This gorgeous Rose Rhubarb Layer Cake is what you need to celebrate a special occasion! Vanilla sponge layer cake filled with rhubarb curd and covered with mascarpone frosting.
For a simple everyday cake, take a look at my Rhubarb Cake Sharlotka.
I don’t bake grand layer cakes often but when I do my heart and soul go into them. I imagine myself in a top bakery where everything is possible. Where I can have my dream cake. Then I build my cake…in my mind.
You would think that after that process I’d be set but you would be wrong. Even on the baking day I change my mind again and then again and then again…I change it at least 500 times.
In this instance I changed what type of sponge I wanted, what type of icing I wanted and decorations but one thing remained constant. Rhubarb Curd. I knew from the start the cake would revolve around it. I knew I wanted to make a rhubarb layer cake.
Let me tell you no one was disappointed, most importantly I wasn’t disappointed. The cake we had for Easter was lighter than a cloud, vanilla bean flavoured sponge, layered with sweet and slightly tart rhubarb curd and encased in luscious rose water mascarpone cream.
As much as I love a good chocolate cake delicate vanilla and fruit cakes have a special place in my heart. This one is so light and springy!!
Don’t be intimidated by the lengthy recipe card and time spent in the kitchen. I tried to be as detailed as possible, which made it long! Also, this cake is WORTH IT!
Rhubarb Layer Cake Recipe Notes and Tips
- Prepare the rhubarb curd at least one day before baking the cake. It needs time to chill and set in a fridge. The curd is thickened with cornstarch. A firmer than usual consistency is necessary for the curd to stand up to the cake layers.
- Follow instructions for the cake sponge carefully. This particular sponge recipe is very delicate and very light, similar to Angel’s Food cake but it uses whole eggs instead of just egg whites. The height of the sponge is 100% reliant on the eggs and how well they are whipped. For detailed instructions, read this article and watch the video.
- Soak the sponge layers with the syrup to add more moisture and flavour during the assembling of the cake.
- Finally, mascarpone tends to separate if over-whipped. Both mascarpone and the heavy cream need to be straight out of a fridge. Use the instructions as written if using double cream. If using whipping cream, whip the cream first until soft peaks form, then fold it into slightly whipped mascarpone. This extra step prevents the icing from separating and especially relevant to the US and Canadian readers due to the dairy products variation.
If you make this Rhubarb Layer Cake, I would love to see your photos! Tag @vikalinka when you share them on Instagram!
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More Layer Cake Recipes to Try:
Rose Rhubarb Layer Cake
Ingredients
For the Rhubarb Curd
- 400g(4 long stalks) rhubarb
- 3 eggs large
- 170g/3/4 cup unsalted butter cubed
- 3 tsp cornflour/corn starch
- 150g/3/4 cup caster sugar/ granulated sugar
- a drop of pink colouring optional
For the Cake
- 5 eggs room temperature, large
- 200g/1 cup white granulated sugar
- 1 vanilla bean seeds scraped out
- 140g/1 cup all purpose/plain flour
For the Syrup (for soaking the sponge layers)
- 4 tbsp elderflower liqueur
- 4 tbsp simple syrup a solution of water and sugar in equal parts
- 2 drops rose water
For the Mascarpone Cream
- 500g/2 cups mascarpone chilled from fridge
- 250ml/1 cup double/whipping cream
- 100g/1/2 cup icing sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2-3 drops rose water or less depending on the strength of rose water
For decoration
- lemon thyme sprigs
- organic pink flowers
- dried rose petals
Instructions
For the Rhubarb Curd
- *Prepare the rhubarb curd at least a day before assembling the cake. Wash and cut rhubarb stalks in 2" sections, put them in the bowl of a food processor and process until then turn into a pulp. Push it through a fine sieve with a spoon to extract all the juice, then discard the pulp. You should get about 300 ml/ 1¼ cup of rhubarb juice.
