Barbarian Rhubarb
Jun. 17th, 2024 08:09 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
madbakerThis week's Resolution Recipe: Rhubarb Pound Cake.
"This tender poundcake (sic) has slivers of vanilla-poached rhubarb running across the top and shot through the center, adding a tangy sweetness to the buttery crumb."
8 oz rhubarb stalks, about 3-4 large
1 cup 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 vanilla bean
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1 2/3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup whole milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup sugar
4 eggses, at room temperature
Cut rhubarb stalks to fit crosswise inside the top of a 9x5 loaf pan. In a medium pot, combine sugar, 1 cup water, and the vanilla bean and seeds, and bring to a boil. Simmer until the sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes. Stir in rhubarb, simmer for 1 minute, then remove from heat. Cool to room temperature then slice the rhubarb in half lengthwise so you have long, thin pieces. Reserve poaching liquid.
Heat oven to 350°. Grease and flour the loaf pan. In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggses one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each. Beat in half the flour mixture until just combined, then beat in the milk and vanilla likewise, then the remaining flour.
Scrape half the batter into the loaf pan, then lay half of the rhubarb slices in an even layer on top of the batter. Cover with the remaining batter, smoothing the top. Bake for 20 minutes to set, then remove from the oven and quickly lay the remaining rhubarb slices next to each other on top of the cake. Return pan to the oven and bake until the toothpick test comes out clean, 30-50 minutes.
Bring the rhubarb liquid to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes. Brush the syrup on the cake when out of the oven. Cool in the pan on a rack for 2 hours, then remove and serve.
What worked: It was okay. I did not overbake the cake (a fault I've been trying to overcome) so it had a good moist texture. Halving the sugar in the poaching was the right call as we like rhubarb's tanginess.
What didn't: I mistakenly put the rhubarb slices the long way, which made slicing difficult and reduced the structural integrity. The syrup caramelized and I had to add back water to make it brushable.
More importantly - this just wasn't that interesting.
Will I make it again? No.
"This tender poundcake (sic) has slivers of vanilla-poached rhubarb running across the top and shot through the center, adding a tangy sweetness to the buttery crumb."
8 oz rhubarb stalks, about 3-4 large
1/2 vanilla bean
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1 2/3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup whole milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup sugar
4 eggses, at room temperature
Cut rhubarb stalks to fit crosswise inside the top of a 9x5 loaf pan. In a medium pot, combine sugar, 1 cup water, and the vanilla bean and seeds, and bring to a boil. Simmer until the sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes. Stir in rhubarb, simmer for 1 minute, then remove from heat. Cool to room temperature then slice the rhubarb in half lengthwise so you have long, thin pieces. Reserve poaching liquid.
Heat oven to 350°. Grease and flour the loaf pan. In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggses one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each. Beat in half the flour mixture until just combined, then beat in the milk and vanilla likewise, then the remaining flour.
Scrape half the batter into the loaf pan, then lay half of the rhubarb slices in an even layer on top of the batter. Cover with the remaining batter, smoothing the top. Bake for 20 minutes to set, then remove from the oven and quickly lay the remaining rhubarb slices next to each other on top of the cake. Return pan to the oven and bake until the toothpick test comes out clean, 30-50 minutes.
Bring the rhubarb liquid to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes. Brush the syrup on the cake when out of the oven. Cool in the pan on a rack for 2 hours, then remove and serve.
What worked: It was okay. I did not overbake the cake (a fault I've been trying to overcome) so it had a good moist texture. Halving the sugar in the poaching was the right call as we like rhubarb's tanginess.
What didn't: I mistakenly put the rhubarb slices the long way, which made slicing difficult and reduced the structural integrity. The syrup caramelized and I had to add back water to make it brushable.
More importantly - this just wasn't that interesting.
Will I make it again? No.
