweeter and taste better than their green counterparts.
Although red rhubarb may be prettier to look at, green varieties of rhubarb, such as Victoria, are among the sweetest and not overly tart rhubarb. Here’s a good resource on rhubarb varieties. For this rhubarb pound cake, the best variety is probably what you or your neighbor have growing in the backyard. Ususally this is the Victoria type.
What’s in This?
The base flavor of this rhubarb pound cake recipe comes from a vanilla bean and it’s seeds, along with some pure vanilla extract.
I’ve never worked with whole vanilla beans in the kitchen but thankfully I found a couple of them that I had picked up at Penzy’s Spices, some time ago. Fortunately, if you keep vanilla beans sealed and protected from light, they will last for a couple of years.
Rhubarb Pound Cake – Recipe Details
Servings
1 loaf (about 8–10 slices)
Prep Time
20 minutes
Cook Time
65 minutes
Cooling Time
90 minutes
Total Time
2 hours 55 minutes
Estimated Cost
$10–$12 (may vary depending on rhubarb and vanilla bean availability)
Why This Recipe Works
This moist and buttery rhubarb vanilla pound cake gets its deep flavor from real vanilla bean and pure vanilla extract. The rhubarb is poached in a homemade vanilla syrup, then layered between the batter and glazed on top for extra flavor and moisture. The tart-sweet fruit and fragrant vanilla make a stunning spring dessert, ideal for brunches, gatherings, or afternoon coffee.
Good to Know
- Fresh vs. Frozen Rhubarb: Fresh works best, but thawed and drained frozen rhubarb can be used.
- No Cake Flour? Make your own: use 1 cup all-purpose flour minus 2 tablespoons, then add 2 tablespoons cornstarch.
- Best Mixing Tip: Use the lowest speed on your stand mixer to protect your KitchenAid’s internal gear.
- Moisture Tip: Poke the top of the cake with a toothpick before brushing with vanilla syrup—this helps the syrup soak in deeply.
- Make it Your Way: Swap rhubarb for strawberries, blueberries, or even peaches for a seasonal variation.
How to Make Rhubarb Pound Cake
Grab the short list of ingredients from the recipe card below and organize the kitchen equipment you’ll need to make this rhubarb recipe:
Prepare the Rhubarb and Vanilla.
- Start this rhubarb pound cake recipe by cutting some rhubarb stalks into segments about 4 inches in length. You will want them just a bit narrower than the width of your loaf pan. Then, cut the rhubarb segments down the center, lengthwise.
- Next, divide a whole vanilla bean in half, slit it down the center and scrape the vanilla seeds out of it. Then, make a vanilla simple syrup and poach the rhubarb.
- Combine some sugar with water, add the vanilla bean and it’s seeds and bring to a boil.
- Reduce this mixture to a simmer and add the cut and sliced rhubarb segments and poach for about 2 minutes.
Remove the rhubarb and let it cool to room temperature and reserve the poaching liquid – you’re going to use this once the rhubarb cake comes out of the oven.
Make the Vanilla Pound Cake Batter
Start by greasing and flouring a loaf pan. Scott shows you how to grease a pan in this great little post and video. His technique works perfectly for this rhubarb pound cake recipe.
How to Use a Stand Mixer the Right Way
When using a KitchenAid stand mixer to make a dough or batter, always use the lowest gear possible.
If you don’t, there is a “worm gear” in the KitchenAid that will break and cause it to not work. This is actually a protective mechanism that will keep the motor from burning out from being overworked.
If this happens, the good news with this scenario is that you won’t have to replace your KitchenAid. The bad news is you will still have to have it repaired to replace the worm gear.
- Cream the butter with the eggs.
- Add the cake flour a little at a time. Again, this will help you get an even texture in the cake batter. In case you don’t have any cake flour on hand, here’s a handy article on how to make your own cake flour.
Finally, add the milk and vanilla mixture to the cake batter until just blended.
Pro Baking Tips
- When making a cake from scratch, always bake with eggs at room temperature. This will help the eggs to spread in the batter more evenly and help to created a lighter and smoother texture.
- Add the eggs one at a time. This way, if you have a bad egg or get some loose eggshell in with the egg, you won’t have to toss out the whole recipe.
Assemble this Rhubarb Pound Cake
Now you want to divide the cake batter into two even portions and pour half of it in the prepared loaf pan.
Use a Kitchen Scale for Best Results
I’m a bit of a nerd and I enjoy playing with kitchen gadgets but I also like accuracy when baking, it can make or break a cake recipe. For this reason, I always try to measure the cake batter by weighing it if it has to be divided with precision.
Call me a nerd, or maybe a baking nerd, but I love my kitchen scale.
We bake a lot with our kids too, it’s something they love to do. Using a kitchen scale to ensure accuracy helps their recipes to turn out better and it’s an awesome review in mathematics for all of us!
- As you can see, half the rhubarb is added to the first layer of batter.
- Then, the rest of the batter is poured over the rhubarb. We’re going to bake the cake for about 20 minutes at 350° F, just long enough for the top of the batter to “set”. Then we will add the top layer of rhubarb and finish baking this delicious rhubarb cake.
Brush the Top with Vanilla
Once this rhubarb pound cake comes out of the oven, you’re going to brush it with the reserved poaching liquid from earlier.
First, you’ll reduce it slightly and you’ll probably have a bit leftover.
Recipe Tip
Before adding this layer of vanilla simple syrup, use a toothpick and poke a bunch of holes in the top of the cake, evenly throughout. These little pores will allow that sweet vanilla goodness to seep deep within the cake, adding flavor while preventing your cake from drying out.
You can see that we garnish the top of this rhubarb pound cake with some additional vanilla beans and a leaf or two of fresh mint leaves. The colors, textures, and most of all flavors all work magic together. Our guests raved over this rhubarb cake.