- In a food processor or blender mix eggs, sugar and cornflour/corn starch until you have a homogenous mixture with no lumps remaining. Alternatively you can do this step by hand using a bowl and a whisk.
- In a saucepan combine 1 cup of rhubarb juice, egg, sugar and corn starch mixture and cubed butter, set the pan over low heat and star cooking it while stirring with a whisk the entire time until butter melts and the curd thickens. Do not turn the heat up to speed up the process or the eggs will turn into scrambled eggs and the curd go lumpy!
- Take off the heat when the curd is the consistency of thick sour cream. You may push it through a fine sieve again to ensure there are no lumps and the curd is silky smooth. Add the remaining rhubarb juice to increase the tart flavour of the rhubarb and a drop of pink food colouring if desired as the curd loses its colour when cooks!
- Chill in the fridge for at least 3 hours or overnight. The rhubarb curd will thicken when chilled.
For the Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350F/180C.
- Grease 3 8" cake pans and line them with parchment paper. (Don't be tempted to skip this stage, the sponge is very delicate, so it's important to use parchment paper for easy removal.)
- Crack 5 eggs at room temperature to a bowl of a stand mixer and add sugar and vanilla been seeds, beat at high speed for 5 minutes until the mixture is pale and triples in volume.
- Fold in flour through a sifter in 3 additions blending it in gently after each addition. Your goal is to keep the volume of the egg mixture so be very careful in this step of the process.
- Divide your cake batter among 3 pans, I weigh mine to make sure they are exactly the same and bake for 25-30 minutes until cake tester or tooth pick comes out clean and the cakes have risen to the top of the pan. (I baked 2 layers and then 1 later).
- Cool for 10 minutes and then run a knife around the edges of your pans to release the cakes and flip them over on a wire rack to cool completely.
- (After your cakes have cooled you can individually wrap them in plastic wrap for later use. You can bake you sponge layers up to 2 days ahead.)
For the Syrup
- In a measuring cup mix together simple syrup, elderflower liqueur for beautiful floral notes and 2-3 drops of rose water, the amount of which largely depends on the strength of it. Each brand is different, so it's important to taste and smell to determine the desired amount. Add with caution as it can smell like a perfume instead of a dessert if too much rose water is used.
For the Mascarpone Cream
- In a bowl of a stand mixer whip well-chilled mascarpone for no longer than 30 seconds with a balloon attachment until light, add heavy/double cream, icing sugar, vanilla and rose water and whip for 1-2 minutes longer until it looks like thick whipped cream. If your mascarpone cream is too thick and hard to spread add a splash of heavy/double cream and whip for just a few seconds longer to loosen it.
Assemble the cake
- Load ⅓ of mascarpone cream in a large piping bag with a plain round tip.
- Pipe a border around the first drizzled with syrup layer, this will prevent rhubarb curd filling from spilling out, fill the space inside the border with rhubarb curd.
- Top with the next layer and repeat the actions. Place the third layer on top and cover the entire cake with a thin layer of mascarpone cream also known as crumb coating. Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. When the crumb coat is firm frost the cake with the rest of the mascarpone cream.
- Decorate the top with lemon thyme, small organic pink flowers and rose petals.
Kas says
Hello, thanks for the recipe. I made it.
Some suggestions, you only have a couple of finished cake photos and no photos of the process, nor video. This isn’t a really complicated cake, but it does have different layers and ingredients, it would be helpful to see some of the process and I’m not a beginner, but still there are many sponge cake recipes and they end up different too. For instance the consistency of the cake when whipping the eggs and how big the layers should be, I ended up using slightly more flour, because otherwise it was way too liquid and I really had to second guess afraid to go away from the recipe too much, because that can usually mean a disaster in the end, but seeing yours in process would have taken the guess work out more. Also, the consistency of the whipped Mascarpone (mine definitely looked more liquid than yours from what I can see in the finished photo), it didn’t stand as much as yours when piping and covering with the second layer and I didn’t add as much of heavy cream as in your recipe, otherwise it would have turned even more liquid. Had I seen your photos (or a video ) of the whipping process, I would have gone without the heavy cream. I just thought maybe it would set more after being refrigerated, which doesn’t seem to be the case.
