Cake of the Day: Lavender Sponge Cake with Rhubarb Curd
Every day, Yahoo Food features delectable cakes. They taste good, they look good, and they’re made by good people — talented bakers from around the world. Today, Rachel Allen shares a recipe from her book All Things Sweet, 100 deliciously sweet recipes for every occasion.
Photo: Tara Fisher
Lavender Sponge Cake with Rhubarb Curd
Serves 8
A gorgeously light and perfumed sponge with a seriously rhubarb curd, this has all the flavours of early summer.
For the lavender sponge
6 eggs
6 ounces caster or granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
5 ounces plain flour
2 teaspoons lavender buds, finely chopped (off the stems)
4 ½ ounces butter, melted, plus extra for creasing.
For the rhubarb curd
1 pound 3 ounces rhubarb, cut in to ½ inch slices
7 ounces caster or granulated sugar
3 ounces butter
3 eggs, whisked
Icing sugar and chopped lavender buds, to decorate.
Equipment
2 x 7-inch cake tins with 1 ¼-inch sides
Preheat the oven to 350°F, gas mark 4. Line the base of three 7-inch cake tins and butter the sides.
To make the sponge, place the eggs, sugar and salt in a bowl and, using an electric whisk, beat for 5-8 minutes until tripled in volume, light and fluffy. Sift in the flour and fold into the light mousse-like mixture with the lavender and the melted butter, working quickly so that not too much air escapes.
Divide the cake mixture among three tins and place in the oven. Bake for 22-25 minutes until light golden and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Take out of the oven and let sit in the tin for a few minutes before taking out and cooling on a wire rack.
Next, make the curd. Place the rhubarb and 2 ounces of the sugar in a saucepan on a medium heat, stirring every so often. Cook for 6-8 minutes until the rhubarb has softened, broken up completely and the mixture has thickened to a pulp.
Pour into a sieve sitting over a bowl and push the mixture through the sieve into the bowl, making sure to scrape the underside of the sieve to get every last bit.
Photo: Tara Fisher
Next, place the butter in the cleaned saucepan on a low – medium heat and allow to melt. Take off the heat and add in the eggs, the rest of the sugar and the rhubarb purée. Put back on a low heat and stir continuously for 5-7 minutes until thickened. Take off the heat, tip into a bowl and allow to cool.
When ready to assemble, place one cake (save the cake with the best-looking top for the top) upside down on a plate or cake stand. Place half of the curd on top and spread it out (I like to allow the curd to drip slightly over the edges). Put the next cake, right side up, on top, then cover with the second half of the curd, as before. Finally, top with the third (and best-looking) cake. Dust with icing sugar and decorate with some chopped lavender, if you wish.
Rachel’s Tip: If you wish, you can also put whipped cream between the layers with the rhubarb curd, though only if the cake is all going to be eaten on the day it’s made. Otherwise, serve it with some softly whipped cream on the side. Use the pinkest rhubarb you can find to get this beautiful colour.
Excerpted from All Things Sweet by Rachel Allen. (Harper Collins, 2014).
More cakes with summer flavors:
Grilled Pound Cake with Rum-Scented Grilled Pineapple
