It’s Spring, so bring on the Rhubarb!!
Just the other day I was thinking how it would be cool to add rhubarb chunks to my carrot cake recipe. I’ve been picking up forced (green house) rhubarb from my favourite organic grocer every week for little while now. I won’t lie, this early rhubarb is a bright happy pink, and freezes wonderfully. The rhubarb that shows up later in the season is thicker, more green, and less sweet. And while it may technically be a vegetable, we all want to make desserts with it, so we all call it a fruit! And then low and behold, Aimee over at Simple Bites had the very same idea! She posted a lovely carrot cake, studded with rhubarb, along with a wonderful ribbon of cinnamon brown sugar running through it. I am so happy to share her recipe, here is the link.
So I figured, since Aimee had already done the leg work, why should I?! Yes, the texture of her cake is very different from mine, but that’s fine, it’s a different option for you guys! Think of this as more of a coffee cake, or a morning breakfast cake. It is an easy to whip up cake, very straightforward recipe and bakes up easily. Of course it’s moist and tender, but the texture is a bit more crumbly than the traditionally dense nature of my carrot cake. What I also like about this cake, is that while it would taste fabulous all on its own, without the icing, the icing takes it to the next level. This isn’t a serious, uber fancy cake, but the icing definitely adds a level of festivity.
I love adding mascarpone to whipping cream, both for stability and flavour. So naturally I was totally attracted to the icing that Aimee offers with the cake.
What Changes Did I Make?
Here are the small adjustments I made to the cake. Aimee’s recipe calls for cake flour. I replaced the cake flour with all purpose cup for cup gluten free flour from Thomas Keller. Cake flour is lighter and less stable than all purpose, since some of the flour and therefore gluten making properties have been replaced with cornstarch. Most of us probably don’t have cake flour sitting around, so I am adding a link to Sally’s Baking Addition, where she details a great way to make the substitutions to create your own cake flour with what you have in your pantry. The gluten free flour I used already has cornstarch in it, so I didn’t worry about adding more.
I added some cardamom, just because I like the extra oomph of citrusy flavour that the cardamom brings out in the carrot and rhubarb. I grated the carrots on the small holes of my grater, I find you get more carrot flavour this way since the carrots shreds aren’t as isolated.
I also added icing sugar to the whipped cream. Even though the mascarpone cheese is there and adds stability, I always use icing sugar with whipped cream since the icing sugar contains cornstarch. This automatically stabilizes the whipped cream, meaning that it will hold up instead of sinking after a day or two if the cake hasn’t been gobbled up.
Rhubarb Curls
Don’t you just love the fun and happy nature of these curly little candied ribbons? You will have just as much fun making them, as you will have decorating and snacking on them.
To make these curls, you will need a vegetable peeler or good sharp knife. I always cut the stalk of rhubarb in half lengthwise, to give it stability to rest on one side, while I run the peeler over the top side. Start with a trimmed end, grab the absolute edge of the tip of the rhubarb and press down firmly as you run the peeler down the stalk. Doing it this way will ensure that your strips won’t be too thin and fall apart. You need some depth of these initial ribbons, since as they bake and lose the moisture in them, they will become thinner and thinner. Too thin and they will disintegrate before they are properly baked and dried out.
After a quick dip in a simple syrup (equal parts water and sugar melted in a small pot on the stove) lay them out flat on a parchment lined baking sheet. They should not be touching, or they will end up sticking together. After drying out in a low heated oven, they are ready to be peeled off the parchment and wrapped around chopsticks or thin wooden handles etc. Let them cool in this position and then gently loosen and slide off. Let them cool completely on a lined plate. They can be stored in a sealed container and used to decorate or finish all sorts of desserts. Always make more than you think you’ll need. This way if any don’t make it out of the oven intact, or if you want to snack on some of the curls, you will still have enough.
Enjoy this lovely cake, It is a perfect way to welcome Spring. Thanks so much Aimee for your lovely cake. It’s completely tasty- Jim loves it!