Also the curd because it has rhubarb juice added would be nice to see how it looked on your end. I didn’t have the problem others did, maybe because I’m used to making them, so mine wasn’t liquid at all, I didn’t really need the cream border for it (even though I still did it), yet it also doesn’t look as thick as yours, as a separate “standing” layer as your does in the cut cake photo. Not sure if it just seems like that on a photo.
Other than that your cake is beautiful! The sponge layers DO look like Angel cake which is exactly what I was looking for, light and delicate. I loved the combination of the rhubarb and rose, it makes it very summery.
Julia Frey (Vikalinka) says
Hi Kas, great points! I completely understand why seeing a video of this type of sponge would be helpful and that is exactly why linked to one. If you look closely at the body of the article you will see RHUBARB LAYER CAKE RECIPE NOTES AND TIPS, that is the section to pay attention to as it identifies potential errors and provides solutions to them. That is where I also linked to a video of this sponge. I also address the issue of mascarpone being too liquid (usually because it’s either too warm or overwhipped) and how to deal with it. I try to provide additional information in my posts as it is impossible to include everything in the recipe alone. They are not just fluff to annoy my readers. 🙂
Flori says
Hi, the curd has been in the fridge for 2 hours now (before it cooled for 30ish minutes at room temperature. I cooked it for like 20 minutes and it was still liquid, now after 2 hours in the fridge it’s still very runny. Should I heat it up again or put some starch in it to thicken up?
Julia Frey (Vikalinka) says
The directions state to chill it for at least 3 hours or overnight. I would chill it longer however, if it was very liquidy after cooking it, there is a chance it wasn’t cooked long enough. It should be thick to start with as it’s described in the instructions, not runny. You can try and add more starch if it doesn’t thicken but I am not sure it will work at this point.
Flori says
Hey, I cooked it again over a hot water bath for 30ish minutes and just added more cornstarch. Probably too much but it worked really well! No clumps and a creamy lovely curd. The cake was a hit! Doing it again for my birthday 😊
Julia Frey (Vikalinka) says
So glad to hear it, Flori!
Sandra Valdez-Buehlmann says
The flowers decorating the cake are they eaten? I know you can eat rose pedals.
Julia Frey (Vikalinka) says
Yes, generally speaking you should only decorate your cakes with edible flowers. People might choose not to eat them but at least you know they are safe!
Morgan says
I made this last year as one of my wedding cakes (The other was a chocolate cake with passion fruit curd and a white chocolate cream cheese frosting, the two cakes were a great contrast!) and it got wonderful reviews from the guests! I did purchase elderflower syrup instead of making my own because, well, weddings are stressful. If you’re at all interested, I made all of the cakes about a week in advance and kept them in the freezer. I made the curd a few days before the wedding – canning and preserving it. The morning of the wedding I defrosted the cakes by just letting them sit in the fridge, made the frosting, and assembled the cake. Be mindful when making the frosting to not over mix! I almost did! I didn’t have any issues of the cake melting, though it didn’t sit out for long before cutting. Our wedding was late June in New York.
vikalinka says
Very impressive, Morgan! Thank you for sharing with us!
Rosemary says
Overall, mixed success with this recipe. The taste of the rhubarb curd was AWESOME, but it seems to have too much butter. It separated during cooking (and it was stirred with a whisk continuously). I wonder if the description “consistency of thick sour cream” led to overcooking; I am used to making cured with the “coats the back of a spoon” guideline. I passed that stage during the cooking and then it separated. Once chilled, it needed to be remixed in food processor. But very interesting and very good. I think it would be great on toast.
