Rhubarb vanilla cupcakes with whipped cream are an easy spring bake that looks wonderfully festive. Soft vanilla cupcakes are folded with pieces of sweet-tart rhubarb, then finished with a swirl of whipped cream and glossy pink rhubarb. No cupcake centers to cut out and no buttercream to make. A little honey rounds out the sharp rhubarb, while vanilla and freshly whipped cream keep every bite fresh. Everything comes together with familiar baking ingredients. And just look at that pretty pink topping.
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My Rhubarb Redemption Story
I have a complicated history with rhubarb. As a kid, I couldn't get past that sharp, sour taste. As far as I was concerned, it gorgeous pink-red color was the only thing it had going for it.
Years later, a rhubarb dessert at a restaurant changed my mind. It was sweet, fresh and still had just enough tartness to make it interesting. These days, I even grow rhubarb in my garden. Cutting the first stalks feels like the real start of spring.
Six-year-old me is still hiding somewhere in the background, though. Every rhubarb recipe has to pass her test: sweet enough to stop the complaining, but not so sweet that the rhubarb disappears. These cupcakes do exactly that. The glossy pink topping is a little bonus for the color obsession that started the whole thing.
Now I bake them every spring, usually as soon as my rhubarb plant gives me enough stalks.
Ingredients You'll Need?
Tart rhubarb and sweet vanilla are such a lovely match. Add a soft cupcake and a generous swirl of whipped cream and I'm sold!
- Rhubarb: Use the stalks and discard the leaves as they are not safe to eat. You don't need to peel the stalks. Leaving the red skin on gives the rhubarb pieces and glaze a beautiful color.
- Baking powder and baking soda: You need both to make the cupcakes light and fluffy. The baking soda reacts with the sour cream, so don't replace one with the other.
- Eggs, butter and sour cream: Bring these ingredients to room temperature before you begin. They will blend into the batter more easily, giving you softer cupcakes.
- Vanilla Extract: Use pure vanilla extract if possible. Its warm, sweet flavor works beautifully with the tart rhubarb. Homemade vanilla extract works well.
- Honey: You only need a spoonful. It gives a warmer, rounder sweetness.
- Heavy cream: Keep it cold until you're ready to whip it. Cold cream becomes thick and fluffy much faster.
How to Make Rhubarb Vanilla Cupcakes
Making these rhubarb cupcakes is easy and can be divided into three parts: preparing the rhubarb, baking the cupcakes and adding the creamy topping.
- Beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Mix in the eggs and vanilla, followed by the dry ingredients and sour cream. Mix just until combined.
- Add the sugar, honey, water and vanilla to a saucepan,
- Add rhubarb, bring to a boil, then simmer gently for 5 minutes. Stir carefully so the rhubarb pieces keep their shape.Remove the rhubarb with a slotted spoon and reserve the syrup. Let both cool completely.
- Gently fold one-third of the rhubarb into the batter.
- Divide the batter between the cupcake liners. Bake at 350 °F (180 °C) for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. The cupcakes are ready when the tops spring back when gently pressed and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely about 45 minutes.
- Beat the cold cream with the confectioners' sugar until firm peaks form. Pipe a swirl onto each cupcake, spoon the remaining rhubarb on top and finish with a little cooled syrup. Add the topping just before serving.
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Ingredients
Rhubarb topping
- 10 oz. rhubarb
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 cup water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cupcakes
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup butter, unsalted, room temperature
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 eggs, large
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 5 tablespoons sour cream
Whipped cream
- 1 cup heavy cream, cold
- 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
All my recipes are written both in Metric (gram / ml) and US Customary (cups / pounds). Here you can select which type of amount you would like to see.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F (conventional oven) or 320 °F (convection oven).
- Line a muffin pan with paper cupcake liners.
Rhubarb topping
- Wash the rhubarb and cut it into half-moons (approx. ¼ inch (½ cm) thick).10 oz. rhubarb
- Put the rhubarb together with sugar, honey, water, and the vanilla extract in a saucepan and bring to a boil.1 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 cup water, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Simmer for 5 minutes and then cool to room temperature.
- Using a slotted spoon, remove the rhubarb from the syrup and let it drain. Reserve the syrup for topping. Let the rhubarb cool completely before folding one-third into the batter.
Cupcakes
- In the first bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt well with a fork.1¼ cups all-purpose flour, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, ¼ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt
- In a second bowl, mix the butter with the sugar, and with a mixer, beat until pale and fluffy in about 3 minutes.¾ cup sugar, ⅓ cup butter
- Add the eggs one at a time while continuing to mix. Do not add the next egg until the first egg is fully incorporated.2 eggs
- Mix in the vanilla extract.1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Add the contents of the first bowl, the flour mixture, to the batter. Mix on low just until the flour is incorporated. Do not overmix.
- Finally, add the sour cream and mix.5 tablespoons sour cream
- Turn off the mixer and with a spatula gently fold ⅓ of the rhubarb into the batter.
- Divide the batter among the cupcake liners and fill each liner about two-thirds full and put the tin in the oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Bake until the tops are lightly golden and spring back when gently pressed. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.
- Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack and cool completely, about 40 minutes.
Whipped cream
- Beat the cold cream and confectioners' sugar until firm peaks form.1 cup heavy cream, 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
- Transfer the whipped cream to a piping bag fitted with your preferred nozzle.
- Just before serving, pipe a swirl onto each cupcake. Spoon the cooled rhubarb on top and finish with a little cooled syrup.
Notes
- Room temperature: Store the cupcakes without the whipped cream and rhubarb topping at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
- With topping or when very warm: store in the fridge for up to 3 days. They will change their structure slightly due to the humidity in the refrigerator, but they are still very tasty. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before serving.
- Frozen (only without topping): Let the undecorated cupcakes cool completely. Wrap them individually in plastic wrap and place them in a freezer-safe container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Let them thaw, still wrapped, at room temperature.
Nutrition
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