Rhubarb and Almond Cake

Please forgive me for being so remiss, over the last couple of weeks what with work, WI centenary  celebrations, the garden and many many other things I haven't posted any recipes to the blog.

Naughty naughty me, instead of baking and cooking I have been needle felting, bead netting and more gardening and this has somewhat distracted me from the job in hand. Whilst gardening I noticed that our rhubarb bed was again producing huge crops of rhubarb, we have a couple of varieties hence the slightly greener rhubarb in the picture.

This cake is light and deliciously almondy and has the benefit of being gluten free, you need to be a patient baker as it does take quite a while to bake particularly if you rhubarb is quite sappy but the results are well worth it. Its amazing served with creme fraiche or yogurt but lovely on its own too.

This recipe is adapted Rhubarb and Almond Cake from the Sainsbury's Magazine

What you need

• 150g butter - softened
• 150g caster sugar
• 2 eggs - free range
• 200g ground almonds
• Couple of drops panettone essence (I use Bakery Bits)
• Couple of  drops of Almond essence
• 100g gluten free plain flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 4 sticks rhubarb, chopped into 2cm lengths
• 2 tbsp flaked almonds

180c oven - pre heated

22 cm spring form cake pan - oil sprayed and base lined

What you do

• Cream the butter, sugar and essences until pale and fluffy, I used my trusty Kitchenaid mixer. Whisk in the eggs and add the flour/almonds a little at a time with the eggs if it looks in danger of curdling.
• Add the rest of the flour/almonds to the bowl and mix until well incorporated.
• Spoon approximately half the cake mixture into your prepared cake and spread to the edges, arrange roughly half of the chopped rhubarb on to the mixture, staying away from the edge of the tin. Sprinkle over a little caster sugar (1 tbsp)
• Top with the remaining cake mixture and spread to cover the rhubarb, now arrange the rest of the chopped rhubarb on the top in attractive pattern, again keeping away from the edge (this to prevent sticking to the tin), sprinkle with flaked almonds and another 1 tbsp of caster sugar.
• Bake for 6o minutes until golden and well risen, now cover with baking paper and bake for another 15-30 minutes (may be even a little longer as this depends on the moisture level in your rhubarb) until cooked in the middle.
• Cool initially in the tin and then transfer to a wire rack, the cake is quite delicate so be prudent and ensure very loose before removing from tin.

I'm linking up to Bake of the Week at Casa Costello, a linky for all things baked !

                                                   

#GreatBritishRhubarbrecipe link up

My lovely fellow bloggers Karen at Lavender and Lovage and Janice at Farmersgirl have launched a linky for beautiful Rhubarb recipes, I love rhubarb now even though it was something I detested as a child and the blog has no less than 12 rhubarb recipes. 

                          

So if you love rhubarb pop across and check out their lovely linky up. To find our selection just type "rhubarb" in the search field to find lots of rhubarby loveliness.

Gluten free rhubarb and rose cake

Yet another Rhubarb recipe, this one is combined with rose cordial in a gluten free cake mixture, satisfyingly tasty and better eaten the next day this a great recipe for lunch boxes in the summertime. Not overtly sweet the rhubarb really sings with the subtle hint of rose.

Currently in the garden rose "Gertrude Jekyll" is flowering prolifically,so this is the inspiration for this bake, a deep rose pink highly fragranced David Austin rose with ample double blooms. Roses always mean summer to me, their luscious fragrances and ample flowers and also quintessentially English.

A delicious bake with a good crumb studded with tangy juicy chunks of rhubarb.

What you need

• 3 or 4 talks rhubarb, washed and chopped into 1cm ish chunks
• 1 1/2 cups of ground almonds
• 1 cup of gluten free plain flour (I used Doves Farm)
• 150g softened butter
• 3/4 cup light brown soft sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla paste
• 1 tbsp rose syrup
• 4 eggs - free range

23 cm cake tin, base lined (ideally loose bottomed or spring form)

What you do 

• Pre heat the oven to 180c
• Toss the prepared rhubarb into the flour and ground almond mixture
• Beat the sugar and softened butter together until light and slightly fluffy, add the vanilla and rose syrup
• Add the eggs one by one , don't worry to much if the mixture curdles slightly keep mixing, add a little of the flour / almond mixture
• Now fold in the rest of the flour, almond and rhubarb mixture
• Scrape into prepared cake tin and bake for about 45 mins or so , bake until golden, slightly risen and done when tested with a cocktail stick.
• Allow to cool in tin
• Wrap and store once cool, its has a better flavour if kept for 24 hours.

