Soured cream rhubarb squares (with a cinnamon nut topping)

Ok, so it’s maybe not the catchiest name for a cake you’ll ever come across but I don’t like to leave out important details that might sway you into making it!

The CCD’s rhubarb plant has sprung into life quite spectacularly, as indeed it does every year, so I spent some happy time perusing my recipes deciding on how to put it to best use. I’ve baked many rhubarb cakes and tarts and just can’t get enough – forced or garden, I don’t care! As you can see, it’s an impressive plant:

Here, I’ve parted just one section of leaves so you can see the stalks. There are many, many more than this photo can encompass:

This recipe is made in a small roasting tin or traybake tin and can be served warm with custard or ice cream for dessert or at room temperature with thick spooning cream for a tea time treat.

The juicy, bread pudding like, texture is very comforting and I loved the way that some pieces of rhubarb retained their sharpness as it provided a contrast in flavour. This side view photo shows how moist the cake is:

Many recipes combine rhubarb with orange juice and I find this can overpower the rhubarb a little. This recipe teams the rhubarb with toffee-like dark sugar and the spiced nut topping adds crunch and an extra punch of flavour. I loved the combinations.

Ingredients

For the topping:
15g unsalted butter
50g golden caster sugar
100g mixed nuts, roughly chopped – any nut combination will work, I used a bag from the supermarket containing almonds, walnuts and – oddly - peanuts)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the cake:
85g unsalted butter
250g dark muscovado sugar
1 egg
225g plain flour
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
248ml soured cream
300g rhubarb, cut into 1cm chunks

Method

Preheat the oven to 180˚C/fan oven 160˚C/350˚F/Gas mark 4

Line a 30cm x 20cm roasting tin with baking paper. If you are going to serve the cake straight from the oven, as a dessert, simply grease the tin with butter.

Start by making the topping: melt the butter and stir into the golden caster sugar, nuts and cinnamon. Put to one side.

Now make the cake: Beat the butter with the muscovado sugar and egg.

When the mix is smooth and creamy, stir in the flour, bicarbonate of soda and soured cream.

Lastly, stir in the chunks of rhubarb.

Pour into the prepared tin and sprinkle with the cinnamon nut topping.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Have to warn you that mine took much longer – almost an hour; this could be because I was baking two at the same time and this impacted the cooking rate.

If using for dessert, serve immediately with custard, ice cream or cream. If serving as a tea time cake, leave to cool on a wire rack.

When cool, cut into squares. It will keep in an airtight tin for up to 5 days.

Bask in the glory of the wonderful thing you have created.

Eat.