We had a bumper crop of rhubarb this year and I had about a half kilo of rhubarb to use.
I had already made a compote and it was lovely, but I wanted something more. I was inspired by a BBC recipe and I modified it, resulting in this dense, delicious and substantial cake. Recipe after the photo. Serves 10.
Ingredients
- 500g rhubarb, cut in 4-5cm lengths, roasted and drained
- 250g coconut oil
- 150g vanilla pudding (Alpro or some other kind), or custard
- 200g sugar
- 250g self-raising flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 Tablespoons ground flaxseeds
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 150g apple sauce
Method
Roasting the rhubarb
Preheat oven to 200C. In a roasting dish, mix the rhubarb, one teaspoon vanilla extract and 50g of sugar. Roast for 15 minutes. Then remove from the oven and lower the temperature to 170C.
Place the roasted rhubarb in a sieve/colander and drain.
The liquid won’t be used in this recipe, but it’s delicious, so don’t discard it. Mix it with vegan yoghurt, pour it over pancakes or slurp it up when no one is watching.
Making the batter
While you are waiting for the rhubarb to roast, mix the ground flaxseeds with 6 Tablespoons of warm water and set aside for 15 minutes.
In a large mixing bowl, whip together the coconut oil, the remaining teaspoon of vanilla extract and the remaining 150g sugar. This will take some time because coconut oil tends to be more solid than margarine (depending on the temperature in your kitchen), so you have to work it well.
Once this is well combined, mix in the baking powder, 100g of the pudding and the flour. Beat until the mixture is light and fluffy. Then, fold in the ground flaxseeds and the apple sauce.
Baking the cake
Line a baking dish (either square or rectangular (28x21cm approximately) or whatever you have) with parchment paper. Pour in approximately half the batter (or one third, depending on the size of your baking dish) and distribute half (or one third) of the rhubarb evenly on the batter. Repeat this until you have no more batter or rhubarb, but make sure your last layer is batter. Sprinkle the remaining pudding on the top of the final layer of batter.
Bake in the oven (at 170C) for 45 minutes, then cover with foil and bake for an additional 30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Serve warm if you wish or let it cool and solidify completely. We’ve kept ours in the refrigerator and it has been excellent.
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