I am linking up this post to this month's Tea time treats , hosted in turn by Karen over on Lavender and Lovage and Hedgecomber. This month's theme is Floral, I think this more than qualifies.

                                                                 

I am also linking up to Ren Behan with her Simple and in Season campaign. As this is a very seasonal recipe as it features rhubarb from the garden and is decorated with fallen petals from Gertrude Jeykll rose.

                                             

Strawberry, rhubarb and creme fraiche pavlova

We are currently dealing with a surfeit of eggs in our household (our chickens are in full production ! not that I'm complaining) so any recipe that uses a good quantity of eggs is welcome at the moment. I love Pavlova and still remember the first time I experienced this blousey confection at a friends birthday party when I was about 10 years old, I was blown away with the crunchy crumbly yet marshmallowy texture of the meringue offset by the creamy fruity centre.

This Pavlova uses local strawberries, some homemade homegrown rhubarb anise compote (see earlier post here) to contrast with a cream fraiche and yogurt centre which was slightly sweetened with a little icing sugar.

I love the rustic look of this dish, garnished with just fresh fruit and lemon balm leaves and it tastes amazing, I can't for the life of me recall why I don't make this more often........, I'm off to the kitchen for another slice.

What you need

• 4 egg whites
• 220g Caster Sugar
• Lemon juice - generous splash (this is to make the meringue marshmallowy in the middle)

For the filling 

• 1  pot of Creme fraiche
• Half a large pot of Greek yogurt
• Icing sugar, 1 tbsp
• Fresh fruit of your choice, I used local strawberries and rhubarb compote/jam
• A few lemon balm or mint leaves
• Icing sugar

What you do 

• Pre heat the oven to 140c / 275F, gas mark 1
• Prepare your baking tray with either using a silicone sheet or a large piece of baking parchment.
• Whisk the egg whites in a scrupulously clean mixer bowl until stiff, add the lemon juice and caster sugar whilst still whisking in roughly tablespoon amounts until all incorporated and the meringue is all glossy and shiny
• Scoop the meringue onto the prepared baking tray making a rough circle about 8 inches in diameter, make the sides higher the middle so it can hold the filling.
• Bake in the oven for 1 1/2 hours until very lightly golden and firm to touch,switch the oven off and allow to cool fully in the oven with the door slightly wedged open with a tea towel
• Once fully cool remove from the oven.
• To make the filling mix the creme fraiche and Greek yogurt with a little icing sugar, spoon into the centre of the Pavlova
• Drizzle with the rhubarb compote and top with fresh fruit
• Dust with icing sugar and dot with artistically with a few lemon balm or mint leaves

I am also going to use this post as an entry in this months cooking with herbs challenge as the recipe features the beautiful lemon sherbety leaves of lemon balm as a garnish. I think the dish would also work beautifully with elderflower scented strawberry compote. The challenge this month is hosted right here on Lancashire Food

                                                               

I am also linking up to Four Seasons Food Summer who's theme this month is red, well this is strawberry red. Created by Eat your Veg and Delicieux, its being hosted our on the Spicy Pear this month

Here is an instagram image of the partially demolished pavlova ! , very rustic but very very delicious.....

Rhubarb anise syrup and frugal jam

This recipe is a two for one for you, utilising the ubiquitous rhubarb which is currently, triffid like taking over the garden.

A delightfully simple recipe which yields a versatile syrup which can be used in cocktails, Bellini springs to mind if you get hold of some good prosecco, or if you prefer something non alcoholic then sparkling water and ice would work just as well. Or you could try it drizzled over ice cream, yogurt or cake for a decadent dessert or maybe stirred into whipped cream for a creative syllabub. In fact there are lots of ways you can use this lovely syrup and its colour is amazing !

The other by product is a fridge jam or chunky compote which can be used to fill cakes, to top pavalovas or simply spread on scones or toast. The syrup would also make a great gift for a foodie or gardening friend, I would love someone to bring me something like this as a dinner party gift or just a seasonal treat.

