Rhubard and Apple Crumble Cake

I just love rhubarb, and when I acquired four lovely home grown pieces from my Mum I knew I needed to try something new. Something slightly grander than the humble crumble.

And then I remembered ...


When I treat myself to a cake from the bakery I nearly always go for a rhubarb and cherry crumble cake.

I just love the tartness of the fruit in the cakey mixture, all topped with crumbly crumble. Oh just delicious.

So I found a recipe for a rhubarb crumble cake here and have adapted it somewhat. The results were simply divine.

You will need

For the Cake Batter:3 oz butter
3 oz caster sugar
2 eggs (thank you Cath and Jill)
1 tsp vanilla essence
3 oz self-raising flour
1/4 tsp salt
2-3 Tbs milk

For the Fruit Filling:
1lb rhubarb
2 apples
1/2 Tbs ground ginger
1/2 Tbs ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp granulated sugar

For the topping:
2 oz butter

3 oz plain flour

1 oz caster sugar

Put the oven on to warm up (I usually do this half way through to save energy) to GM5/190’C/375’F.

Grease and line a square cake tin.

Mix the butter and sugar together until it is nice and creamy.

The add the eggs (free range and hot out the chicken of course) and vanilla essence.

The gently add the flour and salt. A folding action is best and keeps the batter nice a creamy and light.

The batter will be quite stiff and you will need to add a little milk (I added 2 splashes) to make it run nicely off your spoon (see picture). Remember add a little, you can always add more.

Now for the best part! Chop up the delightful pink and green rhubarb into 1’’ chunks.

Then peel your apples (I will give my peelings to the chickens for helping me source the eggs) and chop them up into slices.

Then add the granulated sugar, the cinnamon and ginger. Smell ..... oooooooooo heaven.

Pour the cake base into the tin, and then put all your lovely fruit into it. Doesn't it look good enough to eat?? Well don't just yet! Your going to have to wait another hour or two!

To make the crumble topping (trust me this makes it oh so special!)rub the butter into the flour, remove your rings first because it can get a little sticky,. The stir in the caster sugar. Be careful to keep the crumble consistency. 

Sprinkle the crumble topping evenly over the rhubarb, pressing down lightly so the crumble sticks to the cake and doesn't just fall off when you cut it.

Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes until the cake feels firm on top.

And hey presto :) It really is a lovely tasting bit of bakery. Trust me. I've just sent my lovely friend home (see next post) with two pieces. And can't wait for C to try some with some warm custard tonight. You will get 8 nice size pieces from this recipe.

The top is so sweet and crumbly, and in between is caramelised rhubarb, the type that gets a little bit stuck between your teeth. The bottom half is soft, creamy cake with moist, tangy rhubarb.

Go on - you've got to try it!

x