Recipe for country rhubarb cake
Originally, it would have been baked in the bastible or baker beside an open fire. My mother, who taught me this recipe, varied the filling with the seasons. First there was rhubarb, followed by green gooseberries in May. Eventually, we had the first of the cooking apples in grandad’s garden, then if we were lucky some Victoria plums from a neighbour’s walled garden and blackberries and apple in the autumn.
12oz (340g) flour 2oz (55g) caster sugar a pinch of salt 2 teaspoons breadsoda 3oz (85g) butter 1 egg (preferably-free range) egg wash 5½fl oz (165ml) milk, buttermilk or sour milk 1½lb (675g) rhubarb, finely chopped 6-8oz (170-225g) granulated sugar caster sugar for sprinkling 1 x 10 inch (25.5cm) enamel or Pyrex plate
