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Rhubarb crumble cakeI’ve kept the rhubarb in large-ish pieces, and although it looks like a lot of rhubarb for the size of the cake, just pile it all up on top. It will soften and collapse down into the batter as the cake bakes. I love this cake served still-warm from the oven with Crème fraîche (and some of that roast rhubarb if there’s any around!), but it also keeps very well in an airtight container for a couple of days. My bet is it won’t last that long! 
15 mintues prep. 
1 hour cooking
Serves 6-8 |
Ingredients
- 400 g rhubarb, trimmed and cut into rough 3-4cm pieces
- 110 g each brown sugar and caster sugar
- 160 g softened butter
- Scraped seeds of 1 vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Finely grated rind and juice of 1 orange
- 2 eggs
- 200 g plain flour
- 60 g hazelnut meal
- 2 tsp each ground cinnamon and ground ginger
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp bi-carbonate of soda
- 160 ml well-shaken buttermilk
- 50 g plain flour
- 50 g brown sugar
- 40 g butter, cut into little cubes Pinch of salt
- 40 g roasted hazelnuts, coarsely chopped
Method
- Preheat the oven to 170˚c.
- Butter and line a 15cm x 30cm rectangular cake tin or a 23cm round cake tin with baking paper.
- Toss rhubarb in a bowl with 1 tbsp of each of the sugars and set aside.
- To make the crumble mixture, rub the flour, sugar, butter and a good pinch of sea salt in a bowl until little clumps form, and then mix in the hazelnuts. Spread the mixture in the tin, pressing together a little to keep clusters of mixture together then put in the freezer while you make the cake batter.
- Beat butter, remaining sugars, vanilla and rind in an electric mixer for 2-3 minutes until it becomes light and fluffy, then beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides and base of the bowl and beating to combine before you add the next egg.
- Add the flour, hazelnut meal, spices, baking powder, bi-carb soda and juice of the orange together and mix on a low speed, beat to combine, gradually adding the buttermilk as you do. Beat until just sooth, then spoon into the prepared cake tin. Smooth over the top, and then scatter over half the crumble mixture. Pile on the rhubarb and drizzle over any juices that have formed in the bottom of the bowl.
- You may need to pile the rhubarb up a bit – don’t worry of it looks higgledy-piggledy, it will settle as it bakes. Scatter over the rest of the crumble mixture and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour until golden brown and firm in the centre.
- Cool slightly in tin, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, or serve warm
