Rhubarb Buttermilk Cake with Ginger Streusel

I have been meaning to make Karinna @ The Cheesy Biscuit’s Bramley Apple, Rhubarb and Marzipan Cake for some time now. I finally got my hands on some gloriously red stalks of rhubarb and settled in to make her cake when I realised that I didn’t have any marzipan. A fairly important component of this delicious sounding cake as the title will attest. So I put the rhubarb in the fridge  made a note to get some the next day. Except that neither my local Sainsbury’s nor the Aladdin’s cave of a Mediterranean grocery shop had any.  I needed to get to a larger store but I am so out of the habit now that it just didn’t happen. I turned to one of my favourite sites, Food52, and had a little rummage around and found a recipe for Rhubarb Buckle and Ginger Crumb. I had everything that was needed to make it so ploughed on. I will make Karinna’s cake as soon as I can lay my hands on some marzipan and more rhubarb!

Ginger and rhubarb is a marriage made in heaven – last year I made the most delicious ginger ice-cream which I served with roasted rhubarb and orange zest but that is a recipe for another day. For this cake, I’ve adapted it a little by using Demerara sugar and almonds in the topping. I found that the rhubarb settled in the bottom half of the cake making it very moist but this was a nice contrast to the very cakey top half. The streusel didn’t stay on top either but tasted really gorgeous in the cake. This is a nice full batter that rises beautifully so make sure that you use a high sided tin rather than a shallow sandwich tin other wise you will have a cake lava situation on your oven floor! I used a 9 inch springform tin.

I picked up this pretty tablecloth in a French market in Aix-en-Provence a few years ago. It is the perfect backdrop for afternoon tea!

A printable recipe follows the photo tutorial so scroll down to print.

 

 

• Servings: 8 - 10 slices
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

Adapted from Food52 – Rhubarb Buckle with Ginger Crumb

INGREDIENTS

For the Streusel

• 75 g Demerara sugar
• 30 g flour
• 70 g finely chopped crystallised ginger (not the ones in syrup)
• 30 g sliced almonds
• 40 g melted butter

For the cake

• 220g flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 ½ tsp ground ginger
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 85 g very soft butter
• 200 g caster sugar
• 2 eggs at room temperature
• 180 ml buttermilk at room temperature (or add 1 tsp lemon juice or vinegar to milk and let it thicken – 10 minutes or so)
• 500 rhubarb, sliced finely

INSTRUCTIONS

For the Streusel

1. Combine the sugar, flour, ginger and almonds and rub together until the ginger is both separated and coated with the flour.
2. Stir in the melted butter and place in the fridge.

For the cake

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C/ 350 F. Butter the base and sides of a 9 inch cake tin with high sides – I used a springform which didn’t leak.
2. Place the flour, ginger, baking powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl and whisk to combine and aerate.
3. In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light an fluffy – this should take about 3 or 4 minutes.
4. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
5. Add a third of the flour mixture, then half the buttermilk, beating well. Add another third of the flour, then the rest of the buttermilk, finishing with the flour. Beat well after each addition.
6. Fold in the sliced rhubarb and scrape into the prepared tin.
7. Crumble the streusel all over the top of the cake and bake for 4o-50 minutes using a toothpick to test that the cake is done. You may even need to go to 60 minutes depending on your oven.
8. Leave to cool in the pan. It tastes better the next day and is wonderful with a cuppa!

© Selma Jeevanjee and Selma’s Table, 2013, 2014. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material, including photographs without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Selma Jeevanjee and Selma’s Table with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.