I don’t know about you guys, but I got a TON of rhubarb in my garden this year. So, I decided to make some mid-century desserts with it!
Here is a lovely piece of cake that I made from a vintage handwritten recipe card that I got with a recipe collection I recently bought from eBay.
- 2 heaping cups mini marshmallows
- Lemon cake mix
- 5 cups diced rhubarb
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 small pkg raspberry Jell-O
- Grease a 9×13 pan and spread marshmallows evenly over the bottom.
- Prepare lemon cake mix per box instructions and pour batter over marshmallows.
- Mix together rhubarb, sugar and powdered Jell-O. Spoon over cake batter.
- Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.
Here’s the thing about these recipe cards. Many, many, MANY times, the recipe on the handwritten cards isn’t an original recipe at all, but a copied recipe from a cookbook or a promotional recipe that has been adapted or changed. Which I think is fun, since then I get to play detective and figure out the origins of the recipe. But the detection on this one goes to my mom. The handwritten recipe card called this “Lemon Rhubarb Cake” but she recognized it as having its origins in another recipe: Pillsbury’s Strawberry Shortcut Cake.
This scan of the recipe is from my mother’s friend (and my friend!) Carol, who sent me this recipe over a year ago with these notes:
I increased the mini marshmallows to 2 cups and use a cake mix instead of the “from Scratch” cake mix.
I substitute the other fruit choices ( Rhubarb, Raspberries, Apples and Cranberries, etc for the strawberries with equal amounts to the strawberry recipe..
Does that make sense??. The cake is good with any fruit combo..
Enjoy
So, it seems the person who wrote this recipe card had the same ideas as Carol did, changing out the fruit and using a cake mix. This time I used a cake mix, but I am definitely going to make the “from scratch” cake topping next time!
Can you see the marshmallows on the top and the rhubarb on the bottom?? I love mid-century “magic” desserts where the layers rearrange themselves!
“What do you think?”
“Pretty good. The top tastes like a cake mix with marshmallows on it, but the bottom part is really good.”
The Verdict: Good
From the Tasting Notes:
This was a sweet dessert! Don’t get me wrong, it was good, but there was a lot of sugar in it. The marshmallows were fun in that you put them on the bottom and they rose to the top, but they didn’t really add much in terms of flavor. The bottom layer with the rhubarb was really good and the lemon cake tasted very good with the rhubarb. As an experiment, when I make this again I am going to use the cake base from the Pillsbury recipe, leave out the marshmallows and sprinkle the top with cinnamon and sugar before I put it in the oven!
I like the changes you’re going to make next time. Lemon and rhubarb go so well together, that they need very little adornment.
I’ve never tried rhubarb in anything, but I’d love to try it. I don’t seem to see it in stores here in California.
My grandmother had a baking secret when making sheet cakes, muffins, biscuits and cornbread — she covered and sealed the baking dish with foil as soon as it came out of the oven — and left it on for 10 minutes. Those 10 minutes transformed those baked goods into soft, moist deliciousness.
I do that with meats and poultry; never thought of doing it with baked goods. I’ll have to try that sometime.
Rhubarb season is long over here in Fresno. It’s the same with strawberries. They are both an April/May fruit. Berries just finished so now it’s melons and stone fruit until the grapes roll in around mid July.
Too true, Beth!
Yeah, our growing season here in MI is a bit off from you guys, but you should try it with frozen rhubarb if they carry it near you!
Also – must try that foil trick! Sounds like a winner!
Stone fruit would work with this recipe, too! 🙂
I wasn’t using my brain yesterday. I had a ton of strawberries leftover from the 4th that needed to be used, but I ended up making a big smoothie. Wish I’d made this recipe instead — because I also have a ton of whipped cream that needs to be used!
I just found your blog and absolutely love it!! I can’t wait to find some time to sit down and read through old posts. I often find some fantastic recipes in old magazines and books but others can be questionable so I’m really interested to see what you thought of some of the funky ones. Like they say, you never know till you try it! 🙂
This looks great! And such a good jumping-off point for variations! I’m thinking maybe sour cherries with almond cake….
I just made an almond/sour cherry cake last night! It turned out really well, so that combo gets a thumbs up from me. 🙂
Thanks, Brittany! Glad you love it! 🙂
I just discovered your blog tonight. My mom makes this recipe. The first one with the rhubarb and raspberry jello. Only she uses a white cake mix instead of lemon. she sprinkels the rhubarb, sugar, raspberry jello powder and marshmallows into the bottom of a prepared pan. I want to say over the years she’s cut down on the amount of sugar. The she puts the cake batter on the top. it’s baked and cooled some and then flipped over and served like an upside down cake. It doesn’t taste heavy on marshmallows