Second issue was with cake. I don’t have a stand mixer, so used a hand held mixer. It whipped the eggs well, but perhaps would have had a better result if eggs were whipped separately before adding sugar. the cake was light; Very thin layers. Not much flavor in it.
Recipe mentions syrup but directions do not specify when to soak layers in syrup, so I did it as I assembled the cake. Should they have soaked more?
Finally, the icing was disappointing. Whipping cream separately and then combining would have made it lighter. There was too much for the amount of cake; not enough sugar to my taste. There are better mascarpone icing recipes.
The cake was beautiful and the combination of rose and rhubarb was really exciting, so this is worth trying. Overall I was happy to do it, but is does not rank among my greatest successes.
Pauline Sutherland says
Hello
Can you please confirm the quantity of ingredients are correct for the sponge? . Seems low flour and sugar quantities for triple layer 8” cake only one cup of each.:
Eggs room temperature- 5 large
Sugar- 1 cup
Vanilla bean seeds scraped out
Flour- 1 cup
Hope to hear from you soon as I am keen to make this
Kind regards
Pauline
vikalinka says
Hi Pauline, the measurements are indeed correct. It’s a family recipe that I’ve made more times than I can count. The instructions need to be followed carefully for the success of the recipe.
Pauline says
Many thanks for your prompt reply. I’m guessing the extra eggs and the beating somehow increase the volume?
vikalinka says
Yep, that’s exactly it.
Charlie says
I just made this recipe for a birthday party and it was a HUGE hit! Everyone loved it! A perfect summer cake. Great recipe!! Thanks so much for sharing!
vikalinka says
I am so happy to hear it, Charlie! That cake is beautiful in the summer. I love rhubarb!
Louise says
Thank you for sharing!
I made the curd last night and am planning to make the rest tonight, however the curd has a slightly lumpy texture and leaves a fat coating in the mouth. It has a slightly cloudy taste. I haven’t put it through a sieve yet as the lumps appear smaller than what would go through a sieve.
Should I start again or can I rescue my curd somehow ?!
vikalinka says
Hi Louise, lumps usually happen from a lack of stirring with a whisk or the curd being on high heat, which makes it thicken too fast and go lumpy. I would try putting it in a blender or a food processor for a smoother texture. There shouldn’t be any fat coating either. It has the same texture as lemon curd.
Leanna says
i have my rhubarb curd chilling in the fridge. I just went to check on it and it’s separating. I looks like clarified butter is settling on the top. What should I do?
vikalinka says
Hi Leanna, did you let it cool sufficiently before you put it in the fridge? You can try to save it by bringing it to a room temperature and then beating it with a whisk until it’s well blended.
Leanna says
Would it be possible to bake this cake in 6″ cake pans?
vikalinka says
Hi Leanna, I haven’t tried it but you can always experiment a bit, and hopefully your cakes will be a bit taller and just as fluffy and delicate!
Beth says
Hi.. I was awed by its simplicity and yet, hues popped out of life. .. I have been searching for organic edible flowers. Where do you buy them? Do you have a list of edible flowers? Thank you for sharing and your time.
vikalinka says
Hi Beth, I usually grow my own organic flowers for decoration but farmer’s markets are your best bet for finding some. I also used dried rose petals and you can find them in Middle Eastern Shops or Amazon. Unfortunately I don’t have a comprehensive list of all edible flowers but I am sure there are many online.
Kacey says
Hello! I want to attempt to make this but put it in the form of mini cupcakes for a baby shower! I just had a question about the Elderflower. If I leave it out, due to the guest of honor being pregnant, will it make a dramatic difference in the flavor? Is there anything I could substitute in it’s place?
vikalinka says
Hi Kacey, you can substitute an elderflower liqueur with an elderflower cordial, which is alcohol free. Elderflower has a beautiful flavour, which is hard to match but if you can’t find it, you can add a bit of vanilla to your syrup.
Kacey says
okay perfect! thank you so much!
vikalinka says
You are welcome! Enjoy!!
