Project “Rhubarb”

For some reason it is pretty hard to get rhubarb in Croatia. I have been searching for it for the past few springs, and always without a success. And so, one sunny day, my husband and I sat in the car, and decided to make a one day trip to Austria. We’ll take a ride, go for a walk, shop a little maybe, eat something…and so on our way to Leibnitz, just before we entered the city, this comes out in front of us

Wait! Stop the car! We bought 2 pounds of rhubarb, a rhubarb juice, and moved on.

I have been thinking hard what to do with all that rhubarb, and I ended up with few yummy things, and this was one of them.

This is a very basic cake, similar to sponge cake, but made lighter and healthier. It will go really nice with a cold tea or lemonade, or even with a glass of milk for breakfast. I combined the rhubarb with apricots and raspberries, but if you do not have rhubarb at hand, use some other fruit. However, I suggest apricots and some berries, because they match really nice with almonds. Whatever you decide, you cannot go wrong – just stick to the quantities written down in the recipe. Enjoy!

LIGHT SPONGE CAKE WITH RHUBARB, APRICOTS AND RASPBERRIES

Prep time: 15 min > Baking time: 30 min >> Total time: 45 min

-serves 6-8-

Ingredients:

3/4 cup (100 g) unbleached flour or all-purpose baking flour

3/4 cup (100 g) grinded almonds or almond meal

2 teaspoons baking powder

pinch of salt

60 g butter, melted

a bit less than 1/2 cup (100 ml) milk (of your choice, I used cow’s milk)

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

80 g honey (about 4 tablespoons) – since I always put really little amounts of sugar, maybe you would like it better with 100g. Instead of honey, use maple syrup, agave or any other sweetener you prefer.

200 g rhubarb

200 g apricots

100 g raspberries

* if you do not have any of these fruits, use another summer fruit or berries. Try a combination of raspberries and blueberries, or blackberries. However, I prefer apricots, because their sweetness perfectly matches the taste of almonds and vanilla from the cake. Whichever fruit you choose, hold to the measures from the recipe.

Instructions:

1. Melt the butter and leave it to cool slightly.

2. Mix flour, almonds, baking powder and salt

3. In another bowl, beat the butter with honey and eggs, mixing each for at least 30 sec. Add the vanilla extract, and milk in the end.

4. Add the dry mixture (ad 2) into the wet batter. It will still be relatively liquid, but do not worry, it will make a really soft and light cake.

4. Preheat the oven to 375 Fahrenheit (180 Celsius degrees).

5. Wash your fruits. You do not have to peel rhubarb, just cut the edges and cut it into 2-3 inch long pieces. Wash apricots, remove the pits and make halves. Wash the raspberries through and try on the kitchen towel.

6. Butter your baking dish, then cover with flour, removing the excess flour (or simply use parchment paper). Pour in the batter and start placing the fruit on top. It will fall in the batter slightly, but after baking it will still be visible.

8. Bake on 375 F for about 30 min, until it only starts to become golden (do not over-bake). Leave it to cool. If you wish, you can serve it with some powdered sugar on top.