Rhubarb and Almond Cake

I know I’ve been neglectful again. My excuse this time is moving house. I couldn’t find time (or space) amidst the boxes and endless cleaning. Guilt has now got the better of me but we dont move into our new house for another week so I am lacking in recipe books and cooking opportunities.

I feel my blog is glaring at me though so I’m using the hiatus to post the things that have been lingering in my recipe folder but havent yet made it to print. While I was writing this up I was thinking how much has changed since I started baking in earnest a few years ago. I have always loved food but I used to be a hopeless baker. I can remember Dawn who is now my baking partner in crime, teaching me how to make a simple sponge cake. I was so surprised that it worked.

Now I’m able to tweak and even create my own recipes and although I still make some disasters, most of my so called failures are still edible. This cake didnt make it on to the blog before because although my experiment with the flavours worked I didnt get the finish right and its looks didnt do it very much justice.  But despite its looks it was delicious so Ive decided to post it now before the rhubarb season is completely over and the recipe is useless to anyone for another year.

Rhubarb and Almond Cake

• 100g rhubarb, chopped into cubes
• 175g brown sugar
• 60ml melted butter or vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 300g plain flour
• 1 tspn salt
• 1 tspn bicarbonate of soda
• 125ml milk
• 25g toasted flaked almonds

Preheat oven to 180 C and line and grease a bread tin. Beat the brown sugar, butter/oil, egg and almond extract together in a bowl. Combine the flour, salt and bicarbonate of soda and fold into the sugar mixture, alternating with the milk. Beat until smooth and then stir in the rhubarb and almonds. Spoon into the tin and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Cool on a rack and slice to serve.

If you like you can make a simple icing with 1/2 a cup of icing sugar, 1/2 a tsp almond extract and enough water to make a pouring consistency. Add a drop of pink food colouring to echo the rhubarb.

As if to remind me I still make mistakes, I thought I could get away without lining my tin and this one stuck to the bottom a bit. So make sure you line your tin but you wont get to scrape out and eat the sticky bits with a spoon while you wait for it to cool.

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Cake…Cake…Mark Greenaway.

I’m full of the back to work depression and too lazy to write this week but I had such a cornucopia of good cake last week, and one hell of a good lunch at Restaurant Mark Greenaway so I present you instead a dribble inducing week in pictures and urge you try out these three establishments at the earliest opportunity.

That is all.

Pear and Almond cake from Frederick’s coffee house  – great cake and a sunny spot by the window with a nosy view of the street below.

♥

Cake overload at French fancies with the Edinburgh Cake Ladies – seriously delicious patisserie and charming owners.

♥

And last but not least….

One seriously good lunch at Restaurant Mark Greenaway. How can the man not win Great British Menu!?

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Stinky cheese and a Raspberry Cloud

I don’t know which I’d rather have… a wander round the goodies at a farmer’s market, or a wedge of really good cake.

The good news is I got both. I finally made it to Earthy Foods yesterday for a spot of indoor market shopping and lunch in their cafe, and since we were nearby we dropped in to Tea at 94 afterwards for a spot of cake.

These photos don’t need much explanation but if, like me, you think bliss is browsing mountainous piles of fresh veg, charcuterie, home made condiments and preserves and a deliciously stinky cheese counter (the cheese not the counter or the staff behind it I should clarify), then Earthy is worth a nose.

The market cafe downstairs serves some equally delicious lunch and some seriously good looking cakes. The only reason we chose to have our cake elsewhere was because it was a little draughty* so we started to get a bit chilly by the end of our meal but had I been in a slightly warmer jumper I would definitely have stayed for the chocolate cake. Next time… I’m on it.

So instead we rounded things up at Tea at 94 with a scone and a slice of Raspberry Cloud (a curious but tasty combination of pastry base topped with sponge cake and raspberry icing). This cosy little cafe isn’t as trendy or as busy as places like loopy lorna’s yet but personally I would rather get a seat, charming service and decent cake.

Nom nom nom…

* Earthy just advised me that their door heater is on the blink and hopefully fixed soon so don’t worry about an extra jumper if you plan to visit!

You can find Tea at 94 at 94 Buccleuch Street or on facebook or twitter.

The Earthy Foods website has all you need to know about their market shops and how to find them.

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