Keto Strawberry Rhubarb Upside Down Cake
Published May 9, 2020 • Updated June 15, 2026
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I've made this strawberry rhubarb cake more times than I can count, and the moment you flip that bundt pan and see the caramelized fruit layer is worth every bit of effort. Moist almond flour sponge with a low carb caramel topping that stays soft and pulls away from the pan clean.
Strawberry rhubarb is one of those pairings I grew up eating in pies and cobblers every summer, and when I went keto back in 2012, I thought that combo was gone for good. It took me a while, but I figured out how to get that same tart-sweet balance into an upside-down bundt cake that actually releases from the pan without leaving half the topping behind.
The secret is the caramel layer. I use golden monk fruit whisked with butter until it bubbles, then pour it into the bottom of a greased bundt pan before spooning the fruit mixture on top. The golden monk fruit matters here. I tried this with straight erythritol early on and the caramel re-crystallized as the cake cooled, basically gluing the fruit to the pan. The monk fruit blend stays soft and pliable, which is why the topping releases in one piece when you flip.
The cake itself is an almond flour and coconut flour blend with sour cream for moisture and lemon zest for brightness. I whip the butter for a full 3-4 minutes before adding anything else because that air is what gives the crumb its lift (skip this and you get a dense puck). The batter goes on top of the fruit layer, and the whole thing bakes at 325 for about 45 minutes. Lower and slower than most cakes, but almond flour burns fast at higher temps and I learned that the hard way.
Here is what I wish someone had told me the first time: let the cake cool in the pan for a full 30 minutes before flipping. Not 10, not 15. The almond flour crumb needs that time to set, and the caramel needs to firm up just enough to hold the fruit in place without hardening. If you flip too early, the caramel runs everywhere. Too late and it sticks. Thirty minutes is the sweet spot I landed on after testing it more times than I want to admit.
One thing that surprised me: frozen rhubarb actually works better than fresh for the topping layer. A reader named Taylor tried it in February when fresh rhubarb was nowhere to be found, and the frozen stalks released more liquid during baking, creating a thicker, more concentrated jammy layer at the bottom of the bundt. I tested it myself after reading her comment and she was right. The caramelization was deeper and more intense than what I get with fresh. So if you are making this outside of summer, grab frozen and do not bother thawing it first.
I love serving this with a scoop of whipped cream keto strawberry shortcake style, or alongside strawberry shortcake kebabs for a full spread. If you want a simpler keto strawberry cake without the upside-down drama, I have that too. And for birthdays, Jeane made this for her husband’s 71st, accidentally added the reserved butter to the batter instead of the pan, compensated with extra sour cream and a fresh butter batch, and it still turned out beautiful. That is how forgiving this recipe is. If you are into low carb baking with almond flour, my keto coffee cake uses a similar base.
Ingredients
4 large strawberries, cut into small chunks -
3 stalks rhubarb, chopped (about 8-10 oz)
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2 teaspoons arrowroot powder
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3/4 cup erythritol or monk fruit sweetener, divided
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1 1/4 cup of unsalted butter, softened
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1/3 cup golden monk fruit
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1 1/2 cups almond flour
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1/4 cup coconut flour
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2 teaspoons baking powder
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1/2 teaspoon salt
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zest of one lemon
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1 teaspoon vanilla
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4 eggs
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1/3 cup sour cream or low-carb yogurt
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2 teaspoons lemon juice
Step by Step Instructions
Step by Step Instructions
Preheat oven
Preheat oven to 325 degrees and grease the bottom and sides of a large bundt pan.
Get a medium bowl
In a medium bowl, mix together rhubarb, strawberries, arrowroot powder, and the 1/4 cup erythritol or monk fruit sweetener. Set aside.
Get a small bowl
In a small bowl, sift together flours, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Get a large bowl
In a large bowl, whip butter with an electric mixer until light in color and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes of mixing).
Mix until fluffy
Add 1/2 cup erythritol or monk fruit sweetener and lemon zest continue mixing until fluffy. Then take out 1/4 cup of the butter mixture to use for later.
Add eggs
Add eggs, mixing in one at a time. Mix in sour cream, lemon juice and vanilla unti combined.
