Hellooooo!! What a crazy whirlwind the last few weeks have been! I planned so many recipes in the run-up to the summer hols but life kind of took over and I am only just surfacing now. I've so enjoyed being back in the kitchen again this week but as always the summer holidays provide a different kind of cooking|baking experience with little ones in tow :) Things have to be easy to make with not too many stages for impatient little mouths and the kinds of things they like to eat!
I was inspired to bake some delicious little coffee cakes this week to celebrate Nathaniel Crawford's #virtualcoffeeparty - the reason why a cake without the tinsiest bit of coffee in it should be called a coffee cake used to leave me pondering as a child! - but these little cakes are the best sidekick to a coffee in the morning or any other time of day. And they are jam-packed with fruit just the way we like them.
What I love about these cakes is that they have the softest and most delicate crumb - don't get me wrong, getting them out of a friand mould celebrated a few choice words! A reminder that greasing each cavity very well and leaving them to cool a little before turning them out onto your cooling rack. The rhubarb chopped and mixed into the batter goes in sharp but comes out tender and sweet. Whilst the ginger offers up a little heat to take you by surprise. Then an additional treat is an extra slice of rhubarb laid cross each one, poached in sugar syrup and ginger, before being topped with a hint of cinnamon sugar. Are you licking your lips yet?!?
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and have a little more sunshine in your days than we're currently enjoying in London - you'd be forgiven for thinking we'd moved on to autumn after our recent heatwave. Still, I'm counting down the sleeps now until we take off for sunnier climes and some much-needed R&R!! xoxo
mini rhubarb + ginger cakes
makes 12 mini cakes
ingredients
poaching syrup
- 2 tbsp caster sugar
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 12 thin slices of rhubarb that fit across length of each baking tray cavity (I slice mine with a mandolin but you can use a knife if you prefer)
cake batter
- 600g softened butter
- 300g brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 300g plain flour
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 250g sour cream
- 250g rhubarb (around 4 sticks), chopped into small cubes
cinnamon sugar topping
- 1 tbsp melted butter
- 50g caster sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
method
- preheat the oven to 160 degrees (fan)
- grease each cavity of the baking tin - I use a friand tin but you can use a muffin or cupcake tin if you just remember to adjust the baking time accordingly
- first make the poached rhubarb but putting the rhubarb, sugar and ginger in a saucepan over a low heat
- cover and heat for around 5 minutes or until the rhubarb is soft but not falling apart
- place to one side to cool
- next start the cake batter - put the butter and brown sugar into a mixing bowl and beat together until pale and creamy
- add the eggs and vanilla and beat together until combined
- sift over the flour, ginger and baking soda and mix until just combined
- then add the sour cream and cubed rhubarb and stir until well combined
- pour the batter into each mould cavity until they are half-full
- top with a slice of the poached rhubarb
- mix the ingredients for the sugar topping and then add a little on top of each rhubarb slice
- bake for around 20-25 minutes until they are golden brown and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean
- I like to run a knife around each cavity to loosen them a little
- wait for 10-15 minutes until they're cooled before turning them out otherwise they'll break apart
- enjoy them slightly warm from the oven with a hot steaming cup of coffee or tea :)