Winter Rhubarb Cake

Equipment

A 9in cake tin, buttered, lined with baking parchment, then greased again and dusted with flour.

Ingredients

 500g/1lb 2oz forced rhubarb, sliced into 2cm/1in sticks

200g/7oz butter, softened

200g/7oz caster sugar

4 eggs

2 tbsp milk

100g/3.5oz self raising flour

100g/3.5oz ground almonds

2 tbsp raspberry jam

1 tbsp lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas 4.  Line a baking sheet with baking paper and scatter the rhubarb sticks on it in a single layer. Bake until they partially soften, then allow to cool.

When cool, scatter half over the base of the prepared cake tin.Put butter, sugar, eggs, milk, flour and almonds into an electric mixer, and beat until you have a firm batter.  If making the cake by hand, beat the butter and sugar together first, beat in the eggs one by one then fold in the flour and ground almonds.

Gently stir in the remaining rhubarb so it is distributed into the batter but does not break up.  Turn the cake batter into the tin and bake for 45-55 minutes or until it feels springy to the touch – this will be a soggy cake but it should be cooked properly so insert a toothpick and pull it out – it should not have any wet cake batter on it.

Cool the cake, then turn it out.  Put the raspberry jam in a pan with the lemon juice and melt over a low heat.  Pass it through a sieve then paint it over the surface of the cake.  Serve warm,  if you like, as a pudding with whipped double cream.

Credit: Rose Prince’s baking club. Saturday Telegraph 17th Jan 25

Annies Rhubarb