Mix in dry ingredients
Slowly mix in dry ingredients to the wet ingredient.
In a saucepan
In a saucepan over medium heat, add the 1/4 cup of reserved butter with the golden monk fruit. Whisk until bubbly (about 2-3 minutes). Remove from heat. Pour in the bottom of the bundt pan.
Add strawberry mixture
Spoon strawberry mixture and juices on top of the sweetened butter layer.
Bake it
Scoop cake batter on top of fruit layer and spread out evenly. Bake at 325 for about 45 minutes or until cake is firm to the touch.
Let cool
Let cool in the bundt pan for about 30 minutes after removing it from the oven. Loosen from the sides if need before flipping over.
Nutrition disclaimer
The nutrition information provided is an estimate and is for informational purposes only. I am a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.); however, this content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your physician or other qualified health provider before making any lifestyle changes or beginning a new nutrition program.
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Get My Macros + Recipes →Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my upside-down cake stick to the bundt pan, and how do I prevent it?
I dealt with this myself until I figured out the pan prep. Butter leaves milk solids behind that basically weld the caramel to the pan as it cools. I switched to shortening or Baker's Joy spray and the sticking stopped. Grease every ridge and curve, not just the bottom. If it does stick after baking, lay a warm damp towel over the inverted pan for 2-3 minutes. The steam loosens the caramel layer enough to release. Reader Melanie had this problem twice before switching her spray method, so you are not alone.
Should I use fresh or frozen rhubarb for this recipe?
I have used both, and I prefer frozen now. A reader named Taylor used frozen rhubarb in February and discovered it produces a thicker, more concentrated jammy layer than fresh. I tested it after reading her comment and she was right. The extra moisture from the frozen stalks caramelizes into something deeper and more intense. Do not thaw it first. Just chop and toss it in with the strawberries.
Can I use coconut oil instead of butter in this cake?
I have not done a full side-by-side test on this one, but solid coconut oil should work as a 1:1 swap in the batter. The texture will be slightly different and you will pick up a mild coconut flavor. For the caramel layer, I would be more cautious since butter gives it that rich golden color and the milk fat helps it bubble properly. If you try coconut oil for the caramel, whisk it on slightly lower heat and watch it closely.
What is the best sweetener for the caramel layer?
I use golden monk fruit and it is the one part of this recipe where my sweetener choice really matters. Golden monk fruit (or an allulose blend) stays soft and pliable as the cake cools, which is why the topping releases cleanly when you flip. I tried pure erythritol early on and it re-crystallized into a hard shell that fused the fruit to the pan. If sticking has been your problem, switch your caramel sweetener before you blame the pan.
Can I bake this in a tube pan or round pan instead of a bundt?
Yes, and a tube pan makes the flip easier in my experience. Reader Christine shared a great trick: fold a round parchment sheet into a cone shape, snip the tip to fit over the center tube, and spray everything including the parchment with baking spray. The tube pan also lets you run a knife along the sides to loosen before flipping, which you cannot do with a bundt. I still prefer the bundt for the look, but if clean release is your priority, a tube pan with parchment is the safer bet. If you are new to almond flour baking, the tube pan is more forgiving.
How long should I wait before flipping the cake?
Thirty minutes. I tested shorter and longer cool times and this is the window that works. Flip too early and the caramel runs because it has not set. Wait too long and the sugar firms up and bonds to the pan. I pull the cake from the oven, set a timer for 30 minutes, loosen the edges gently, then flip onto a plate in one confident motion. Do not peek or wiggle it during the cool time.
Can I make this keto rhubarb cake ahead of time?
I have made it the night before and it holds up well. Flip it onto the serving plate, let it cool completely, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. The caramel layer stays intact in the fridge for up to 5 days. I would not freeze it already flipped because the fruit layer gets watery when it thaws. If you want to freeze, keep it in the pan unflipped, wrap tightly, and freeze for up to 3 months. Flip after thawing in the fridge overnight. I have done this for a party alongside a keto birthday cake and both held up perfectly.
What if I accidentally add the reserved butter to the batter?
