I had a fresh harvest of rhubarb and family planning to stop by the next day so I saw the opportunity to take the rhubarb to make something new and fun dessert. Topped with fresh strawberries, this mousse cake was a hit with the family.
Rhubarb is always the first vegetable ready in the spring so I love to experiment with it to be more flexible in the kitchen (you can only eat so many strawberry rhubarb pies..) For more fun rhubarb recipes check out some of my previous posts: Rhubarb Season.
In the 650 Best Food Processor Recipes book I found “Rhubarb Fool” on page 595 that sounded interesting. I realized that it was basically making a sweet rhubarb mousse!
I opted to pair it with a White sponge cake recipe from my White House Cook Book.
The edition of The White House Cook book is from 1917 and it DEFINTIELY shows it’s age but it’s been an amazing resource for base recipes of North American meals.
I found the White House Cookbook at a flea market on my birthday in 2025. Most of the table of contents is missing but it’s otherwise in usable shape, the fella wanted $45 for it and did not fuss- at this point we were just starting to see our southern neighbors decline, and even then I knew we were watching the modern day version of the fall of Rome. I saw this cookbook as a memory of nation that would never exist again. I’m uncomfortable with how much worse it’s gotten since then… BUT ANYWAYS.. We’re here for cake.
Reading through The White House Cookbook on my deck looking for the right cake recipe to pair with the rhubarb mousse.
The way they have the recipes written out bothers me but I can appreciate that space saving. I also guessed at a bake time. (It was 25 minutes at 350°F)
The only spring form pan I have is heart shaped which made this creation better.
Rhubarb Mousse Recipe
4 cups (or 1lb) of sliced rhubarb
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tbsp orange extract or liquor
1L (1000ml) heavy whipping cream or dessert whip
In a baking dish, combine the rhubarb and brown sugar. Stir well. Cover and bake at 300°F for 1 hour. Let cool and strain any excess liquid.
Place Rhubarb mixture into your food processor with a metal blade and add the orange extract. Process until smooth, about 30 seconds.
Cover and refrigerate for 4-8 hours (overnight is ideal)
In a large bowl, using electric mixer whip the cream. (Skip if using dessert whip) Gently fold in rhubarb mixture into cream, until evenly blended. Use immediately or fresh whipped cream can be refrigerated for up to 2 hours.
White Sponge Cake Recipe
5 egg whites
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
1. Sift the dry ingredients together and set aside.
2. With an electric mixer, whip the eggs whites to a soft peak. Gently fold in sifted dry ingredients.
3. Pour batter into a springform pan, bake at 350°F for 25 minutes or until top is golden.
When making the cake, my mixer was in a dozen pieces on the floor getting a much needed maintenance run so I hang mixed the batter. This resulted in a very dense sponge cake.. But at least it was tasty!
