Robyn's Rhubarb cake

There seems to be a bug epidemic lingering in my neck of the woods.  Sorry to bring it up, I especially apologise if you are tucking into your museli.  I've had 2 bouts of gastro in 4 weeks so the thought and smell of food hasn't had it's normal pull quality for me sadly.  It really has been terrible, I've missed my kitchen and its soothing ways.  I have still been cooking for my family but not the usual cooking with enthusiasm and gusto.  

Yesterday I woke and all I wanted to do was bake! I knew I was better :)  I made a loaf of bread, bread rolls and then this cake recipe, although I think it could just be pudding.  It was shared to me by a friend Robyn, so I hope I do her cake justice. The recipe sounded so easy and yummy with the spices and rhubarb in it, I was almost tempted to forgo eating my lunch and start with this instead. 

I had harvested the most beautiful rhubarb from the garden and had everything at the ready.  It was game on.

Robyn's rhubarb cake

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups or 340g sugar~I used dark muscovado, ramadura and brown in 1/2 cup quantities
1/2 cup or 125gms  softened butter
1 egg~I used 2 :)
2 cups plain flour
1 tspn bi carb soda
1 tspn vanilla
1 cup of sour milk (add 1 tspn of vinegar to 1 cup of milk to sour or you could use yoghurt or butter milk)
3 cups of chopped rhubarb (you can also use 2 cups of rhubarb and 1 cup of apples)
1/2 tspn salt
2-3 tspn of spices like ginger & cinnamon

Topping
1/2 cup brown sugar~I used muscovado
1 tbspn softened butter
I also added walnuts to half, my girl doesn't eat walnuts so it was a compromise!  She forgot that she doesn't eat rhubarb though so I let that one slide.

Method
1.  Place all ingredients in a bowl except the rhubarb and mix well. (I creamed the butter and sugar first and sifted the dry ingredients)
2.  Add rhubarb and fold into mixture
3.  Put into a greased and lined tin. (I used a round spring form tin )
4.  Topping: Add walnuts to the top of the cake.  Mix butter and sugar together and sprinkle, well dot really, over the cake.
5.  Bake in oven at 180c for around 1 hour

I couldn't help but put my own stamp on it with a few addtions, thats the way I roll.  If licking the batter was anything to go by, I was in for a treat!  

We had it hot from the oven after lunch with honeyed greek yoghurt and some of Lana's garden Rhubarb coulis and Oh Em Gee.....it was amazballs!!  It might look a big dark or burnt but I assure you its the dark sugars that have worked their magic.  The cake has a pudding gooey moistness that was killer.  I'm sure it will be good as a cake cold but I'm not sure I care to try it like that.  A huge win is getting my child to eat rhubarb and call it rhubarb.  I've been using Lana's rhubarb coulis on everything and she thought it was raspberry and strawberry as according to her rhubarb is blahh, hehehe. I love a food victory!  Score 1 Mum!

So thank you dear Robyn for sharing this recipe of yours with me.  It will be a firm favourite and rolled out in winter instead of crumble I have a guess.  Anyone else got some recipes to share with me, I don't want my mojo to go away!

Ciao, Jan.