Recipe: Rhubarb Cake with Orange Muscavado Caramel

TGtB's resident foodie, Mel Hutchfield whips us up a delicious Spring time treat!

Outdoor rhubarb has just come into season and has a tangier, fuller flavour than the indoor variety available earlier in the year.

This gives a great balance to the sweetness of the muscavado caramel in this cake.

Ingredients:

For the topping

• 400g rhubarb, chopped into 2cm pieces
• 100g dark muscavado sugar
• Juice of 1 orange

For the cake

• 200g unsalted butter
• 120g golden caster sugar
• 80g light muscavado sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla essence
• 200g ground almonds
• ¼ tsp salt
• 80g plain flour
• Zest of the orange
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tbsp ground ginger

How to make it:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 170°C/Gas mark 3.
2. Lightly grease a 20cm round cake tin and line its bottom and sides with greaseproof paper.
3. Put the sugar and orange juice in a saucepan. Heat it gently over a hob until the sugar is dissolved. Then turn the temperature up and allow to bubble for about 10mins until the syrup thickens. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. 
4. Pour the caramel into the bottom of the cake tin and place the rhubarb pieces on top, making sure they’re evenly spread. 
5. Cream the butter and sugar with a hand whisk or mixer until pale and fluffy, then gradually add the eggs and vanilla while continuing to mix.
6. Add the ground almonds and briefly mix again.
7. Add the flour, salt, spice and orange zest and give it a final mix, so that everything is incorporated and smooth.
8. Gently spoon the batter over the rhubarb. Even it out carefully with a palette knife or back of a spoon, making sure that no rhubarb is showing.
9. Bake for 35-45 minutes, then remove from the oven.
10. Leave to cool slightly for 5mins. Then put a plate on top of the tin and turn it over quickly. Remove the tin and the greaseproof paper.
11. Serve warm with custard or ice-cream.