Baking with The Great British Bake Off Season 7!

Raspberry and Rhubarb Drizzle Cake

     I have been obsessed with trying recipes from The Great British Bake Off after we saw all of the delicious drama unfold on the BBC during our last trip to England in September. As usual, watching every episode made me wish very much for some dessert, but unfortunately on our trip we had no kitchen, so the only thing to do was to wait until we got home to try my favorites! There were many techniques, flavors and pastries that I had never tried before, so there were many adventures to be had.

     One recipe that caught my eye was the Raspberry and Rhubarb Drizzle Cake with Custard, made by Candice for the drizzle cake signature challenge during cake week (week one). I mean, really, raspberry and rhubarb – with custard? How could I not try it?

You can find the recipe here.

     The outcome of my attempt was not worthy to be seen by Mary Berry and especially Paul Hollywood, but I was pleased with the taste. It is made with ground pistachios, almonds and polenta so it will be gluten free and very moist – but the batter was very moist – so moist that my cake rather fell apart during the transfer from pan to plate. I'm not sure why. I was still getting used to our new oven, so perhaps it needed to bake a little longer. The pan also might have needed a bit more greasing before I poured the batter in. I used a slightly larger bundt pan than the one Candice used on the show, so the batter only came to about 1 1/2 inches below the edge of the pan. I don't think this affected the baking (if anything, it should have made the cake bake more quickly).

     It is nearly impossible to find fresh rhubarb in the stores at any time other than spring in California. Frozen rhubarb, however, does occasionally lurk in the freezer section! Sprouts is my source for the frozen stuff. I only had about two thirds of the rhubarb I needed for the recipe, but there was still a nice rhubarb flavor coming through, so if you find yourself short of this amazing ingredient, don't panic.

     As to the custard... I don't have a fabulous track record with making custard. For one thing, I always have to stand there stirring it over low heat on the stove for two to three times as long as the recipe says is necessary for it to thicken. This attempt was no exception. I always end up turning the heat almost to medium after about ten minutes, and so far I haven't burnt or seriously curdled any custard. It wasn't quite perfectly creamy, but it still had the delicious taste that custard should. I tell you so that you will not despair in your own custard attempts.

     The result was marvelously, fabulously beyond delicious! The tartness of the rhubarb with the mild sweetness of the custard may be one of the best flavor combinations ever attempted. I also liked the slightly grainier texture that the ground nuts added to the cake, especially because the cake is so moist with all of the fruit, custard and syrup. Because it is made of nuts the cake doesn't turn to mush in your mouth.

     I certainly wouldn't mind having an excuse to make this again, perhaps when we have fresh rhubarb in season. I'm always looking for an excuse to make rhubarb desserts! (Well, any dessert, really...)



© Anna Morton 2017