Rhubarb Crumble Cake

I often bake a cake on Sunday afternoons or Monday mornings for the Oasis Fairtrade Tearoom, open on a Monday from 2.30-4.30pm at Ditton Church Centre.  The tearoom is free and you get pretty bone china teacups and a cake fork, plus a warm welcome and a chance to catch up with friends and make new ones.  It coincides with school pick-up times - and being placed right next to 2 schools, a preschool and an Old People's Home it is wonderfully located.  You can sit outside when the weather's nice and there's a lovely garden for kids to play in.  If you haven't been there yet, go soon!  You can buy Kemp's Kitchen Homemade preserves there too...

Today, amongst other yummy delights, you will find a Rhubarb Crumble Cake - it's currently in the oven downstairs and will be dusted with icing sugar and delivered to the tea-room once it's cold.  Thanks to my neighbour Laura for the Rhubarb - the second generous donation this summer.  In case you don't get a chance to visit the tearoom, here's the recipe so you can make it yourself.  It's adapted from Leith's Baking Bible - a mighty and wonderful tome.

Rhubarb Crumble Cake

Pre-heat oven to 190c.  Grease and line a springform cake tin.

First, make the crumble topping.  Rub 80g butter into 100g plain flour.  It will be more buttery and lumpy than normal crumble mixture.  Stir through 50g granulated sugar.

Prepare the rhubarb - wash  about 800g rhubarb and cut into 1 inch pieces. Toss with 2 tbsp granulated sugar.

Prepare the base.  Mix together for 2 mins in an electric mixer: 100g softened butter or margerine, 100g caster sugar, 2 large eggs, 100g self-raising flour and a pinch of salt.  All the ingredients should be at room temperature to avoid the mixture curdling.  Here's a picture of the different bits ready to assemble:

Turn the base out into the prepared tin.  Cover carefully with the Rhubarb, then sprinkle over the crumble topping.  It will seem like not much cake mixture and too much rhubarb - but it does work! Bake for about an hour or until cooked through.  Here it is, ready for the oven.

Cool completely in the tin, then turn out and dust with icing sugar just before serving.

This is also great as a dessert with cream or custard.