Rhubarb makes its appearance here in the Midwest as a signal of beautiful weather and fresh produce. We have a few other great rhubarb recipes that you might like, including our rhubarb slush and our rhubarb upside-down cake.
🧊 How to Store Leftover Rhubarb Pound Cake
Short-term:
Wrap the cooled cake tightly in plastic wrap or store slices in an airtight container. Keep at room temperature for up to 2 days.
Longer storage:
For longer freshness, refrigerate the cake (wrapped well or in a sealed container) for up to 5 days. Bring to room temp before serving for best texture and flavor.
Freezing:
Yes, this cake freezes beautifully! Wrap slices or the whole loaf tightly in plastic wrap, then foil, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge or on the counter before enjoying.
Recipe Questions and Answers
Yes, but be sure to thaw it completely and drain excess liquid before poaching to avoid a soggy batter. For best results, use fresh rhubarb.
Absolutely! Try fresh strawberries, blueberries, or peaches. Just be sure to slice them thin and adjust poaching time accordingly.
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Rhubarb Vanilla Pound Cake
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Equipment
Ingredients
For the Rhubarb and Vanilla Glaze
- 8 oz rhubarb, 4 large stalks
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 vanilla bean, split and seeded with seeds reserved.
For the Vanilla Pound Cake
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 2/3 cups cake flour
- 1 tsp salt, use fine sea salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/3 cup milk, use whole milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 vanilla bean, split and seeded, with seeds reserved.
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 4 eggs, large, at room temperature
Instructions
For the Rhubarb and Vanilla Glaze
- Use a chef's knife to cut the rhubarb so the segments fit crosswise into a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan, about 4.5 inches. Cut about a dozen segments. Then, splice them in half again, lengthwise.
- Combine sugar and vanilla bean and seeds in medium size sauce pan, stir in water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and add cut rhubarb segments. Allow the rhubarb to poach for about a minute and a half to two minutes. Remove the rhubarb from the liquid and cool to room temperature. Reserve poaching liquid.
For the Vanilla Pound Cake
- Preheat oven to 350° F and grease and flour a 9×5 inch loaf pan. Using a medium bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking powder.
- Use a small bowl to combine milk, vanilla extract and vanilla seeds.
- Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar and cream together. Scrape sides of bowl and cream again. Add eggs, one at a time and scrape the bowl after the addition of each egg. Add half the flour mixture while beating, scrape the side of the bowl and gradually add remaining flour mixture. Finally, add milk mixture and stir in until just combined.
- Pour half the batter into the prepared loaf pan and lay about 10 segments of softened rhubarb, cross-ways, on top of the batter. Evenly pour remaining batter over rhubarb layer.
- Bake for 20 minutes to allow the top of the batter to set somewhat, then remove from oven and quickly place remaining rhubarb along the top of the batter. Return cake to oven and bake for 45 more minutes, until a toothpick comes clean from the center.
- While the cake is baking, simmer reserved poaching liquid over medium heat, for about 10 minutes or so, until it is reduced and forms a simple syrup. Once the cake comes out of the oven, place it on a cooling rack. Use a toothpick to poke several deep holes throughout the cake and then generously brush the vanilla simple syrup onto the cake.
- Allow cake to cool for at least 90 minutes before removing from pan. Garnish with additional vanilla beans if desired and the reserved vanilla beans. Serve with softened French vanilla ice cream.
Notes
✅ Top 3 Tips for Success
-
Use Fresh Rhubarb
Opt for stalks that are firm and crisp. Red or green rhubarb both work—green varieties like Victoria are often sweeter than they look! -
Vanilla Bean Matters
Whole vanilla bean and its seeds add deep, aromatic flavor that sets this pound cake apart. If you don’t have one, use a high-quality vanilla extract. -
Don’t Skip the Syrup
The poaching syrup brushed over the cake not only adds moisture but infuses it with extra vanilla flavor—poke holes in the top of the loaf to let it soak in thoroughly.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Doesn’t say how much baking powder
Hi Cooker, this recipe uses 1 tsp baking powder. Thanks for pointing out the omission which has been corrected.
I first saw this on Pinterest and fell in love with the photo! This looks amazing Dan!
I have been waiting for this recipe to come out since you teased us on Instagram! 😀 I’ve printed it off and hope to make it this week!
Debra, it’s fantastic, can’t wait for you to try it!
I can never get my hands on too many rhubarb recipes!! I have loved it since I was a kid and baking with it is one of my favorites!! Thanks for sharing this great recipe!
Thanks for the comments, Michaela; I hope you give this a try!
I have yet to cook with rhubarb and I didn’t know there were so many kinds! This cake sounds amazing! Can’t wait to try it!
Thanks, Ashlyn! I hope you try it soon.
This is fantastic! I absolutely love pound cake but have never had one with rhubarb! It sounds just perfect. Will have to keep an eye out- I think ill be able to find it at some local farmers markets.
Let us know how you like it, Angela!
I had no idea there were more than one kind of rhubarb. I have a few recipes Ive been wanting to try and now this one is jumping ahead of the list! Thanks for the tips!
Hope you enjoy this, Michele!
I didn’t know that there are a variety of rhubarb to choose from. Thank you for sharing that and for this wonderful recipe! I’ve been holding onto a couple of fresh vanilla beans just for the right recipe! Found it, thanks!
I hope you try this Sandra; I think you will really enjoy it! Thanks for the nice comments.
Recipe doesn’t say how much water to use for the glaze.
Hi Heidi. You will want to mix the sugar and vanilla with one cup of water. The volume is primarily used to poach the rhubarb and you’ll want to reduce it before brushing the glaze on the pound cake when it comes out of the oven.