Ingredient Tue Jun 02 2009

Rhubarbilicious

My mother's preferences dictated a lot of what I would or wouldn't eat as a kid. She wasn't really into chocolate, so I'm not really into chocolate. She loved gumdrops and ice cream--I was an easy convert. I remember asking her once about rhubarb, and she said it was "too tart," which was enough information for me to overlook it on menus. However, I wanted to start exploring new foods, and landed on this winner of a cake ingredient. Yeah, rhubarb's tart. But if you add sugar, eggs and some butter to it, rhubarb is a nice treat (although it's not the most nutritious vegetable out there, but if you're cooking with fats and carbs, you have different priorities).

I made a Rhubarb Almond Cake last night. I had some dry roasted almonds that were approaching staleness, so I emptied the bag onto a cookie sheet and toasted them for about 10 minutes in a 350° F oven.

Rhubarb Almond Cake

1 c. sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1 c. all-purpose flour, sifted
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs
1 t. pure almond extract
1 1/4 c. chopped rhubarb in 1-inch chunks or smaller

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. Butter and flour 9-inch cake pan.
3. Scatter fruit evenly on the bottom of the pan and set aside.
4. Mix first five ingredients in a large bowl until fully combined.
5. Pour batter over fruit in the cake pan and sprinkle top lightly with sugar, this will make a nice crust.
6. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.

Source

The result was crumbly. I'm not sure if that was the result of adding the almonds (a first in my rhubarb baking endeavors) but the flavor is great and the nuts add a subtle crunch. If cake doesn't stock your shelves, then try rhubarb in vodka, soup, or pork.

— Robyn Nisi / Comments (1)