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German Rhubarb Meringue Sheet Cake with Fresh Milled Flour

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Soft vanilla sheet cake with fresh milled flour, topped with jammy rhubarb and crisp meringue. An old-fashioned German rhubarb dessert, perfect for spring baking, tea time, and gatherings.
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Close-up of a slice of German rhubarb meringue sheet cake being lifted from the pan, showing crisp meringue, jammy pink rhubarb, and soft cake layers.
Prep Time:20 minutes
Cook Time:45 minutes
Total Time:1 hour 5 minutes
Servings:16 slices
Calories:335kcal
Equipment
Ingredients

Batter

  • 275 g freshly milled spelt or soft wheat flour - (from roughly 1⅓ cup berries) or choose a store-bought swap
  • 13 g baking powder - (3 tsp)
  • 200 g softened butter - (¾ cup + 2 tbsp)
  • 175 g granulated sugar - (¾ cup + 2 tbsp)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract - vanilla bean paste or vanilla sugar
  • pinch of salt
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 70 ml milk - (¼ cup + 2 tsp)

Topping

  • 750 g cleaned, chopped rhubarb - (7½ cups)
  • 5 egg whites
  • 300 g granulated sugar - (1½ cups)
  • 100 g flaked almonds - (1 cup)
Instructions

Mill Flour & Prep Rhubarb

  • Finely dice the rhubarb into small, bite-sized pieces.
  • Weigh spelt (or soft wheat) berries and grind them on the finest setting of your grain mill. Stir in the baking powder and set aside.

Cream Butter, Sugar & eggs

  • Cream together room temperature butter, salt, sugar, and vanilla sugar (if using) until pale and fluffy.
  • Separate the eggs, add four yolks and the vanilla extract (if using) to the batter, and mix until fully combined.

Mix Batter

  • Add half the dry ingredients to the dough and stir to combine, then mix in the milk. Stir in the rest of the flour and mix on medium speed until evenly combined.

Make the Meringue

  • To another clean bowl, add five egg whites. Whip on medium speed until frothy. With the mixer running on high speed, slowly add the sugar, little by little.
    Whip until the meringue becomes glossy white, stiff, and holds a thick ribbon.

Transfer Batter to Pan

  • Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F (or 180°C/350°F fan) and line a large baking sheet/half sheet pan with parchment paper.
  • Spread the batter onto the baking paper in a thin, even layer. Scatter the chopped rhubarb across in an even layer.

Assemble & Bake

  • Spread the whipped meringue across the chopped rhubarb, then scatter the flaked almonds on top in an even layer.
  • Bake on the lowest rack for 40–45 minutes, until the meringue is crisp and the almonds toasty brown. Cool to room temperature on a wire rack.
Notes
  1. Don’t worry about over mixing the batter. There’s not enough gluten to turn the cake tough.
  2. It may look like there isn’t enough batter at first, but the super thin layer bakes up into a beautifully plush cake.
  3. If the almonds brown too quickly, loosely cover the cake with aluminum foil.
  4. You can halve the recipe and use a 9×13-inch/23×33-cm pan. For the meringue, halve all ingredients except the egg whites (and use 2 large or 3 small whites).
  5. The meringue is crisp on day one. As the cake sits, moisture from the base and rhubarb softens it into an almost marshmallow-like layer.
Author: Sarah | Grains & Greens Kitchen
Serving: 1slice | Calories: 335kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 5.6g | Fat: 15g
Tried this recipe?Let me know how it turned out!