CAKE IN THE HOUSE
Make the most of forced rhubarb and winter citrus with this deliciously sweet and fantastically fruity pink cake.
RHUBARB UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE WITH BLOOD ORANGE AND CARDAMOM CURD Makes 1 cake For the curd:
3-4 blood oranges, zest and juice 80g caster sugar
1 large egg + 2 egg yolks, beaten 80g cold butter, cut into small cubes 1 tsp cornflour
6 cardamom pods, crushed
For the cake:
250g butter, softened
1 tbsp soft brown sugar
500g rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 5cm lengths
200g caster sugar
3 large eggs, beaten
240g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp full-fat greek yogurt 1 tbsp icing sugar
1 To make the curd, put the orange juice (approx. 150ml), sugar, eggs, butter, cornflour and cardamom into a bainmarie over simmering water and whisk to combine. Stir continuously to thicken – it will take 10-12 mins from the point the butter melts. When the curd coats the back of a spoon, turn off the heat.
2 Lift out the cardamom pods (it’s fine to leave the seeds), transfer to a cool bowl and stir in the orange zest. Set aside to cool and thicken.
Preheat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/ Gas 4. Grease a 22cm springform cake tin and line its base with baking paper.
4 Gently melt 10g of the butter in a pan and use a pastry brush to spread over the papered base. Scatter over the soft brown sugar and arrange the rhubarb pieces tightly together on top.
5 Mix the rest of butter and the caster sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, then fold in the flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt. Add the yogurt and mix just enough to combine. 6 Spoon a third of the batter onto the rhubarb and spread the cold curd over that. Dot the rest of the batter on top and spread using the back of a spoon. 7 Bake for 50 mins to 1 hr. Cool the cake in its tin for 15 mins before gently turning out onto a wire rack and leaving to cool – rhubarb side up!
Taken from The Kew Gardens Cookbook: A Celebration of Plants in the Kitchen
(Kew Publishing). Edited by Jenny Linford. Recipe by Angela Clutton.
Photography by Hugh Johnson