You are in good company. Jeane did exactly this when making the cake for her husband's 71st birthday. She set the sour cream and reserved butter side by side and grabbed the wrong one. Her fix was adding the sour cream too (since it was going in anyway) and mixing up a fresh batch of sweetened butter for the pan. The cake baked perfectly in 45 minutes and only a few pieces of topping stuck. My recipe is forgiving with extra fat. Just make fresh caramel butter and keep going.
When strawberries and rhubarb are in season, something magical happens. They combine creating a unique flavor combination – tart and sweet. Strawberries and rhubarb are in season at the same time, so it’s only natural that I create some tasty dessert recipes using them.
This keto strawberry rhubarb cake is a sugar free upside down cake. The cake is spongy with a hint of lemon flavor. The crumb is moist from the strawberry rhubarb topping that drips over it when you flip it upside down.
Rhubarb is a vegetable that is low in carbs. It has 1.2 net carbs per stalk. Rhubarb works great on keto.
It has a sour, bitter taste but when you contrast it with a sweet fruit like strawberries, it’s delicious!
Most berries are lower in sugar. Strawberries work well on a low carb diet since they are lower in natural sugars. They have 8.7 net carbs per cup of chopped berries.
Strawberries are in season beginning mid May to late June, so take advantage of strawberry season and make your favorite strawberry desserts.
This is an upside down cake recipe. You can use a regular cake pan if you want to, but I thought using a bundt pan was prettier – especially because I like to make this cake late Spring when strawberries and rhubarb are in season, so around Mother’s Day.
The size of bundt pan I use is a 10 inch pan. You can use smaller if you want. Remember to spray coconut or avocado oil on the bundt pan before adding the batter so it slides out easily when you flip it upside down.
The directions for this sugar free cake state to whip the butter using an electric mixer until the butter is light in color and fluffy. I recommend doing this step because it creates air and volume in the butter which gives you a lighter, spongier cake.
Beat the butter with the mixer until it is fluffy and the color has changed from yellow to pale yellow or almost white. This step takes several minutes but the end result is worth it!
Annie, do you have any tips for how many ounces by weight the rhubarb should be? I've only ever seen or used rhubarb from my garden and the stalks can be like 2.5 feet long.
I'm making rhubarb crumble today and accidentally picked 2 lbs more than needed so have some extra to go in the freezer!
I'm really excited to make your cake, especially since you say frozen rhubarb works best. Rhubarb is so good and it took a couple of years but now I've developed an amazing low carb rhubarb crumble recipe. I make custard to pour on top and it's my favorite dessert!
That's exciting you are using it from your garden! Should be delicious. I would use around 8-10 oz. I updated the recipe card in the post for you.
Rhubarb from the garden is so hard to measure by stalk. I started just chopping it up first, then weighing it, and that cleared up a lot of confusion for me.
Added cardamom to the fruit layer and it completely changed what the rhubarb does, this jammy floral thing that I'm still thinking about two days later. Four stars only because I'm still dialing in the sweetener amount, but batch three is happening this weekend.
I've made probably four or five versions of keto upside-down cake over the years and the fruit layer always either sticks or slides off in pieces. The arrowroot in this one actually holds everything together so when you flip the bundt pan you get that clean pull-away you're supposed to get. Worth it for that alone.
Arrowroot was the last thing I landed on. Took me a while to figure out that was the difference between a clean flip and a mess.
My son has never willingly eaten rhubarb in his life, so when I did the flip and he saw that caramelized fruit layer come out he just started hovering. Now he keeps asking when I'm making it again.
Four batches in and the caramelized fruit layer sliding out of the pan clean still makes me unreasonably happy.
Unreasonably happy is the right amount of happy for that flip. Four batches and I still hold my breath on mine.
The flip actually worked, which I did not expect as someone who has never made a bundt cake before. Came out clean and the caramelized fruit layer looked like the photo. My one note is that the rhubarb is sharper than I anticipated. If you're expecting something sweet-forward, the tartness catches you off guard. I think I'd reduce it by one stalk next time and let the strawberry carry more of the flavor. Still made the whole thing disappear by Sunday evening.
Yeah, rhubarb doesn't ease you in. Two stalks is my sweet spot if you want the strawberry flavor up front. And the whole cake gone by Sunday - that counts.
