This delicious cake recipe comes from Sophie Hansen, Local Is Lovely, whose newsletter every Monday morning is a delight. As, I can promise, is this cake.
Soft, squishy, filled with rhubarb and tangy lemon curd, this cake is a delight to make, and very verrry easy to eat and share. It also feels very springy, very bright and happy. Delicious with a little whipped cream or yoghurt.
To make my life just a little easier, I confess, I did not make my own lemon curd. A tub of Anathoth or Barkers lemon curd is your best friend if you feel the same way. And a bag of Sujon frozen rhubarb makes the compote very easy.
But, as Sophie says, both the compote and the curd can be made a few days ahead. The cake is best baked the day you eat it, but if you're lucky to have leftovers, is still delicious the next day or so, as my family will attest. Serves 8 to 10.
Prep time: 30 minutes, plus cooling
Cook time: 35 minutes for the cake, 20 minutes for the curd, 15 minutes for the compote
The Visitor Cake
250 g unsalted butter, room temperature
250 g caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla paste
4 eggs
250 g self-raising flour
½ teaspoon salt
3 tbsp demerara sugar
Preheat oven to 180°C and butter a 24 cm cake tin (or thereabouts). Cream butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Add the vanilla and then the eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition. Fold through the flour and salt.
Spread half of the cake batter on the base of the tin, top with about a cup and a half of the compote, top with about the same amount of curd and then spoon over the remaining cake batter so it covers as much of the top as possible; it will rise and join together as it cooks.
Sprinkle with the demerara sugar and bake for about 35 minutes. It will be ready when the sides of the cake are just beginning to pull away from the tin. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then serve in lovely squishy wedges with cream. It will firm up as it cools.
The rhubarb compote
1 bunch rhubarb (about 500 g), trimmed and cut into 3 cm lengths
110 g (½ cup) caster sugar
Zest and juice of 2 oranges
1 vanilla bean, split, or 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
Put everything in a wide saucepan and set over a medium heat. Once the sugar has melted and the juice starts to bubble, turn the heat down low and let it simmer gently for 10 to 15 minutes, until the rhubarb is soft but still holding its shape. Don't stir too much or you'll end up with a purée. Take it off the heat and let it cool in the pan. It will thicken as it sits. Keep in a jar in the fridge for a week.
The lemon curd
125 ml (½ cup) lemon juice
Zest of 2 lemons
A pinch of salt
110 g unsalted butter, cubed
5 egg yolks
110 g (½ cup) caster sugar
Combine the lemon juice, zest, salt and butter in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir with a wooden spoon until the butter melts.
In a separate bowl, whisk the yolks and sugar to combine, then pour over the lemon juice and butter mixture.
Whisk continuously over the heat until the mixture thickens and coats the back of your spoon. This will take about 20 minutes. Pour into sterilised jars and store in the fridge for up to a week. Makes about 2 cups, so you'll have curd left over for toast.
If this cake has you in the mood to bake, you might love The Plain Cake Appreciation Society by Tilly Pamment — a beautiful book dedicated to the quiet joy of a really good cake. And when it comes time to serve, some Katherine Smyth ceramics will make every slice feel a little more special.
