Rhubarb, Pistachio & Orange Cakes

This cake is a pocket rocket. With the last rhubarb of the year (in a surprisingly long season), I was scrounging for a new recipe. I'm usually asked to make the same old but I do get bored and decided to try something different. The even more amazing thing is that it worked and with spectacular results (others can attest)! This particular recipe is adapted from my old faithful, Gourmet Traveller magazine. Find the original link here.

The finished product: chuffed!

There are a couple of component bits to this recipe; one for the roasted rhubarb that tops each individual cake, the second for the cake batter. The roasted rhubarb will yield an incredible technicolour syrup with which to serve over the cakes for an extra dash of orange. 

Ingredientsss
6 egg whites
185g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
240g icing sugar (I used just over half this amount)
150g pistachio kernels, finely ground (I didn't quite have enough, so substituted in part with walnuts)
2/3 cup plain flour
1 orange, finely grated rind
To serve: crème fraîche

Roasted rhubarb with orange blossom
300g rhubarb (about 3 stalks), trimmed and cut into 5cm lengths
1/4 cup golden caster sugar
1 orange, rind finely grated and juiced
1 tbsp orange blossom water

Shades of rhubarb

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees. For roasted rhubarb, combine ingredients in a baking dish, cover with foil and roast for 10 minutes or until tender. Cool and reserve cooking juices (liquid gold, I tell you)



2. Whisk egg whites in a bowl until frothy, add melted butter and whisk to combine. Add remaining dry ingredients and rind and stir to combine. Note: the mixture is supposed to be quite runny, I had a mini freak out when I saw how runny it was. But it works, trust me

3. Spoon mixture into 6 deep, lightly greased, 10cm diameter loose-bottomed flan tins (I used regular sized muffin tins). Arrange 3 pieces of rhubarb on top of each. 

4. Bake for 25 minutes or until a skewer withdraws clean (roughly 15 minutes for cupcake pan). Stand in pan for 5 minutes

Cakies fresh out of the oven

5. Serve warm, fizzled with reserved juices and crème fraîche

There's so much going for this, whether it be for tea or dessert - there are some nice little touches that give it an edge over your stock standard blueberry muffin or vanilla cupcake. The pistachio adds a subtle crunch and green tinge to the cake which is itself moist. The baked rhubarb and syrup are delicious in their own right

There's my little show and tell, now go forth and bake/prosper!

Thanks for reading

xGourmand