23
SPRING RECIPES
Dessert: Corinne's Rhubarb Cake
A Note from Corrine
Rhubarb is my favorite spring fruit to bake with because it's sweet but not too sweet, beautifully colorful when baked, and very easy to clean. Whenever I see it out at the farmer's market, I grab a bundle. I don't have a strong sweet tooth, so this recipe is perfect; the lemon zest brings some tartness, and the cake is warming and semi- savory. It's sweet enough for dessert but savory enough for a mid-morning snack. My #1 baking tip is to use a baking scale to add ingredients by weight rather than measuring each individually. Saves time and dishes!
Topping
Ingredients
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger ¹ / ₈ teaspoon ground cloves A few gratings of fresh nutmeg 1/2 cup buttermilk 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 pound rhubarb , trimmed 3/4 cup granulated sugar Finely grated zest from half a lemon 4 tablespoons unsalted butter , cold is fine Two pinches of salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter , softened ² / ₃ cup light or dark brown sugar 1 cup granulated sugar 2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
Recipe
Heat oven to 350 degrees F .
The topping: In a 10-inch ovenproof skillet, trim your rhubarb to lengths that will fit across the bottom in one direction. Remove rhubarb and cut each stalk lengthwise into thin (about 1-inch thick) ribbons. If your rhubarb is already quite thin, halve each piece lengthwise. Sprinkle sugar into skillet and add lemon zest; use your fingers to mix the zest into the sugar. Add butter and salt and heat skillet over medium until butter has melted, stirring frequently. Add rhubarb and cook, turning gently, for 3 to 4 minutes , until it has softened slightly and released some of its liquid. Remove from heat and set skillet aside. The cake: In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until combined, then vanilla. Sprinkle mixture with baking powder, salt, and all the spices and beat well to thoroughly mix them in. Add buttermilk; mixture will have a curdled texture but it will even out. Scrape down the bowl and add flour; beat only until it disappears. Dollop cake batter over rhubarb mixture in small spoonfuls and smooth top as best as you can. Bake cake for about 35 minutes , until a toothpick inserted deep into the cake (but not the topping underneath) comes out batter-free. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool for 5 minutes , then run a knife around the edges to loosen. Place a larger plate upside down over the skillet and use two potholdered hands to flip cake out onto it.
Serve warm or at room temperature. Cake keeps for a couple days at room temperature and up to a week in the fridge, or so I hear.
Made with FlippingBook Annual report