A moist rhubarb and orange cake soaked with a fragrant fruit syrup. The well-known “Rhubarb Triangle” in Yorkshire is famous for its pink forced rhubarb, available from January to April. It’s the last chance to enjoy it before outdoor-grown rhubarb takes over. This cake is wonderfully soft, generously soaked with rhubarb and orange syrup, and full of bright, citrusy flavour. Highly recommended!
Ingredients for the rhubarb and orange cake:
- 180 g butter
- 140 g caster sugar
- finely grated zest of 1 orange
- 3 medium eggs
- 150 g plain flour
- 80 g fine semolina
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 60 ml buttermilk
- 200–250 g rhubarb stalks (unpeeled), cut into 8 cm pieces
- icing sugar, for dusting
All ingredients should be at room temperature. Sift together the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.
Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the orange zest. Add the sifted dry ingredients and semolina, then the buttermilk, and gently fold together until just combined.
Line a 23 cm round tin with baking parchment. Pour in the batter and level. Arrange the rhubarb on top in a radial pattern, like sun rays.
Bake at 160°C for about 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 5 minutes. While still warm, spoon over a few tablespoons of the syrup, allowing it to soak into the cake. Leave to cool completely, then dust with icing sugar before serving.
Ingredients for the rhubarb and orange syrup:
- 110 g rhubarb (unpeeled), chopped
- 100 g sugar
- 250 ml orange juice
- 100 ml water
Place all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer uncovered for 15–20 minutes until slightly thickened (it will thicken further as it cools). Halfway through cooking, strain out the rhubarb fibres and discard.
Reserve a few tablespoons of syrup for soaking the cake, and keep the rest for serving. Delicious with a dollop of whipped cream.
Enjoy!
Recipe source – Great British Chefs.
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