- Can be cut into 24 small pieces - Ready in 1 hour 45 min -
(but add an extra 1 hour of cooling time if you want it to cut up neatly!)
Gather together…
8 long stems of rhubarb (700g), cut into 2cm pieces.
8 tbsp (120g) white sugar, either caster or granulated is fine ( don't reduce the amount of sugar or else the rhubarb is too tangy and sharp).
4 tbsp juice from 1 orange.
140g butter (softened at room temperature, or if the room temperature is too cold then coarsely grate the butter to soften it).
200g soft, light-brown sugar (or use any brown sugar).
125g (1/2 cup) self-raising flour (gluten free flour works fine in this recipe).
140g desiccated coconut (can be substituted for 140g ground almonds, but then be sure to highlight the recipe's inclusion of nuts to anyone eating it).
Topping...
2 tbsp icing sugar, sieved.
Serve with...
Instant custard (optional).
Get cooking…
1. Preheat oven to 170°C (150 C fan) or gas mark 3.
2. Wash and chop the 8 stems of rhubarb into 2cm pieces.
3. Place the chopped rhubarb in a well-buttered, shallow oven-proof dish, sprinkle with the 8 tbsp (120g) of white sugar and add the 4 tbsp of orange juice. Stir well.
4. Cover the rhubarb dish with foil and bake at 170C (150 C fan) or gas mark 3, for 20 min. (Don’t worry if the rhubarb isn’t fully softened, as you will cook it more). SAVE the piece of foil for later in the recipe.
5. Once the twenty minutes are up, use a large sieve to drain the cooking juices from the rhubarb, into a small saucepan. Set the softened rhubarb aside until later in the recipe.
6. Gently simmer the cooking juices on the hob until they reduce slightly, this will take about 5 minutes on a low heat. Keep stirring - at least once per minute, so the syrup doesn't burn.
7. Turn the oven temperature UP to 190°C (170 C fan) or gas mark 5.
8. Cream together the 140g of soft / grated butter and the 200g of brown sugar in a food mixer (or with a handheld mixer or with a spoon) for 2 minutes until fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula and beat in any non-mixed traces by hand.
9. Add the 4 eggs and the 125g of SR flour (there is no need to sieve). Mix again until just incorporated.
10. Stir in the 140g of desiccated coconut.
11. Put the cake mixture into a rectangular, very-well-butter-greased baking tray (use a tin that is roughly A4 paper sized and at least 3cm deep). Use a baking tray that you won't need for anything else, as this cake needs to sit in the tin and be served from the tin (so the tin may be out of action for three days). Gently spread out the mixture (it is a very stiff mixture at this stage.)
12. Scatter the softened rhubarb evenly all-over the cake mixture.
13. Drizzle 4 tbsp of the rhubarb syrup over the un-baked cake. Use the remainder of the syrup as a drink (neat, as it is) or add a tbsp to a glass of fizz or lemonade.
14. Bake the cake for 1 hour at 190°C (170 C fan) or gas mark 5, until golden brown. After 20 minutes of baking, cover the cake with foil (the same piece you used earlier ideally) so it doesn't burn.
15. Once baked, remove the cake from the oven and let it cool in the tin.
16. Either eat it whilst warm, in a bowl, dusted with icing sugar and served with instant custard (optional). Or (if you want it to cut up neatly) leave it to cool completely for an extra hour (or better still, overnight), before dusting it with icing sugar and slicing it into even pieces. Leave the slices in-situ in the tin until you serve them up.
17. This recipe is ideal to make ahead, as it actually tastes even better the next day - once the flavours have mingled together (plus it is then far easier to cut up!)
18. Keep this cake (in its tin) in the fridge and eat it up within three days. Enjoy!