These mysterious “pink stems” appearing in season at all English stores have long shouted to me from their shelves: “Buy and cook us.” When you were born in Odessa, where fruits and berries fell on your head, cooking “pink stems” seems strange. My grandmother had a word reflecting the number of fruits and berries which fell on the head of our family every summer. “Recycle”, we had such a verb that meant universal family mobilization and employment during the fruit and berry season. But in countries with a cooler climate, the situation looks different, and I’m mastering new and unfamiliar products. I invite you to fall in love with the spicy sourness of rhubarb and its bright colour that will decorate any dessert.
These mysterious “pink stems” appearing in season at all English stores have long shouted to me from their shelves: “Buy and cook us.” When you were born in Odessa, where fruits and berries fell on your head, cooking “pink stems” seems strange. My grandmother had a word reflecting the number of fruits and berries which fell on the head of our family every summer. “Recycle”, we had such a verb that meant universal family mobilization and employment during the fruit and berry season. But in countries with a cooler climate, the situation looks different, and I’m mastering new and unfamiliar products. I invite you to fall in love with the spicy sourness of rhubarb and its bright colour that will decorate any dessert.- Prep time: 30 minutes
- Cook time: 1 hour
- Serves: 12
- Difficulty: medium
- Course: pastry
- Cookware: rectangular baking dish 20×30 cm, silicone spatula, KitchenAid stand mixer
- Cuisine: British
Ingredients
- 400 g rhubarb
- 200 g sugar, plus 1 tbsp for sprinkling
- 250 g soft butter, plus extra for greasing
- 3 eggs
- 175 g flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 100 g ground almonds
- 500 ml vanilla custard
- 12 white sugar cubes, crushed
Cooking method
Step 1
Heat the oven to 230°C. Line the baking dish with parchment paper. Cut rhubarb into pieces about 2cm long. Put rhubarb on a baking sheet, sprinkle with 1 tbsp of sugar, put in the oven. Cook until sugar dissolves, and rhubarb caramelizes slightly. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
Step 2
Reduce the temperature in the oven to 180°C. Grease the baking dish with butter and cover the bottom with parchment paper. In a bowl mix sugar, eggs, flour, butter, baking powder, almonds, 100ml of custard. Bring the mass to an even consistency with a mixer. Put the dough in the baking dish.
Step 3
Use reverse side of a teaspoon to make small holes in the dough. Put custard in each hole. Distribute the rhubarb evenly on top of the whole cake. Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes. The cake should become tight to the touch and the custard in the holes will remain soft. Remove the cake from the oven. Sprinkle the cake with crushed sugar without removing it from the baking dish, and allow it to cool completely.
My tips and tricks:
You can buy ready-made custard in the store, cook after your own recipe, or use my cream for eclairs recipe. Just do not forget to halve all the ingredients in the list of products and in the description: half of the cream will be enough for our cake.
- 400 g rhubarb
- 200 g sugar, plus 1 tbsp for sprinkling
- 250 g soft butter, plus extra for greasing
- 3 eggs
- 175 g flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 100 g ground almonds
- 500 ml vanilla custard
- 12 white sugar cubes, crushed
- Heat the oven to 230°C. Line the baking dish with parchment paper. Cut rhubarb into pieces about 2cm long. Put rhubarb on a baking sheet, sprinkle with 1 tbsp of sugar, put in the oven. Cook until sugar dissolves, and rhubarb caramelizes slightly. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
- Reduce the temperature in the oven to 180°C. Grease the baking dish with butter and cover the bottom with parchment paper. In a bowl mix sugar, eggs, flour, butter, baking powder, almonds, 100ml of custard. Bring the mass to an even consistency with a mixer. Put the dough in the baking dish.
- Use reverse side of a teaspoon to make small holes in the dough. Put custard in each hole. Distribute the rhubarb evenly on top of the whole cake. Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes. The cake should become tight to the touch and the custard in the holes will remain soft. Remove the cake from the oven. Sprinkle the cake with crushed sugar without removing it from the baking dish, and allow it to cool completely.