So I couldn't find fresh rhubarb anywhere (it's early for my area) and just used frozen, fully expecting to ruin this. Thawed and drained it really well first since I read that frozen fruit releases more liquid, and the arrowroot powder still held everything together when I did the flip. The caramel layer came off the bundt pan clean, like actually clean, and I genuinely stood there staring at it for a second. I also threw in an extra half teaspoon of lemon zest because I wanted more tartness, and it made the whole thing sing in a way I didn't anticipate. For someone who has never made an upside down cake and is still pretty shaky on keto baking, this felt freaking unbelievable. I'm doing it again with fresh rhubarb the second it shows up at the market because I need to know how different it actually is.
Frozen is actually my preference now. The layer gets thicker, more jammy than fresh (a reader named Taylor figured that out in February and I had to test it after). And yeah, that extra lemon zest is a good call, it keeps the sweetness in check.
Strawberry rhubarb was my grandma's thing, then mine, and I figured keto killed it. Found rhubarb at the farmers market last week and made this. When I flipped the bundt pan and that caramelized layer came out clean, I actually gasped. Felt like something I'd written off coming back. It's denser than a traditional upside-down cake (almond flour does that), but not in a bad way. Making it again before the season's gone.
That gasp is real. I still do it every time I flip this one. Get at least one more batch in before the market rhubarb disappears.
I batch bake every Sunday and this went into the rotation three weeks ago because I needed a dessert that would actually survive four days in the fridge without falling apart. Didn't expect this: the caramelized strawberry rhubarb layer gets almost jammy overnight, way better than fresh out of the oven. I've been slicing it the morning after baking, wrapping individual pieces in parchment, pulling them out all week. Hard-learned tip after destroying two slices: chill the whole bundt before you cut into it, or the caramel layer tears instead of separating clean. I'm a total beginner and this is now the fanciest thing I make, I freaking love flipping that pan every time. Double batch next Sunday for sure.
Yes, it's better the next morning. The arrowroot keeps working in the cold and the layer just gets thicker the longer it sits. Cold bundt before you cut, always.
My daughter made me promise not to tell her what rhubarb was until she finished her slice. Honestly, that made the slightly sticky bundt release worth it.
Ha. That's exactly how rhubarb converts happen. And for the sticky release - shortening in the pan instead of butter. Butter leaves behind milk solids that basically weld the caramel down. Shortening and it comes clean.
The flip is terrifying when you've never made an upside-down cake before. Mine came out cleaner than I expected (the caramelized fruit layer just slid right out of the bundt pan), and now I'm wondering if the arrowroot powder is what keeps it from sticking. Is that what it's doing, or is it more for the fruit texture?
The arrowroot is for texture. It thickens the fruit juices so you get that jammy layer instead of watery runoff. The clean release is the pan prep , shortening or Baker's Joy, not butter. Butter's milk solids bond to the caramel as it cools.
My grandma used to make strawberry rhubarb cake every May and I hadn't thought about it in years. Made this on Sunday and when I flipped the bundt pan and that caramelized fruit layer came out clean, I just kind of stopped. Took me right back to her kitchen in a way I really didn't see coming.
Rhubarb does that. The smell of it cooking, and then that clean flip. She knew.
The flipping part is what's making me nervous about trying this. Is there a way to tell when it's ready to come out of the bundt pan cleanly, or do you just go strictly by the bake time? I'd hate to lose that whole caramelized fruit layer to the pan.
Thirty minutes is the window. Any less and the caramel is still liquid. The bigger fix for me was pan prep though, I'd been greasing with butter and switched to shortening and the sticking stopped completely. Baker's Joy spray works the same way.
Taste and texture are there, but mine needed closer to a full teaspoon more sweetener in the fruit layer. Rhubarb is pretty tart and the recipe amount left it sharper than I expected. Worth adjusting before you commit to the flip.
Rhubarb tartness is unpredictable. Some stalks run really sharp and the fruit layer needs more to compensate. I should add a taste-before-you-flip note to the recipe.
Added a teaspoon of fresh grated ginger to the fruit layer and rhubarb and ginger are just made for each other. That little warm kick under the caramel sweetness caught me off guard, and now I can't go back.
Hadn't thought of ginger in the fruit layer but the more I think about it the more it tracks. That warmth under the caramel is going to hit differently. Stealing this.