Ps, if you would like my well-loved Carrot Cake recipe, here it is, perfect for springtime! Carrot Cake for Two. Other great options are my Parsnip Cake with Vanilla Frosting, Heady Spicy Honey Cake, Cardamom Carrot Cake with Allspice Cream Cheese Icing
Love Jen
Rhubarb Carrot Coffee Cake
Ingredients
Rhubarb Carrot Coffee Cake
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar divided
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups cake flour see Notes
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 cup grated carrots using the small holes of your box graterr loosely packed (105 grams)
- 1 1/4 cups chopped fresh Rhubarb 1/2 -inch pieces (185 grams)
- 1 cup buttermilk room temperature
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Mascarpone Whipped Cream
- 1 cup mascarpone room temperature
- 1 cup heavy cream 35% or higher
- 1/4 cup icing or powdered sugar
- 1/2 vanilla bean scraped or 1 tsp pure vanilla
Rhubarb Curls, can be made in advance
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup water
- 2 to 3 stalks of rhubarb depending on their size and how many curls you want
Instructions
Cake
-
Butter a 9-inch round springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. I do this by trapping the parchment between the bottom and the sides of the pan, it makes for easy movement later on. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
-
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter, white sugar and 1/4 cup brown sugar. Beat at medium speed until light and creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice during the mixing.
-
Crack in the egg and add the vanilla. Beat again until very well combined. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl.
-
Sift the flour and baking soda into a separate bowl. Whisk in the salt and nutmeg. Measure out 2 tablespoons of this flour mixture and toss with the rhubarb and carrots in another bowl.
-
With the mixer on Low, add the dry ingredients to the creamed butter in three parts, alternating the buttermilk with the flour, finishing with the flour. Mix well with each addition.
-
Add the rhubarb & carrots to the cake batter and gently stir to combine. Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan and smooth the top.
-
Mix together the remaining 1/4 cup of brown sugar with the cinnamon. Sprinkle over the cake batter. Run a butter knife through the cake, making a few figure eights to swirl the cinnamon into the batter.
-
Place the cake on a middle rack in the centre of the oven and bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. About 1 hour or 1 hour and 10 minutes. It will get quite dark on the top.
-
Cool the cake for 10 minutes on a wire rack, then loosen around the edges and remove the ring. When cool, frost generously with Whipped Mascarpone Frosting (recipe below), then slice and serve.
Mascarpone Whipped Cream
-
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk, combine all of the ingredients.
-
Whip on high until the cream holds soft peak. Do not walk away; the cream whips very fast! Do not over mix as the frosting may become grainy.
-
Use immediately for frosting Rhubarb Carrot Cake. Decorate with the Rhubarb Curls
Rhubarb Curls, can be made in advance
-
Combine the sugar and water in a small pot. Warm over medium heat until the sugar has completely dissolved. Set aside to cool. Preheat oven to 200F
-
Wash and trim the rhubarb, cut in half cross wise and then lengthwise. This will help stabilize the rhubarb as you run the peeler over them. Firmly press down with a vegetable peeler starting at a cut edge and grabbing that edge in the blade. Peel firmly into long, even strips. Put the cooled sugar syrup in a small bowl and submerge the rhubarb strips one by one and then transferring them to a parchment lined baking sheet.
-
Arrange the rhubarb strips in a single layer, not touching, smoothing them so they lie flat.
-
Bake until the strips are dried out and fairly crisp – they should be dry and not really tacky to the touch. If they are overcooked, they will crack and break when you try to curl them. Start checking after 35 minutes, depending on your oven. Some slices will be ready before the others, depending on the thickness of the slice and how evenly your oven heats.
-
After you have removed them from the oven work quickly, otherwise they will set. Curl round various implements – wooden spoons, chopsticks, straws (you need quite a lot) and leave to set for 10 minutes. Make sure you choose implements that don't have an end that is larger than the curls, or else you won't be able to slide them off. If the rhubarb doesn't hold its shape, it needs a little longer in the oven.
-
Once they are keeping their shape, transfer them to a paper lined plate and use. Extra ones can be stored in a sealed container. They are great on oatmeal or yogurt the next day!
Recipe Notes
Flour Alternatives
I used Cup4Cup gluten free flour, 285 grams to replace the cake flour.
If you don't have cake flour, just make your own: Measure out 1 cup of flour. Remove 2 tbsp of flour and replace with 2 tbsp of cornstarch. Repeat for as many cups as the recipe calls for.
Cake recipe inspired by Aimee over at Simple Bites
The Rhubarb Curls method is a riff on the one found here.
Leave a Reply