The star anise twist came about as I recently dipped into the Flavour Thesaurus written by Niki Segnit (a kind gift from a friend a couple of Christmas ago) and stumbled across a reference to rhubarb and aniseed as a flavour combination, so giving that I was making rhubarb syrup I thought I'd give it whirl and yes reader it worked, it worked beautifully. You still get the rhubarby tang but with a rounded aniseed end, just don't over do the star anise as you don't want it tasting too medicinal.

Star anise is beautiful spice, both in taste and looks, departing a gorgeous warming anise flavour to your baking and cooking.

What you need 

• 4 cups of washed chopped rhubarb
• 1 cup of sugar (granulated is fine)
• 1 cup water
• 1 whole star anise 

What you do 

• Place everything is a large heavy bottomed pan
• Bring to the boil and then simmer for approximately 20 minutes until the rhubarb is softened
• Sieve the fruit , the syrup should be bottled in a sterilised bottle, the fruit pulp is your jam and stores well in a covered bowl in the fridge.

This is my entry for Credit Crunch Munch which we are hosting this month here and I think more than qualifies as you get two dishes from homegrown rhubarb. The challenge was originally created by Food 4 all and Fuss Free Flavours.

                   

I am also including this post in the No Waste Food Challenge created by Elizabeths Kitchen Diary and hosted by Utterly Scrummy Food this month. This post more than qualifies as there is no waste from the recipe and the cordial is even presented in a recycled olive oil bottle.

                                                          

Black pudding and rhubarb parcels as featured on Paul Hollywoods Pies and Puds

Reader you may remember from an earlier post I was filmed for a slot on TV in the summer, so just so you have the recipe I have decided to write up a detailed post of the recipe I prepared. This savoury snack is great for the upcoming festive celebrations and also ideal for converting black pudding haters into black pudding lovers. 

For both the slot on TV and this recipe I used "The Bury Black pudding company" black pudding, but I like RS Irelands Black puddings too, in fact most butchers locally make their own black pudding, Browns Butchers in Chorley are legendary.

The recipe for these parcels is also featured in the Lancashire Recipe booklet that was published recently as well, so its becoming pretty famous. I love that this recipe features pretty lowly ingredients but by the end you have something glamorous and suitable for serving at any drinks party.

I am also pleased to say as well that I used Lancashire cider in the sauce and homegrown rhubarb, in the filming this was fresh from the garden but when I remade this recipe for the blog post, it was from the freezer. The cider is from Doves Sykes an artisan cider producer from the Ribble Valley - Ribble Valley Gold is produced in small quantities and is a still dry cider ideal for drinking or cooking with.

I have no idea as to whether the slot I filmed will be used on the show, today is Lancashire Day so I thought I'd post the recipe to celebrate the day.

Update: the clip was used on Paul Hollywoods Pies and Puds on 27th November 2013 its currently avaliable on iplayer but Mr Lancashire Food has also made a copy of Youtube which you can find here 

I got a "nice one Linzi" from Mr Hollywood himself so he must have liked the recipe, why not try it for yourself.

What you need

• Black pudding
• Rhubarb (fresh or frozen)
• Onion
• Cider (medium to dry)
• Salt and Pepper
• Nutmeg
• Filo pastry (shop bought fresh rather than frozen)
• Vegetable oil

What you do 

• First pre heat the oven to 160C
• Fry off the black pudding until a little crispy

• Remove from the pan and set to one side
• Now cook of the finely chopped onions until slightly soft, now add the rhubarb and cider (in my case a lovely local one)
• Simmer until soft and the moisture has been driven off

• Allow to cool before filling your parcels

• Spoon your filling onto a single sheet of filo, folded in half and create your parcels

• Place on a baking tray brushed with a little oil and cook until golden brown

• Serve hot or cold either on its own or with a sweet chilli sauce if wanted

Rhubarb and vanilla curd

We grow several varieties of rhubarb in the garden and this year is obviously a good year for this plant as they are rapidly out growing their allocated space. In search of recipes which use this bounty (otherwise known as a glut) I came across several recipes for fruit curds, I love lemon curd particularly in victoria sponge cakes so I thought I would have a go with a rhubarb curd, the addition of vanilla due to wanting to the rhubarby tang with a mellow spice, vanilla has a natural affinity to rhubarb.

The curd colour is variable as it depends on the starting colour of your rhubarb, early forced rhubarb will give a delicate pink curd, but if you are using later season it will come out a greeny orangey red, feel free to change the colour with grenadine or food colour  if you want a more red / pinky curd.

