While working in our back gardens yesterday, I noticed that the rhubarb looked plentiful. Certain that I had seen a rhubarb dessert among the many recipes in Lala's box, I found the perfect one to try. You see, today is my nephews' birthday. The twins are six, which is exciting and hard to believe. What better way to celebrate from afar than with their Grandpa's favorite spring produce? Andy's father can't get enough Rhubarb. You'll be hard pressed to find rhubarb any other time of year (seasonal produce is the best!!!), and so we have to take advantage of the moment. Since we all live in different states, we rely on technology to bring us together for singing happy birthday. At the twins house, everyone gathers in the kitchen in person and via FaceTime. We all sing together, and watch them eat every last crumb of cake. This year, my kids will get to join in with Rhubarb Cake, and since I'm making it in two loaf pans instead of one large cake pan, there will be leftovers for when my In-Laws visit this weekend.
Like many of Lala's recipes, I happen to have all of the ingredients readily available. The only ingredient that I don't typically have on hand is the rhubarb. Thanks to the previous homeowners we have more than enough for this recipe.
This recipe card is different from the others in that the back side offers variations! The back reads:
This cake can be baked in bread pans. And use chopped nuts if wished. One can use brown sugar instead of white sugar- if brown sugar used sprinkle brown sugar over top and spread chopped nut meats over top before baking.
To make the cake batter, I used my KitchenAid Mixer (aka: work horse). The first thing I did was cream the butter and sugar together. I don't know if you've ever really taken the time to properly cream them together, but they shouldn't just look mixed. You don't want to see any of the sugar granules. That's how you'll know it's properly creamed together. Next, mix in the egg, followed by the sour milk. The sour milk in this recipe can be replaced with buttermilk if you have any on hand. Otherwise, to make sour milk, use a 1 cup measure and place a capful of vinegar inside (a vinegar bottle's cap), and fill to the 1 cup mark with milk. I used cow milk in this recipe but it's likely almond milk (or other non-dairy milk) would be an appropriate substitute. While the mixer continued on a low setting, I added the baking soda, vanilla, and 2 cups of flour one at a time. I then added the rhubarb and allowed the mixer to turn about five more times, enough to evenly distribute the rhubarb.
Using a large cake pan (a bundt pan should work here as well), or two 9 inch round pans, or 2 loaf pans, bake at 350* for 35-50 minutes. Although it isn't mentioned in the recipe, be sure to grease your pans before filling with batter. There's nothing worse than a cake that won't release. When not using parchment paper, I like to use Bakers Joy with cake baking. I've tried butter, coconut oil spray, olive oil spray, and canola oil spray. None work as well as Bakers Joy. Even using oil and a paper towel isn't as good.
While the cake is baking my mind wanders to the many cakes baked on The Great British Baking Show. There's nothing worse than making a cake with fruit or veg and having the produce sink to the bottom. Fingers crossed that the rhubarb stays suspended in the cake and that when it's cut into later that we don't have a mess of rhubarb at the bottom. If you Google Rhubarb Cake and check out the images, you'll see slices of cake with the rhubarb evenly distributed, and others where it's mostly all settled to the bottom.
I have about two cups of strawberries in the deep freezer left over from last summers strawberry picking (the kids and I picked four flats of berries!). When we first brought them home, we made PLENTY of strawberry preserves. In a normal household, the number of jars of jam would likely be enough to last a year. At our house, December. The kids use it not only on sandwiches, but on bagels, in their oatmeal in place of brown sugar or maple syrup, on top of pancakes and waffles, over ice cream, you name it and they've likely tried it. I can't fault them, it's SO much better than anything we buy in the store and significantly more affordable than the preserves from the farmer's market. I think these berries will process down nicely into a strawberry glaze. After all, does anything pair better with rhubarb than strawberries?
Rather than attempt to reinvent the wheel, I reached out to Google and found Hoosier Homemade's recipe for Strawberry Glaze for cakes. I'm going to omit the red food coloring. Thankfully, it's listed as optional.
Keeping in mind that my oven takes longer to bake than average, two loaf pans required 40 minutes of baking time. If I attempted a whole cake, it would easily have been an hour +.
When your cake(s) come out of the oven, allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. (I was impatient and attempted to remove the "brown sugar" cake too soon. As a result, it lost a small part of one corner.) Next, using a knife or cake spreader, carefully separate the cake from the sides of your pan. Invert onto and allow to cool on a rack. Once cool, slice and serve with a side of preserves, a glaze on top, or a dollop of whipped cream.
When looking at my cakes right out of the oven, both cakes have a slight sink in the center and I wanted to know what went wrong. If this happens to you, follow this guide to take the guesswork out of why. In the case of my cakes, the problem could be two-fold. The first is that it's possible I over-mixed the batter. The second is that (like I've mentioned countless times), my oven is less than reliable.
Many of you may wonder, "why not just buy a new range?". We have a slide in range. They start at $1200 for a gas/electric combo like we currently have. Purchasing a less expensive, standard style range would mean replacing our quartz countertops, therefore not actually saving us any money. I disassembled the heating elements from the range to check them at a local appliance shop and they are working fine. A service call would be $350 minimum and may not fix the problem so I'd rather save those funds for a new range. And lastly, a new range isn't on the list of home repairs at the moment. We're currently saving up for new siding, and need to complete our basement (still needs flooring and trim). And of course, there are smaller things that continuously crop up when you live in a 75 year old house. It's full of charm, character, and our money.
When you don't eat dairy, gluten, or eggs (really it's the yolks that are the problem), Lala's recipes can be a challenge. I can't taste test most of what I'm making and rely on my family, friends, and neighbors for their honest opinions. Today I had to venture a little further down the street to find someone at home. About a half block away, the homeowners are adding a three car garage to the property. And they're doing it all themselves! Thankfully the husband was home and gave this cake a try. "MMM" was his first response, quickly followed by, "Can I eat the whole piece?" He gave it two thumbs up, said it was moist, and really liked the crust on the outside. I happen to give him an end piece so it was a little crustier than the pieces I plan to give my family later this evening when we sing happy birthday to the boys.
If you're in Central Wisconsin and are interested in being a part of a group taste testing, email me your name and best way to contact you. If you like this recipe, you're going to love the other foods produced by Caught Red Threaded. To find out more, visit Caught Red Threaded. Be sure to leave a comment in the thread below to let me know how this turned out when you made it (and photos are always welcome!), and follow Caught Red Threaded on Facebook and Instagram for exclusive offers and ideas. If you want to receive this and other blog entries by email, be sure to click Subscribe in the top right corner of this page.
Comments
Post a Comment