Rhubarb Almond Cake

Photo by Michael Piazza / Styled by Catrine Kelty / Linens by The Everyday Company

Packable, snackable, and not-too-sweet, this is a lovely, simple cake to complete your picnic. Adapted from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From My Kitchen to Yours.

Cake:
1½ cups chopped rhubarb (fresh or frozen but not thawed), in ½-inch pieces
1 cup all purpose flour
½ cup ground almonds or almond meal
2  teaspoons baking powder
Pinch salt
1¼ cup granulated sugar, divided
Zest of one lemon
½ cup plain yogurt
2 eggs
¼ teaspoon almond extract
½ cup canola oil

Glaze and Topping:
½  cup lemon juice
½ cup sugar
¼ cup slivered almonds, toasted

Heat the oven to 350°F and butter an 8½ x 4½-inch loaf pan. Place the pan on a baking sheet and set aside.

Toss the rhubarb with ¼ cup sugar in a small bowl and set aside. Whisk the flour, ground almonds, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, rub the sugar and zest together with your fingers until the sugar is fragrant. Whisk in the yogurt, eggs, and almond extract. Add the dry ingredients and stir to combine. When the wet and dry ingredients are combined, gently stir in the oil and fold in the rhubarb. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 50-60 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

While the cake is baking, stir together the lemon juice and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring, until the glaze has reduced by half. Remove from heat and cool, stirring occasionally.

Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes, then run a knife or thin spatula around the edges of the pan, invert pan, and transfer cake to a cooling rack. When the cake is cool, use a skewer to poke holes over the surface. Brush with some of the glaze. Sprinkle on the almonds, then finish with a drizzle of the glaze (you will have some glaze left over).

Cool for at least 2 hours before slicing.

This recipe appeared in the Spring 2017 issue as part of a larger story on Spring Picnics.