Motherhood & has kept me very busy lately. Sleep deprivation, early mornings and late nights has meant I have had very little time to myself, as I adjust to my new life. I have learnt to multi-task even better than I did before, and domestic chores have become less important. But last weekend, I managed to find time to spend some time in the kitchen baking. It felt great to have a couple of hours to myself doing what I love.

With rhubarb season upon us, I've been making good use of rhubarb season at the moment. So far I've made rhubarb jam, rhubarb syrup to mix with drinks and last weekend I made my version of a bakewell cake with rhubarb and blossom orange.






INGREDIENTS

150g unsalted butter, softened
150g caster sugar
2 medium eggs
1 orange zest
1 tbsp orange blossom water
1 tsp vanilla extract
200g almond meal
85g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
300g rhubarb, cut into 4cm lengths
Handful flaked almonds
Icing sugar for dusting
Double or whipped cream to serve


METHOD

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/Gas Mark 4.

Grease and line the base of a 23cm tart tin with a removable loose base.

Using an electric mixer, in a large mixing bowl beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and mix until combined. Next add the orange zest, orange blossom water, vanilla extract and mix to combine. Sift in the plain flour and baking powder, add the almond meal and using a spatula fold to combine.

Pour half the mixture into the prepared tin. Arrange half the rhubarb on top of the mixture and spoon the remaining cake mixture on top. Arrange the remainder rhubarb on top and gently press it in. Sprinkle the flaked almonds on top. Bake in the oven for 1 hour or until cooked and golden brown. A skewer should come out clean when inserted in the middle of the cake and it should be firm to touch. Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

This cake can be eaten warm or cold with a dollop of cream of choice.