Rhubarb Spelt Upside Down Cake

This year, I have been completely and utterly enchanted by bedazzling forced rhubarb. Raised on an (often overwhelming) abundance of homegrown summer rhubarb, the delicate, paler variety of rhubarb that comes to market in these winter months slipped our notice. Perhaps we were still recovering from a summer of getting through our own wild rhubarb, or perhaps the locally supplied greengrocers in Rutland didn't stretch to this Northern export.

Grown in darkness then 'forced' out of the ground by candlelight, forced rhubarb traditionally hales from Yorkshire, and is the elegant cousin of its wild relation. Its stems are thinner, softer, and dazzlingly pink when poached or roasted. The flavour, while a little sweeter, still packs the perfect punch for fruit-based puddings.

Upside-down cakes are a wonderful way to make use of seasonal bounty. The warm, soft baked fruit calls for a nutty, textured sponge, and while you could stick with white flour, alternative grains such as spelt or buckwheat work wonderfully in sweet bakes. While not gluten free, these grains are naturally lower in gluten, and are higher in natural nutrients that refined flours. 

You can find the full recipe for Kitchen Garden Magazine here.

THE INGREDIENTS

For the rhubarb

400g forced rhubarb

100g caster sugar

1 lemon, juiced

1 vanilla pod

For the cake

125g butter, softened

100g golden caster sugar

2 eggs

25g ground almonds

100g spelt flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp fine salt

Line the base of a 7" cake tin (not loose-bottomed) with baking parchment, and grease the sides. Preheat your oven to 180C / 160C fan.

Wash and trim the ends from the rhubarb, then cut into neat, 3-4cm batons. Place the rhubarb in a saucepan along with the lemon juice and 50g of the sugar. Slice the vanilla pod in half, scrape out the seeds, and add to the pan. Cook the rhubarb over a gentle heat for 5-10 minutes, until the rhubarb is just soft but still holding it's shape. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. Sprinkle the remaining 50g of caster sugar over the base of the lined tin, and add the vanilla pod from the poaching liquor.

For the cake, cream together the softened butter and golden caster sugar, then add the eggs one at a time, beating until smooth with each addition. Separately, combine the ground almonds, spelt flour, salt and baking powder, then sieve into the butter mixture. Mix until just combined.

To assemble the cake, carefully arrange the rhubarb batons over the sprinkled sugar in the base of the tin. Pack them as neatly and as tightly as you can, as it is more likely to hold it's shape if it does not have room to spread out while baking. Reserve the rhubarb syrup.

Spread the cake batter over the rhubarb, using a palette knife to carefully level the surface. Do this gently, so as not to disturb the rhubarb pattern you have created. Transfer the cake to the oven, and bake for 25-35 minutes. The cake is done when a cocktail stick plunged into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

Leave the cake to cool for 15 minutes, then carefully run a knife around the edge of the tin to loosen it. Carefully turn the cake out onto a serving plate, removing the tin slowly in case any of the fruit has stuck. Peel back the paper, and brush with the reserved rhubarb syrup before serving.

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PEACH MELBA UPSIDE DOWN CAKE

  

This weekend, my boyfriend and I were lucky enough to have lunch at The Hand & Flowers in Marlow. The brainchild of the scandalously talented Tom Kerridge, the food was delicious and clever in equal measure.

I forgot my modesty as soon as I saw the pudding menu. Forgive me for whoring out my pud on social media, but the white peach souffle with tea sorbet and rosemary custard was - with no word of a lie - the best pudding I have ever eaten. That alone would have been worth the one year waiting list.

I can't get enough of ripe rosy peaches, and yesterday's pudding inspired me to buy a huge bag-full of soft flat white peaches from the local market this morning. Sweet, juicy and full of summer, white peaches are the perfect match for the tangy punch of British raspberries.

Upside down cakes are a great way to cook with seasonal fruits, and are really simple to make too. A quick caramel, sliced fruit and almond sponge can be thrown together in no time, and make a perfect pudding for a dappled al fresco supper, or a drizzly indoor one if today's weather is anything to go by.
 
I've been particularly drawn to quick bakes recently. More than ever I feel like I don't have the time in my life to be rising billowing piles of bread dough, or folding and resting and folding pastry all day long. There are so many other things that need to get done, and it can be hard to justify hours on end in the kitchen.