Jamie says
Hello – a few questions! Could you freeze the layers for 4-5 days, then thaw and continue making from there? Also, how long can you leave the cake out at room temparture? Does it need to be refrigerated up until serving? Thanks!
vikalinka says
Hi Jamie, yes you can can freeze the layers! I wouldn’t recommend leaving the cake out since the icing is dairy and will go off but you should take it out of the fridge 30 minutes before serving to allow the cake to come to room temperature, it will taste better.
Irina says
Making the cake right now, can not figure out what is that dark pink colored layer on the two layers? Also about how long do you cook the curd? My tuned out too watery, cooked longer and now it’s half the size and a dark caramel color.
vikalinka says
Hahaha, good eye, Irina! I was experimenting and tinted two layers pink but decided to do a swirl design rather than solid pink. I didn’t mention it in the recipe as it didn’t contribute to the taste and wasn’t really visible! 🙂
You shouldn’t cook the curd longer than 20 minutes on very low heat, it thickens when it’s chilled in the fridge.
Sarah says
Lovely cake! What is the name of the organic pink flowers?
vikalinka says
Dried rose petals and blackcurrant bush blossoms from my garden, Sarah! They are really tiny and look great on a cake. 🙂
Teri Giese says
You are absolutely,unequivocally,amazing!Having pinned 10 million of your recipes,this one killed me!Love to subscribe by email.I subscribe to over 300 and am not certain if I have yours.Wordpress and Bloglovin love me!Am from Wisconsin where rhubarb was ever so plentiful.Never wasted a stalk.BUT,have never made curd nor a beautiful presentation such as yours.All I knew about curds,back then was in regards to cheese!????In Arizona and rhubarb is awful!If I find some,this cake I shall bake!
vikalinka says
Oh wow, your comment has just made my day, Teri! Thank you for following. Rhubarb curd is absolutely gorgeous! I hope you try it for yourself. Best wishes, Julia
Nastassja says
Thanks so much all my elements have turned out superb! And i am about to assemble but i do have another question im in Australia and a little confused with which cream to use for the mascarpone icing as you have mentioned in the recipe ingredients whipping cream but in your notes/method its says heavy /double cream?
Here in Australia we normally whip pure cream to create a fluffy cream but then we also have thickened cream whichnis slightly thicker then we have double cream which is very similar consistency as mascarpone cream ?
vikalinka says
Whipping cream and double cream are pretty much used interchangeably in my recipe, Nastassja. We have both double cream and whipping cream in the UK but they when whipped they look the same. I hope this helps. Enjoy your cake!
Nastassja says
Thankyou i ended up using the whipping cream. What a beautiful cake I made it for my mums 60th and was a huge success.
I also ended up substituting the elderflower liquor as it was so expensive. So what I did was bought some organic dried elderflower and added it to my syrup and cooked/infused then strained it and it gave it a wonderful flavour ????
vikalinka says
It sounds wonderful, Nastassja! I am so happy to hear everyone enjoyed the cake. Happy birthday to your mum!
Nastassja says
Hello im in the process of making this cake ???? iv made my curd and sponge cakes but have a few questions.
*Once my cakes cool and i wrap them is it best to store at room temperature or in the fridge? Ill be assembling them tomorrow afternoon.
*when assembling cake do apply syrup first on each layer of cake then create my boarder? Hiw much syrup per cake?
Thanks!!
vikalinka says
You can store the cooled cakes at room temperature for the next day assembly. You will have to drizzle each layer with syrup, which is equally divided among three layers, then pipe the border around each layer before filling and stacking them.
Sinead says
Am I right in thinking u don’t actually cook the rhubarb first, you blend it raw?
vikalinka says
Raw rhubarb gets blended in a food processor and then juice is extracted, which gets cooked into a curd with the rest of the ingredients.
