Last weekend, my moaning and whining about my rhubarb-free existence finally paid off and I was lucky enough to received some free rhubarb. I couldn't wait to dig in (pardon the pun), so I immediately turned to my new Nigel Slater book, Tender Vol. II, for his take on the sour stuff. The Brits seem to love rhubarb almost as much as I do, and use it in both savoury and sweet dishes. Of course, theirs sprouts up in February, which would be a welcome sight in any garden.
Anyway, this recipe uses cornmeal, or polenta, which gives the cake a crunchy texture that's rather nice.
I used the wrong sized tin for this, so it came out more tart like than cakey, but it's still good. It keeps well several days after baking, and manages to retain its tenderness too.
Get chopping!
Chop up 500g of rhubarb and place in a baking dish. Sprinkle with some sugar and a splash of water.
While that's baking, you get started on the crust, which comes together quite easily in a food processor. Press into a pan that's actually 20cm and you'll have better results than I did.
When the rhubarb's done cooking, you let it drain and cool for a bit in a colander, then spread it out over the crust.
And top it off with the leftover third of the crust and a sprinkling of turbinado sugar.
The end result looks like this. Slighty more cobbler looking than cake, but again, this would likely be rectified in a smaller pan. Though a bit flat-ish, the cake was remarkably moist.
Serve it with the reserved juices, which thicken once refrigerated. I'll definitely be making this one again, and so should you.
Rhubarb cinnamon polenta cake
From Nigel Slater's Tender Vol. II
Ingredients
For the filling:
500g rhubarb
50g golden caster sugar
4 tbsp water
For the crust:
125g coarse polenta *Nigel explicitly states that you're not to use the fine, sand-like cornmeal, but a coarser variety. I've never seem more than one grind for sale in Canada, so I used some pretty fine stuff and it wasn't a problem.
200g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
a pinch of ground cinnamon
150g golden caster sugar
grated zest of a small orange
150g butter
1 large egg
2-4 tbsp milk
1 tbsp light muscovado sugar
Method
Preheat oven to 180C/gas mark 4.
1. Cut each rhubarb stem into two or three pieces and put them in a baking dish
2. Scatter over the sugar and water, and bake for 30-40 minutes until the rhubarb is soft but still retains its shape
3. Put the polenta, flour, baking powder, cinnamon and caster sugar in the bowl of a food processor. Add the grated zest and the butter, cut into smallish pieces, then blitz for a few seconds till you have something that resembles breadcrumbs
4. Beat egg and milk in a small bowl and add to the crumb mixture. Blitz until just combined
5. Press about two-thirds of the mixture into the cake tin, pushing it a couple of centimeters up the sides with a floured spoon
6. Place the rhubarb on top, leaving a small rim around the edge uncovered and cover with the remaining batter
7. Scatter over the light muscovado sugar
8. Bake on the hot baking sheet for 45 minutes
9. Leave to cool before removing from tin and serve with the juice left over from the rhubarb
For the filling:
500g rhubarb
50g golden caster sugar
4 tbsp water
For the crust:
125g coarse polenta *Nigel explicitly states that you're not to use the fine, sand-like cornmeal, but a coarser variety. I've never seem more than one grind for sale in Canada, so I used some pretty fine stuff and it wasn't a problem.
200g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
a pinch of ground cinnamon
150g golden caster sugar
grated zest of a small orange
150g butter
1 large egg
2-4 tbsp milk
1 tbsp light muscovado sugar
Method
Preheat oven to 180C/gas mark 4.
1. Cut each rhubarb stem into two or three pieces and put them in a baking dish
2. Scatter over the sugar and water, and bake for 30-40 minutes until the rhubarb is soft but still retains its shape
3. Put the polenta, flour, baking powder, cinnamon and caster sugar in the bowl of a food processor. Add the grated zest and the butter, cut into smallish pieces, then blitz for a few seconds till you have something that resembles breadcrumbs
4. Beat egg and milk in a small bowl and add to the crumb mixture. Blitz until just combined
5. Press about two-thirds of the mixture into the cake tin, pushing it a couple of centimeters up the sides with a floured spoon
6. Place the rhubarb on top, leaving a small rim around the edge uncovered and cover with the remaining batter
7. Scatter over the light muscovado sugar
8. Bake on the hot baking sheet for 45 minutes
9. Leave to cool before removing from tin and serve with the juice left over from the rhubarb
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