Cooking and Whatnot

On Rhubarb Cake and Red things

So I thought I would throw in a recipe for good measure this week. We had my Mother and Father-in-law over for dinner the other night and I made this gorgeous cake for dessert.

When I was out and about with Little O, we stopped by a green grocer and I saw this gorgeous bunch of Rhubarb just calling to me to come and pick it up and take it home with me....so I did!

I wanted to do something different with the rhubarb rather than the usual rhubarb crumble I always end up doing. I didn't want to fluff around making something tricky like sorbet or a soufflé....I was just not that kinda girl that day. I wanted something quick and easy and scrumptious yet would give the impression that I was a domestic goddess.

So I looked online as I had noooo inspiration. I found a recipe on taste.com and I thought I would share it with you cos it was easy peesy and it was delish and most importantly it didn't leave you with the usual after taste you can get with rhubarb.

So here it is....

Rhubarb Cake

Ingredients:

·         60g butter, softened

·         1 1/2 cups (300g) brown sugar

·         1 tsp vanilla

·         1 tsp finely grated lemon zest

·         2 eggs

·         1 cup (150g) plain flour

·         1 cup (150g) self-raising flour

·         1 tsp cinnamon

·         300g carton sour cream

·         350g trimmed rhubarb, cut into 2cm lengths

·         1/4 cup (55g) brown sugar, extra

·         1 tsp cinnamon, extra

Method:

      1.  Preheat oven to 160°C. Lightly grease a 24cm springform pan. Line base and sides with paper, extending paper 3cm above top of pan. (I actually didn't do this step being the 'non domestic goddess' always in a hurry type of gal that I am!)...it turned out fine too!

      2. Beat butter, sugar, vanilla, and zest with an electric mixer until well combined. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Fold in sifted dry ingredients and cream in two batches. (I didn't really bother doing the two batch thingy either.....just added the dry ingredients...not sifted, bit by bit) Fold in rhubarb. Spread mixture into prepared pan and sprinkle evenly with combined extra sugar and cinnamon.

3.  Cook for about 1 hour and 15 mins, or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Cover top of cake with foil if sugar starts to over brown. (Also when testing with a skewer just make sure that it is not getting over cooked...I kept thinking it was raw inside but it was really just the rhubarb on the skewer!)

      4.  Remove cake from pan and cool on wire rack. Cake is delicious served warm, cold with custard, or cream.

       I actually made some Rhubarb compote with the extra rhubarb. Sooo easy to do:

Rhubarb Compote:

Chop up rhubarb into 2 cm cubes and dump in pot with a couple of tablespoons of sugar and stir over medium stove until sugar is dissolved. Cover pot and allow to gently simmer away until the rhubarb softens....usually about 10 mins or so.

So there you go, easy peesy delicious Rhubarb cake!

Hope you enjoy it!

Now onto Red things.

I have begun hanging red things around the house. It is looking festive. Little O has noticed. She pulls them down...and sucks on them.

I am thinking that I will sew some more red things. I may even feel the need to give some away. How about that for some Christmas cheer?! Would you like some red things to hang about your place?

If so, leave me a comment and I shall show you what I will send to one of you soon!

It may look a little something like this....

Have a great weekend enjoying all things red,

xo Rachel