Lisa over at Spicy Ice Cream posted a recipe for a rhubarb and almond crumb cake, which was perfect for me as the rhubarb plant outside had several stalks (just not enough for a proper rhubarb crumble) just screaming to be used in something sticky and sweet. To reconcile my pangs for rhubarb with the fact that I had a byo dessert evening that night, I whipped this up, and surprisingly, it’s not harder than any other basic cake recipe, but it has a lovely almondy nutty flavour and doesn’t require any icing but still looks pretty (important for people like me who aren’t avid icing makers). It’s relatively dense and moist, but not so much so that you can’t quite finish your slice. Non-pretentious, easy, and a little different. Just my kind of cake! It also makes great muffins, just adjust the cooking time to 20-30mins.

Rhubarb Almond Cake
makes one 8″ cake

125g butter, softened
1c raw sugar + 1/2 c extra for topping and syrup
3 eggs
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)
3/4 c ground almonds/almond flour/almond meal
1/2 c plain natural unsweetened yoghurt (greek style is best)*
1/4 c water*
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 c rhubarb, cut into 2cm pieces
1/2 c sliced almonds

* or use 3/4c milk instead

There are two options with your rhubarb (I did two little muffins to test this out):
1. You like your rhubarb sweet: before starting, put rhubarb in a small saucepan with about 1/2c water and 1/2c raw sugar and set to boil on low heat for about 20 minutes (you can make the cake during this time). Your rhubarb won’t be reddish in the final product.
2. You like your rhubarb sour: put straight into the cake before baking. Your rhubarb will be reddish in the final product.

Preheat your oven to 160°C, with rack in center. Line the bottom of an 8″ springform cake tin.

Beat butter and sugar until creamy in consistency. Beat in eggs one at a time, incorporating well after adding each. Sift in flour and baking powder, and alternate with mixing in yoghurt, water, vanilla and ground almonds to the sugar/butter/egg mix, starting and ending with adding the flour mixture. Fold through until just incorporated – do not continue mixing once incorporated. Spoon micture into cake tin, then scatter over rhubarb and swirl in lightly. Scatter over sugar and sliced almonds. Pop in the oven and let bake for about one hour, until a skewer comes out clean and the top is golden (don’t let it get properly brown unless inside is uncooked).
Cool for ten minutes before removing from tin. Serve with proper vanilla ice cream. Best served warm or just cooled.

Garnished with feijoa flowers in above picture.