Rhubarb, Apple and Quince cream cake
250g Apple peeled and chopped into 1 cm chunks
200g rhubarb washed and chopped chopped into 1 cm chunks
1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Finely grated zest 2 large lemons
1 large egg
1 cup (220g) caster sugar
1 cup (250ml) pure cream
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 tlbspn Quince butter (I keep a stash of this in my fridge, the recipe is here)
Crumble topping
1 cup rolled oats / oatmeal
1 cup self-raising flour
1 cup brown sugar (loosely packed)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon powder
125g / 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
Pinch of salt
Vanilla bean ice cream or cream, to serve
Method
- Preheat your oven to 175 C. Butter a 23 cm springform tin, line the base with buttered baking paper and then dust the tin with flour.
- Have your chopped rhubarb and apple in one bowl.
- Measure the flour, baking powder and salt into another bowl. Use a whisk to mix them together for 1 minute so they’re thoroughly combined. Sprinkle in the lemon zest and whisk for another 10 seconds or so, then set the bowl aside.
- Whisk an egg into into your electric mixer bowl and beat it briefly (I did this by hand). Then I used the whisk attachment on my mixer. Add the caster sugar and whisk together for 1 minute so the mixture looks creamy. Pour in the cream and vanilla and whisk again until everything is thoroughly combined.
- Add all but 1 tablespoon of the flour mixture to the mixer bowl, and use a spatula to stir the two together. Do this by hand and don't beat just fold as this causes the cake to toughen. The batter is still lumpy when you are finished.
- Sprinkle the reserved tablespoon of flour mixture over the rhubarb/apple mix in the bowl, and give it a good shake so the pieces are lightly dusted in flour. Now, fold the fruit into the batter – it will be thick with fruit. Scoop the batter into the prepared tin and use a palette knife to spread it out evenly.
- Spoon your quince butter over the cake mixture.
- Crumble preparation: Place Topping ingredients in a bowl. Mix until clumps form, like wet sand. Spread over your cake, crumbling with fingers if required to get that crumbly topping.
- Put the tin in the oven and bake the cake for 50 – 55 minutes until a fine skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and sit it on a wire rack. Let it cool for about 10 minutes before unclipping and remove the sides of the tin. Carefully remove the base. Leave it to cool until it’s room temperature.
Serve with ice cream or cream. Belinda does write that you can freeze the leftover cake for up to 3 weeks, but we did just eat it all.
