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Seasonal Recipes for August:
1.  Kentish Apple Gingerbread
2.  Cambridge “Rowing Eight” Cake
3.  Queen Mother’s Date and Walnut Cake
4.  Bramley Apple Crumble Bar
5.  Roasted Rhubarb and Custard Cake
6.  Grasmere Gingerbread

Roasted Rhubarb and Custard Cake (Fete Bake)

Ingredients:  Makes 9 inch (23cm) round cake

14oz (400g) rhubarb, rinsed and dried

½ teaspoon baking powder

2oz (50g) caster sugar

4 large eggs

250g pack of butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

150g pot of ready-made custard (not the chilled variety)

9oz (250g) golden caster sugar

9oz (250g) self-raising flour

Icing sugar for dusting

Method:

  1. Heat oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/Gas mark 6.
  2. Trim ends and cut rhubarb into finger-length pieces and put in a single layer in a shallow dish or baking tray.
  3. Sprinkle the caster sugar over the rhubarb and cover with foil.
  4. Place in the oven and cook for 15 mins then remove the foil, give them a shake and return to the oven for a further 5 mins.  The rhubarb should feel tender but have kept its shape.
  5. Drain off the juices and let it cool.
  6. Reduce oven temperature to 180°C/fan 160°C/Gas mark 4 and grease and line the cake tin.
  7. Reserve 3 tablespoons of the custard and put the reminder in a bowl along with the butter, flour, baking powder, eggs, vanilla and golden caster sugar and beat until creamy and smooth.
  8. Spoon  a third of the mixture into the cake tin, add some of the rhubarb , then dot with one third more of the mix and spread it out.  Top with more rhubarb and spoon over the remaining cake mix leaving it with a rough finish.  Scatter the remaining rhubarb over the top and dot with the set-aside custard.
  9. Bake for 40 mins until risen and golden, then cover with foil and bake for a further 15-20 mins.
  10. Cool in the tin and dredge with icing sugar when cool.

Guest taster’s comments

“I’ve never experienced a rhubarb cake before - Madeira or any other variety.  The rhubarb and custard  are as highly trained and merciless Ghurkha units.  First comes the mellow, vanilla flavour and soft-textured advance of a well formed sponge to calm the bodies defences, and then the stealthy strike begins.  The rhubarb packs a punch to rival Muhammad Ali, and each chomp of the jaw and push of the tongue opens up another part of the mouth to its drool-inducing power.  All-to-soon in a state of blissful confusion you come to the end of the wedge and the soft crust moves in to gently exfoliate the battle field.  Like a rogue’ish member of the opposite sex that you know you’re better off without, this cake is nevertheless, only a phone call away.....”