While my Kitchenaid and I remain happily married and just as in love as ever, I recently invested in a Tesco Basic TBHM14 hand mixer for those times that I just can't face washing up an extra set of bowls and mixers. It was just a couple of pounds, and comes with five speed settings so that you can adapt the speed to your recipe. A hand mixer is perfect for quickly beating together a sponge mixture such as this one.

 THE INGREDIENTS

caramel

200g caster sugar

1 tsp salt

4 flat white peaches

100g raspberries

cake

200g butter

200g caster sugar

3 large eggs

75g ground almonds

125g flour

3 tsp baking powder

THE RECIPE

Preheat your oven to 180C and line the base of an 8 inch springform tin with baking parchment. 

For the caramel, add the sugar and salt to a large heavy-based pan with a few tablespoons of water. Cook, without stirring, until the sugar has melted and turned a deep amber colour. Carefully pour this into the base of the lined tin and set aside. Half lengthways and destone the peaches, then arrange cut side down on top of the caramel. Surround with the raspberries.

For the sponge, beat together the butter and sugar until creamy. Add the eggs and ground almonds, beat, then finish with the flour and baking powder. Once the mixture is smooth, pour over the fruit and caramel. Level, then bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until risen, golden, and a knife comes out clean.

Leave the cake to cool in the tin for 10-15 minutes, then carefully turn out onto a plate. Beware of hot caramel.

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CARAMELISED PEAR AND GINGER CAKE

There are only ten minutes in the life of a pear when it is perfect to eat

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Mr Emerson said a lot of very clever things during his tenure. I spent a lot of my A-Level study-leave trying to remember these things, and can't say I did a particularly good job at committing them to any kind of long term memory. What did strike a real chord was his thoughts on pears (bear with me, this gets better). I want to love them, I really do - but the window of opportunity between rock solid and slush sure does pass quickly. I have the same bugbear with avocados, but that's a story for another day.

A few weeks ago I purchased a bag of pretty green pears on a whim. Every morning I gave them a tentative squeeze, to no avail. Come Friday? My thumb and forefinger practically disappeared as they sank to the juicy, butter-soft core. I wasn't angry, just disappointed.

Here's a recipe for all you romantics, who keep going back to the fruit aisle knowing that they'll break your heart. You want 'em ripe and juicy for this little number - and they won't let you down this time, I promise. They're a bit of a superstar when paired with ginger and vanilla caramel.

  THE INGREDIENTS

CARAMEL

50g butter

100g castor sugar

2 tbsp golden syrup

2 tsp vanilla bean paste

4 small, ripe pears

CAKE

100g unsalted butter

100g castor sugar

2 eggs

50g plain flour

50g ground almonds

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp powdered ginger

icing sugar, for dusting

THE RECIPE

First, preheat your oven to 180C. Next, line the bottom of a 7 inch cake tin with parchment, then grease the sides with butter. To make the caramel, weigh the butter, sugar and syrup into a small pan, then boil over a medium heat for around 7-10 minutes. Shake it occasionally to stop it sticking, but DO NOT STIR IT. Sorry to be firm, but the sugar will crystallise and you'll be left with a solid mess which is near-impossible to clean (i've been there, and it is not pretty). The caramel is done when it turns a nutty, deep golden colour. Add the vanilla paste, give a quick shake, then pour straight into the bottom of your prepared tin.

Next, peel and core the pears. Slice them as thinly and evenly as you can, then arrange on top of the caramel. I always start on the outer layer using the best looking pieces, then patch up the centre with the small end bits.

Once layered, make the cake by creaming together the butter and sugar. Crack in the eggs, beat, and once combined beat in the almonds, flour, baking powder and ginger. Whisk for a few minutes until it's pale and fluffy, then carefully spoon over the pears, being gentle so that you don't undo all your good work making them look beautiful. Use a knife to level the mixture, then bake in your preheated oven for around 25 minutes. I'm hesitant to give an exact baking time, as ovens vary hugely - the cake is down when it's golden brown, doesn't wobble when shaken gently, and a skewer or knife comes out clean. 

Allow it to cool in the tin, for 10 minutes, then gently turn onto a plate. Do this with caution - remember there is hot caramel which you do not want to pour all over yourself. The paper lining at the bottom should have held the pears in place, so peel this off carefully once the cake is just warm. Dust with icing sugar just before serving.

Delicious hot or cold, and crying out for a dollop of creme fraiche. This is a rather petite little bake, but can easily be scaled up if you have a bigger tin in mind. 

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