Its also a great way to use up any excess of homelaid eggs which from time to time (particularly if I have forgotten to take eggs into work).

Ingredients

• 600g rhubarb , washed and chopped up into chunks
• 4 eggs - free range
• 200g butter
• 4 tsp cornflour
• 175g caster sugar
• 2 vanilla pods, cut and stripped of seeds ( you could use paste)

Method

• First you need to juice the rhubarb, I did this by using my food processor to chop very finely and then strained the resultant mush through a sieve and collected the juice in a bowl.
• Now put the eggs, butter, cornflour and sugar, vanilla seeds in a large pan and the rhubarb juice over a very low heat whilst whisking until the butter has melted and all the other ingredients have been well incorporated.
• Continue to stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture thickens and begins to coat the back of your spoon like thick custard, this could take 15 - 20 minutes
• Remove from heat and sieve to remove any eggy lumps and bits of rhubarb so you have a smooth curd
• Cool in the fridge and then pot into sterilised jars , this recipe makes about 2 normal sized jars. Store in the fridge but use within a week or so.
• Delicious spread on scones, toast,crumpets or in cakes.

I am also linking this up as part of Calendar cakes over at Dollybakes and Laura Loves Cakes 

                                                                     

Baking Brave for World Baking Day ! Rhubarb Custard cake

                                                       


Its world baking day and in its honour and to use some of the rhubarb rapidly taking over the garden, I am baking brave "Rhubarb custard cake ".

 I have never made this before and also never used straight custard powder in a cake before, I snaffled the recipe from Morrisons website here and have followed it to the letter, so we will see how it goes.

As for World baking day, as you know I don't need many excuses to bake but this sounds like a good one, an international celebration of baking across the world, and an excuse to try to something new, in other words to bake brave ! so here we go.

I'm also submitting this as part of Calender cakes run by Lauralovescakes and Dollybakes 
                                              

Rhubarb and maple syrup crumble muffins

Whilst playing with the samples of maple syrup from Clarks I dreamt up a recipe to use that lovely seasonal ingredient of rhubarb in combination with maple syrup, loosely based on a previous muffin recipe with a crumble topping, my I present Rhubarb and maple syrup crumble muffins. Almost healthy as they contain fruit, a natural sweetener and wholemeal flour, I hope you enjoy them.

Mr Lancashire Food (our official photographer) has taken some absolutely stunning photographs of these muffins which really make them look very special. Check out his new pinterest page

Muffin mixture

• 1/4 cup light brown soft sugar
• 1 egg free range
• 3 tbsp maple syrup
• 5 tbsp melted butter - then cooled
• 3/4 cup plain low fat yoghurt
• 1 cup wholemeal flour
• 1/2 cup plain flour
• 1 cup chopped rhubarb
• Pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder & 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Crumble topping

• 1/4 cup plain wholemeal flour
• 1/4 cup plain flour
• 2tbsp maple syrup
• 2tbsp light soft brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• 3tbsp butter

You have options on the crumble topping either melt the butter for a more crunchy topping or rub in for a soft sandy crumble topping, the choice is yours.

Method

• Pre-heat the oven to 180C
• Prepare your muffin pan with large muffin cases - 12 cases
• Prepare the crumble mixture in a small bowl and put to one side
• In a seperate bowl mix the dry ingredients and in another bowl mix the wet muffin  ingredients, then combine gently together, do not over mix, lumpy is ok.
• Lastly add the rhubarb and 1/3rd of the crumble mixture to the muffin mixture
• Spoon into the muffin cases and top with the remaining crumble mixture
• Bake for 15 -20 minutes until cooked and golden
• Cool on a wire rack and dust with icing sugar when cool

I used Clarks maple syrup in this post which was kindly supplied free of charge by Clarks for recipe development purposes. If you would like to win some of Clarks syrups or honey's check out our rafflecopter giveaway.

I am also entering these muffins in the lovely Ren Behan for Simple and in Season Blog event

                                                

Rhubarb, vanilla and honey frozen yogurt

Mr Lancashire Food picked a large quantity of Rhubarb from the garden this weekend, so rather than just freeze it I decide I would experiment. After making a tray of honeyed rhubarb, the ice cream mood took hold, so I came up with a frozen yogurt alternative using items I  had readily  found in  the fridge. This will satisfy any cravings for a sweet cool dessert you have , it would also be great served with hot puddings or fancied up with shortbread or other biscuits.

