Lemon Rhubarb Cake (Quick How-To Videos)
I had to take Sundae to the vet today. Nothing serious (we hope), she just has a bladder infection, but my goodness ever since we moved up here to Utah, it seems like this poor pup gets bladder infections. This is her third one. Luckily we FINALLY found a kind, smart and understanding vet that doesn't charge up the bottom and I think she's gonna help us kick this silly thing.Speaking of bottoms, I totally held Myles' butt up to my face while the vet was talking to me to see if he had pooped. I didn't really realize what I had done until after I'd done it. Story of my life - me acting THEN thinking, but the vet smiled at me and kept talking as though I'd done nothing weird.I also realized that I am totally that mom that I said I'd never be.... which is the slightly gross mom.Example: I got a piece of cake with a new friend today at my new favorite bakery (Tulie) and I kept feeding pinches of my cake to Myles. Then when he'd spit out the pinches or not quite finish the bites, I'd just discretely wipe them off his face and eat them. Again, one of those instances where I didn't really realize what I was doing until I'd already done it. Also, see aforementioned example of butt smelling.Are you still with me? Or are you officially grossed out?Let's talk about tastier bottoms now. Like the bottom of this cake with its cleverly cut rhubarb. (see videos below) You sprinkle sugar at the bottom of the pan right before the rhubarb goes in and this little extra sugar balances out the tartness of the rhubarb - and since the sponge of the cake itself is tang-tastically lemony - you need just a tiny bit of that sugar at the bottom to make the party dance.Also. Cream. Whipped cream definitely makes me dance. Please note that I only artistically placed the whipped cream for the picture's sake. Really, I ate a slice of this completely lathered in cream. #itwasamazingThis is a beautifully, easy cake that keeps well in the fridge for a week and makes an excellent on the fly breakfast.Love you friends. xo
Gluten-Free Lemon Rhubarb Cake
adapted from Elisabeth Prueitt's
I lose it when a gluten free recipe is so good you don’t even know it’s gluten free. Behold this cake. Fully adapted from the master pastry chef herself, Elisabeth Prueitt of Tartine Bakery.
(Whispers, I love you Elisabeth).
This is one to keep forever my friends. AND. You don’t need to make it with rhubarb if you’re not into it or scared of it or whatever. The rhubarb adds a wonderful zip to the already tangy crumb but feel free to make this recipe sans rhubarb and it will still be the best lemony gluten free cake you’ve ever had. I said it.
5 stalks rhubarb
⅔ cup / 130g sugar (plus a scant ¼ cup / 50g sugar for sprinkling at the bottom of the pan)
4 large eggs (room temperature, preferably pasture-raised)
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup / 110g unsalted butter (at a very soft room temperature)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon coconut flour
¼ cup / 60ml water (room temperature)
zest of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons lemon juice
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups / 360g almond flour ((I used 1 cup / 120g blanched almond flour and 2 cups / 240g almond meal))
¼ cup / 24g brown rice flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Preheat the oven to 350° F / 180° C and grease a 10 in / 25cm cake pan with softened butter and line the bottom with parchment paper.
Sprinkle a scant ¼ cup / 50g of sugar at the bottom of the pan and lay your cut and trimmed rhubarb to fit into the pan. *See videos here and below for a reference.
With an electric mixer, using the whisk attachment, beat together eggs, sugar and salt for 2-5 minutes until the mixture gets really light and fluffy and triples in size. You'll know its ready when you lift the whisk and satiny ribbons fall and leave a slight impression in the batter.
In a large cereal size bowl, using a spoon, smash together the really soft butter and olive oil until incorporated.
In a small bowl, mix the coconut flour and water together. Let it sit for just a sec until the coconut flour absorbs the water and gets thick, then add this to the butter + olive oil mixture.
Add lemon zest + juice + vanilla into butter mixture.
Whisk together almond + rice flour + baking powder in a bowl and then gently fold these dry ingredients into the fluffy egg + sugar mixture. This is the slightly tricky bit: Beat in only ¼ of the butter mixture. Then gently fold in the rest of the butter mixture with a spatula.
Pour batter into prepared cake pan smoothing it evenly over the cut rhubarb.
Bake until edges and top are a golden brown, about 30 minutes. If you stick a toothpick in it, some crumbs will stick to it, but the batter will not be wet at all. Let cake cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then flip it out onto a plate and let it cool for another 15 minutes or so before serving. Serve with lots fresh whipped cream.
Cake keeps for a week wrapped in the fridge if it lasts that long. :)
You know how a huge pumpkin is really cool but then when that pumpkin gets turned into a golden carriage to take you to the ball it’s even cooler? That’s what whipped cream does to this cake.
It's really imperative that all of your ingredients are room temperature here. AND. Don't be putt off by this cake because of the ingredient list. Most are ingredients you probably have on hand anyway with maybe the exception of the flours. Good news is, if you have to purchase these flours in order to make the cake, they can last you a long time in the freezer. But trust me, you'll probably go through them fast because you're gonna want to make this cake a lot - it's that good and easy.
WHY IS THIS GOOD FOR ME?
rhubarb - is actually a vegetable, even though I treat it like a fruit!Rhubarb contains vitamin K, calcium and some vitamin C (but not a ton). Vitamin K has actually been known to protect against Alzheimers and used as a tool to help our blood clot (therefore it may help reduce your risk of having a stroke). Look for deep red stalks as they contain more beta-carotene, which is code for higher antioxidants. ;)
