I love using almonds in my cakes. I am always looking for recipes where I can substitute flour with almond meal or any other nut meal. Not only is it healthy, but it gives an amazing texture to the cakes. Rich but not heavy. Last time I paired it with orange to make a gluten-free treat but this time I wanted a recipe that would also use up the flaked almonds lying in my cupboard. The rhubarb almond crumb cake is sweet, tart, moist, crunchy all at the same time.
I made it for my friends who were coming over for afternoon tea. And everybody like it. The best thing about this cake is its different textures…the cake with the rhubarb and then the crumb topping. And the flaked almonds. This is one of those fuss free cakes where you just toss everything into a bowl and mix. I love recipes where you don’t need to cream the butter.
Rhubarb can at times be quite tart but in this recipe it just balances out. Being a colour fanatic, I also love the way it looks. Rustic brown and pink. I kept the styling to a minimum as I thought it didn’t need any. The cake is best served warm with some whipped cream on the side. Alternately, you can use hulled, chopped strawberries, peaches, apricots or any other fleshy fruit.
Not very long ago, I had a reputation of making everyone wait at the table because I had to photograph the dish. Especially warm dishes. I would end up on a guilt trip after that. And though I actually make loads of savoury dishes, I stopped photographing them. Gradually, I am learning the different tips and tricks of the trade.
This one however, came out of the oven and was a breeze.
Rhubarb Almond Crumb Cake (adapted with variation from Taste.com)
Serves 8-10
1 (550g) bunch young rhubarb
240g (1 1/2 cups) icing sugar
50g (1/2 cup) plain flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
125g almond meal
185g unsalted butter, melted
6 egg whites
1 1/2 tablespoons Demerara sugar/brown sugar
Crumb topping
40g castor sugar (3 tbsp)
60g plain flour (1/2 cup)
40g unsalted butter, softened
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
60g sliced/flaked almonds
For topping, combine sugar and flour in a bowl, then rub in butter until mixture forms clumps. Rub through the orange zest until evenly combined.
Trim leaves and ends from rhubarb and discard, then cut into 2cm lengths.
Preheat oven to 190°C. Grease a 24cm square cake tin (or a rectangular tin, 32cm by 16 cm) and line with baking paper. Push sugar, flour, cinnamon and almond meal through a coarse sieve over a bowl, then stir in butter and egg whites until just combined. Spoon into tin, scatter with half the crumb topping, then rhubarb, then remaining topping. Sprinkle with sliced almonds and demerara sugar and bake for 40 minutes or until firm. Cool in tin for 10 minutes.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
Wow, another colorful dish!! Love the attractive pink, brown and beige color spread all over in abundance. The almond flakes does give that extra look and crunchiness to the already good looking cake.
Cup of tea and a portion of this cake would be heaven!! Hmm..I envy your friends 🙂
You are absolutely right, because there is already a medley of color in the cake, the plain whipped cream does add a soft side to the colorful cake. I love the surprise, when I taste any dish – I’m sure the softness, crunchiness and wholesomeness – would have been a sweet storm! 🙂 Perfect shots Sonali, looks fab as always!
Awww…such sweet words. As always. Thank you Pavithra!
Amazing!!! I need several slices of it for breakfast and also snack time. Yummy!!!!!!
All yours Denise! Thank you!
Oh the cake looks great. I just bought some rhubarb too this weekend and made 2 desserts. I still have some left so maybe this cake too.
I hope you try it. Thank you Evelyne!
I’m taking a break on rhubarb but am definitely enjoying seeing everyone else’s recipes. This cake looks gorgeous and I love the almonds in it. Wish I was one of the invitees for the afternoon tea!
Nazneen
It would be awesome to have you over Nazneen!Thank you!
I definitely need to indulge myself here, I love almonds, rhubarb (I just tried it) and everything else in this crumb cake 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Thank you Uru! I love all of them too:-)
Perfect cake for tea time!!! You are friends would be delighted with this wonderful cake. Lovely Clicks.
Thank you Dhanish!
looks like a great coffee cake!
Thank You Dina!
To be honest, I am alien to rhubard. Except for seeing it in other foodies blogs and once when I was in Perth, I haven’t seen it over here. Maybe its available at the high end supermarkets.
That said, almond adore the taste of almonds and I use it for my savory dishes to thicken the gravy. This rhubard cake is attractive with the lovely blend of colors and I can understand why everyone loved it.
Thank you Nava! I came across Rhubarb for the first time when i moved to Australia. And have been in love with it ever since:-)
I’m loving rhubarb right now, this looks super yummy! I really like the idea of putting almond meal in your cakes, I might have to steal that!
Nut meals are great in cakes! Thank you for stopping by Jana:-)
Looks gorgeous Sonali… Loved the ingredients in the cake.. Perfectly made 🙂
Me too Nilu. Thank you!
This looks so gorgeous. I love cake that are easy to just mix and bake… ideal for a quick, delicious treat! In regards to photography, I am exactly the same when it comes to hot meals. I’ve given up photographing them too. I never really thought about how hard food photography can be until now. Love these shots though Sonali. Such a gorgeous cake… and beautiful food styling! xx
Cannot agree more with you Laura. Desserts and sweet treats are a lot more forgiving. Thank you!
I have never thought of how it can make a difference on the texture…love it! This is so pretty, too! Pinning and sharing.
Thank you Gloria. You are sweet!
Honestly I just want to dive into your cake. It looks divine and your photos are stunning!
Thank you so much Wizzy!