Honeyed Rhubarb

• 1 kg Rhubarb, cut in small pieces
• Honey - 4 tbsp 
• Orange / lemon - grated zest and juice

Just place your rhubarb in an oven tray, drizzle with the honey and the zest and juice, bake in a 150C oven for about an hour or until soft and slightly golden

Frozen yoghurt

1/2 of a large pot of low fat vanilla yogurt

1/2 pot of low fat creme fraiche

1 tsp vanilla paste

2 tbsp honey

1 ramekin of honeyed rhubarb

Method

• Mix the yogurt, creme fraiche, vanilla and honey in a large bowl
• Stir in the honeyed rhubarb 
• Pour in to your ice cream maker, churn until softly frozen
• If you don't have an ice cream maker then place in a freezer suitable tub in the freezer , remove approximately every half an hour and stir vigorously.
• Store in the freezer until you want to use.
• Serve as you would ice cream

This post is my contribution to Frugal Food Fridays from fuss free flavours and guest hosted by Blue Kitchen bakes this month

Wholemeal Rhubarb Yogurt cake

Rhubarb that great standby ingredient from the garden for deserts and cakes, this easy recipe is not too sweet and can be enjoyed both as a cake or a dessert if serve with custard or cream.

Ingredients

• 3 large sticks of rhubarb, finely chopped into small cubes
• 1/4 cup softened butter or pure vegetable margarine
• 1 1/2 cups soft brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla paste
• Good pinch of ground cardamon
• 1 cup wholemeal flour
• 1 cup plain white flour
• pinch of sea salt
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 cup plain live yogurt

Method

• Preheat your oven to 180c
• Oil a shallow tin approx 9 by 12 inches
• Cream your butter and sugar 
• Add your egg and vanilla and incorporate well
• Now add your flours and bicarb and salt
• Lastly add your yogurt, mix well and then stir in your rhubarb
• Tip into your prepared tin and level, it is quite a stiff mixture
• Bake until golden and cooked through when tested with a cocktail stick
• Cool in the tin, will store for a few days but this is quite a moist cake so best eaten soon.

Rhubarb, tonka bean and yoghurt fool

I have been intrigued for several weeks with the Tonka bean after coming across them on the Steenbergs website. Originally originating from the Orinoco area of South American the tonka bean is a member of the pea family, the tonka bean is used in food and cosmetics. Its flavours and fragrance is a mix of vanilla, cloves, cinnamon and bitter almonds, it also has pagan and mystical associations. I plan to experiment with the tonka bean more as the season progresses.

I have choosen to use the tonka bean in a simple fruit fool layer using seasonal rhubarb from the garden. I have utilised Rhubarb compote from my earlier post but with the addition of a grating of tonka bean, this is then topped with crushed digestive biscuits ( you could use amaretti, shortbread or ginger nuts) and the a layer of yoghurt with a grating of the bean on top. If you want a more decadent finish you could use cream or custard of you wish.

I am entering this post in to the #oneingredient cooking challenge hosted by Working London Mummy.

CCC No 5 - Rhubarb Victoria Sponge cake

For the spring meeting of the South Lancashire clandestine cake club I decided that I wanted to make a cake that was seasonal and celebrated the emerging new life that is all around at this time of year. So I choose to use the every faithful victoria sponge but create a rhubarb compote to fill it from the early season rhubarb that is growing like topsy in the garden right now. For a great victoria sponge check out my earlier post which you can find here.

To make the rhubarb compote I finely diced one large stick of rhubarb and cooked it gently in pan with 1tbsp of soft brown sugar and a similar quantity of fruit juice or water, remove from heat as soon as the rhubarb is cooked.

To make the vanilla buttercream , mix 250g of icing sugar, 125g of softened butter and a good drizzle of vanilla paste in a mixer until softened and well blended, check that the buttercream isn't grainy.

Assemble the cake using the cooled compote and some of the buttercream as filling, top the cake with the rest of the buttercream and decorate to your taste.

Our venue for the event was the lovely Thyme Deli in Horwich, a lovely cafe deli run by the wonderful Amanda that is funkly decorated in a vintage style, which serves great local food and sells a fabulous range of foods, bakeware and kitchenalia. Pay them a visit if you are in the area you won't be disappointed.

If you are interested in joining the fun at a local clandestine cake club visit the website for more details.