Very Crumbly Coconut Rhubarb Cake

  I’ve no life event or personal anecdote to go with this post, except for this recipe. I’ve kept it a secret and not blogged about it for the past week. And so bit by bit it has been savoured with coffee over breakfast, elevenses, tea and as a midnight snack. I couldn’t help it. On a rainy day, I just needed an excuse to use up the rhubarb I’d bought over last weekend and tried out the recipe from New Zealand’s ‘Pioneer Woman’ – Annabel Langbein. And I realised the moment I took a bite that I’ve found my favourite cake. Where have you been all my life? I’m not going to rattle on anymore as you need to make this asap! I never liked recipe titles that brag theirs to be THE best (because its utter nonsense). So I’ll tell you this… of all the rustic cakes I’ve made, this one’s the most perfect to me. If you look closely, you’ll see a very crunchy crumble top. The crunchy walnuts and raw sugar bits are to die for! And if you make it and eat it, you’ll know how moist and soft the interior is. It tastes even better the next day. You’ll need to be very careful as you cut the cake as the crumble surface is so crunchy, it breaks. Use a serrated knife and cut slowly. Bits will fall apart but don’t you worry. That’s the beauty of a rustic coffee cake.

 

If you’ve made any of my recipes, please post a picture on my Facebook Page or Instagram Account and tag your pictures with the hashtag  #cupcakesncurries . I’ve already showcased a few of the recipes that readers have tried. I’m excited to see what you’ve made!

• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

Adapted from Annabel Langbein

http://www.cupcakesncurries.com

For the cake

• 140g butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup / 200g caster sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tsp pure vanilla essence
• 3/4 cup coconut cream (from packet is fine)/ greek yoghurt
• 2 cups/  250g plain flour
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cardamom
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 200 g rhubarb, thinly sliced (any fruit can be used)
• 1/4 tsp salt

For the very crunchy crumble

• 1/2 cup / 50-55g raw sugar
• 1/2 cup / 45g walnuts, cut into quarters
• 4 tbsp plain flour
• 1/8 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/8 tsp ground ginger
• 3 tbsp long coconut threads
• 60 g cold butter, cubed

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/ 350°F. Line and grease a 25 cm, 10 inch springform pan.

2. In a large bowl,sift plain flour, ground spices, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

3. In another bowl, rub the ingredients for the crumble between your fingers until most of them resemble ‘marbles’. Set aside in freezer.

4. In your kitchen mixer, cream the caster sugar and butter till pale and creamy.

5. Add eggs, one at a time and then vanilla essence.

6. Add coconut cream and sifted flour mix alternately in 3 batches. Don’t over mix. The last batch can be mix by hand using a spatula.

7. Fold in sliced rhubarb.

8. Pour cake batter into prepared tin.

9. Sprinkle over crumble mix evenly over the top.

10. Bake for 45-50 minutes. A skewer inserted in the middle should come out clean.

11. Cool in tin for 20 minutes before removing it.

Recipe Notes

• Any fruit can be used for this recipe. I think bananas, pears, apples or any stone fruit would be lovely.
• You can use any nuts for the topping. (How about bananas and salty peanuts?)
• You can omit the coconut threads and spices. Just use 1 tsp of mixed spice or cinnamon powder instead
• I prefer to freeze my crumble topping as they tend to keep their shape more when baked. If not they melt and spread like lava and sometimes they ted to burn, especially with a longer baking time.
• Also, raw sugar (also known as demerara sugar) is better than brown sugar for a crumble as it doesn’t ‘melt’ into the mixture. But you could use brown sugar if that’s what you have at home.
• You could add the fruit on top of the cake before adding the crumble mix but I think that would get in the way of its crumbly awesomeness. So I mixed the fruit into the cake batter. But either way should be fine.

 

 

I’m taking this dish to the Fiesta Friday party hosted by Angie and her co-hosts!