Saturday 18 May 2013

An Ode to Rhubarb - and a cake, of course

Rhubarb.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...

In crumble, in jam, in cake.

With ginger. With orange, With redcurrants. With almonds. 

Roasted, stewed.

Unlike courgettes, a glut of rhubarb fills me with nothing but joy. 

It's been late this year, but it's here now, in all its glory.

And here's a cake worthy of this most glorious of ingredients, based on one I read on the wonderful Caked Crusader's blog, with a dash of Nigella's rhubarb cornmeal cake thrown in. 

Rhubarb, orange, almonds. Go on. You know you want to.

400g rhubarb
280g caster sugar
225g unsalted butter
zest and juice of an orange
125g self raising flour
100g fine polenta
1 tsp baking powder 
100g ground almonds
3 large eggs

Line a 23cm springform tin.

First slice up the rhubarb into 1 cm pieces and put in a bowl with 50g of the sugar.

Mix together the flour, polenta, baking powder and ground almonds in a separate bowl.

Beat together the butter and the rest of the sugar along with the orange zest and juice. It may take some time but eventually you get a thick lovely batter, into which add the eggs one at a time, followed each time with a spoonful of the dry ingredients. When the eggs are all combined, beat in whatever remains of the dry ingredients, then fold in the rhubarb and any juices that have seeped out as its been sitting in the sugar.

Scrape the batter into the prepared tin and bake in the oven at 180C for about an hour - until a skewer comes out clean.



9 comments:

  1. A beautifully moist cake - what a perfect way to make the most of rhubarb!

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    1. It is a pretty perfect combination, I have to say.

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  2. I moved into my house in October so the garden was pretty bare. Imagine my surprise when some odd looking shoots started poking through this spring...rhubarb! I have no idea when it's ready to pick but am glad to have found this recipe to use some of it up!

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    1. Ooo. Now the Husband is the gardener, but basically you pull stalks up (don't snap them off) when it's looking quite tall - may be a foot or so. Don't take it all at once though. And enjoy! It makes brilliant jam, too.

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  3. Lovely, lovely. Would you believe me if I told you I have made THREE of these cakes this weekend, very similar recipe but from the Lisa Faulkner book. 1 for a gift, 1 for a fundraiser and 1 that got wolfed on Friday night, warm with clotted cream! The almonds and rhubarb are so lovely together. I switched the flour in one for chestnut flour for a gluten free friend. Worked a treat. Love the idea of the polenta..

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    1. mmm warm with clotted cream - how good does that sound? I'm off up to the allotment later and planning a rhubarb & custard scone/shortcake affair for pudding tonight. I am very interested in the chestnut flour you keep mentioning...

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  4. Looks gorgeous! Definitely liking the sound of served warm and with clotted cream too! :D

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    1. Yes - clotted cream sounds like an excellent addition, doesn't it!

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  5. Oooooh that cake looks delish. I love rhubarb so much....

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