Sinead says
Thanks… I’m assuming the flour is plain flour… Gonna try this today… Made the curd and it’s amazing 🙂
vikalinka says
Yes, just plain four, Sinead! Yay for the curd! I am all out and really need to make another batch while rhubarb is still in season.
sarah says
Hi all, how long did you cook the curd for on low heat before it thickened? Im doing it now, and I hope that it is going to thicken… about 7-8 minutes in and it still looks pretty watery…
vikalinka says
Hi Sarah, I suppose this comment will come a bit late but the timing really depends on how high your heat is, the depth of your pan, how much you are stirring, etc. If the mixture has cornstarch, it’s bound to thicken. My guess is after 7-8 minutes you were not too far away from sweet success.
Sharon Morris says
We made this wonderful cake last weekend – for a 65th birthday party. We were happily AMAZED at how wonderful it was. Everyone was hesitant to try with the name Rhubarb cake but after they tried one bite, nearly everyone ate their piece and asked for a second one!!! Total 1000% success!
Thank you for sharing your recipe and photo’s that inspired us. We also topped with edible flowers!
vikalinka says
What a wonderful feedback, Sharon. Thank you for sharing with me, comments like yours is what inspires me to create more and blog about it.
Magda says
It was amazing! Really, really amazing.
vikalinka says
Oh awesome, Magda!! I think you the first one to report back after making it. This makes me so happy!
Louise | Cygnet Kitchen says
Absolutely stunning, Julia! I love rhubarb! <3 xx
Laura | Tutti Dolci says
What a gorgeous cake, the rhubarb curd is so pretty!
sue|theviewfromgreatisland says
Could this be any more amazing? Pinning and sharing <3
Lynn | The Road to Honey says
This cake is so visually stunning and I can see it as the perfect dessert to celebrate spring or Mothers Day. I especially adore that peachy pink rhubarb center. So feminine. So elegant.
Angela - Patisserie Makes Perfect says
This looks fabulous Julia, well done. I love the layers inside and the rhubarb curd looks fantastic.
Hannah Hossack-Lodge (Domestic Gothess) says
This is so beautiful Julia 🙂 every flavour is perfect and the cake is stunning to boot! An excellent use for your delicious rhubarb curd xx
Amanda @ Cookie Named Desire says
I am the same with cakes. I don’t make them often. Frankly I am terrible at frosting them and always end up disappointed. But I still occasionally make them and still put my all into them, obsessing over every detail. This cake, however, is perfection. I love rhubarb and you used it wonderfully in this cake. I wish I had a nice big slice in front of me!
vikalinka says
Thank you, Amanda! I am not sure why I get so obsessive with my layer cakes. I suppose I feel like it’s a rare opportunity and I better not mess it up! hahaha Have a lovely day!
Jennifer @ Seasons and Suppers says
Absolutely stunning!!! I’m speechless 🙂
vikalinka says
Thank you, Jennifer, you are as always too kind! 🙂
Lindsey @ Butter & Type says
This cake is breathtaking! Also, I love rhubarb so this cake is screaming my name. Thanks for sharing!
vikalinka says
Thank you, Lindsey. I am a massive rhubarb fan myself so I understand. 🙂
Lucy Parissi says
This looks too pretty to eat – and yet I would have loved a generous slice : )
I am in love with the photographs – so romantic and delicate. Absolutely gorgeous!
vikalinka says
Thank you, Lucy! I am dreaming of another slice myself right now as this one is long gone!! Good thing Vika’s birthday is coming up; a valid reason to make another cake. 😉
Jan says
Question: What is the dark red area in the layers? And why isn’t it showing in the middle layer? What color is the syrup – clear? Thanks for the help.
vikalinka says
Hi Jan, here is what I replied to the same question in the above comments “I was experimenting and tinted two layers pink but decided to do a swirl design rather than solid pink. I didn’t mention it in the recipe as it didn’t contribute to the taste and wasn’t really visible!”
Colouring two layers was a last minute decision…creative minds never stop!:-)
Correct, the syrup is clear in colour.