Rhabarberkuchen mit Baiser

the German rhubarb meringue cake: tart spring rhubarb baked into a light creamed cake base and crowned with a glossy meringue that sets to a crisp shell over a soft centre, the sweetness of the Baiser deliberately balanced against the sharpness of the fruit — the defining rhubarb bake of the German spring, from Bavaria to the North Sea coast

Origin: Germany — Bavaria and the Kitchen Gardens of the German Lands

From the journey of Rhubarb.

If the British answer to spring rhubarb is the crumble and the pie, and the Scandinavian answer is the compote, the German answer is unequivocally the cake. Rhabarberkuchen is one of the fixed points of the German baking year: when the first rhubarb appears at the market in April and May, it goes almost immediately into a Blechkuchen, the domestic sheet-cake that is baked in every German household and sold in every Konditorei, and eaten in the afternoon with coffee in the ritual of Kaffee und Kuchen. Rhubarb's tartness is precisely what the German cake tradition prizes in it: against a sweet, buttery cake base and a sugar-rich meringue, the sourness of the fruit provides the balance that keeps the whole from cloying. The cake takes two principal forms. The streusel version (Rhabarber-Streuselkuchen) buries the fruit under buttery crumbs; the meringue version made here, Rhabarberkuchen mit Baiser, is the more distinctively German and the more striking. It rests on an elegant economy of eggs: the yolks enrich the creamed cake base, and the whites, whipped with sugar into a Baiser (the German word for meringue, borrowed from the French for a 'kiss'), are spread over the part-baked cake and returned to a cooler oven until the meringue sets to a pale-gold, crisp-shelled crown over a marshmallow-soft interior. Nothing is wasted, and the result carries three textures in a single slice: the tender cake, the soft tart fruit, and the shattering sweet meringue. It is a cake of real refinement disguised as an everyday bake, and it is, in Germany, the taste of spring itself.

Ingredients

Rhubarb

600 g rhubarb stalks, cut into 2 cm pieces
2 tbsp caster sugar (to macerate the rhubarb)

Cake Base

150 g soft unsalted butter
150 g caster sugar
1 pinch fine salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 large eggs, separated (yolks for the base, whites reserved for the meringue)
200 g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
4 tbsp milk

Meringue (Baiser)

3 large egg whites (reserved from above)
1 pinch fine salt
150 g caster sugar
30 g flaked almonds (optional, to scatter over the meringue)

Method

Toss the rhubarb pieces with 2 tbsp caster sugar and leave to macerate for 15 minutes. Drain off the juice that collects and pat the pieces dry. This draws out excess moisture that would otherwise make the cake base soggy.
Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan). Grease and line the base of a 26 cm springform tin. Cream the soft butter with 150 g caster sugar, the salt, and vanilla until pale and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time until fully combined.
Sift together the flour and baking powder. Fold into the creamed mixture in two or three additions, alternating with the milk, until you have a smooth, thick, spoonable batter. Spread evenly into the prepared tin, levelling the surface.
Scatter the drained rhubarb evenly over the batter and press it gently into the surface. Bake for 25 minutes, until the cake base is set and just golden at the edges but the centre is still pale.
While the cake bakes, make the Baiser: whip the 3 reserved egg whites with a pinch of salt to soft peaks. Add the 150 g caster sugar a spoonful at a time, whipping continuously, until the meringue is stiff, smooth, and glossy and no longer feels gritty when a little is rubbed between the fingers.
Remove the part-baked cake from the oven and reduce the temperature to 150°C (130°C fan). Spread the meringue over the hot rhubarb surface, taking it right to the edges to seal, and pull it up into soft peaks with the back of a spoon. Scatter with flaked almonds if using.
Return to the oven and bake for a further 18–22 minutes, until the meringue is set, crisp to the touch, and a pale gold. Leave the cake to cool completely in the tin before releasing the springform and slicing.

Notes

For the streusel version (Rhabarber-Streuselkuchen), omit the meringue and the egg separation (use whole eggs in the base), and instead top the rhubarb with a rubbed crumble of 150 g flour, 75 g cold butter, and 75 g sugar before baking at 180°C for 40–45 minutes. Forced early-season rhubarb gives the best colour and the most tender result, but any rhubarb works. The cake is at its best on the day it is baked, while the meringue is still crisp; it keeps for a day or two, though the meringue will gradually soften. A ground-almond or semolina layer (2 tbsp) scattered over the batter before the rhubarb gives extra insurance against a damp base.

The Gastrographer

Name: Rhabarberkuchen mit Baiser
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h 20 min
Yield: 12
Cuisine: Germany — Bavaria and the Kitchen Gardens of the German Lands
Ingredients: 600 g rhubarb stalks, cut into 2 cm pieces; 2 tbsp caster sugar (to macerate the rhubarb); 150 g soft unsalted butter; 150 g caster sugar; 1 pinch fine salt; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 3 large eggs, separated (yolks for the base, whites reserved for the meringue); 200 g plain flour; 2 tsp baking powder; 4 tbsp milk; 3 large egg whites (reserved from above); 1 pinch fine salt; 150 g caster sugar; 30 g flaked almonds (optional, to scatter over the meringue)

Mapping Culinary History

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control