Rhubarb Almond Cake

What a pleasant surprise each spring when you glance out at what has been a mostly barren garden over the past winter months, and BAM!Β  Seemingly overnight a crop of red rhubarb stalks has arisen from the dirt.Β  This beautiful Bon Apetit cake recipe caught my eye, the strips of rosy-red rhubarb a beautiful and easy embellishment. We know you will enjoy this lightly sweet and crunchy topping as much as our office team did, who devoured it with a flourish after we shot the photos. It might feel like you’re beating the batter for a long time, but that’s what gives this cake an airy lift. Stay with it!

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    Rhubarb Almond Cake

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    Ingredients

    Scale

    1 cupΒ butter, room temperature

    ΒΎ cupΒ sugar

    1Β pound rhubarb stalks, trimmed

    1ΒΌ cupsΒ all-purpose flour

    ΒΎ cupΒ blanched almonds

    1 teaspoonΒ baking powder

    Β½ teaspoonΒ kosher salt

    Β½ tablespoonΒ vanilla paste or vanilla extract

    2Β large eggs

    ΒΌ cupΒ plain Greek yogurt or sour cream

    extra butter and sugar for greasing the pan and sprinkling on the surface

    Instructions

    You’ll need an 11 x 8” rectangular tart pan or 10” round tart pan with a removable bottom.Β  I used a 9β€³ round pan and it overflowed the edges a bit as it baked, which just needs to be trimmed off before you try and remove it from the pan. You can substitute a springform pan but you lose the pretty fluted edges that the tart pan gives you. Or, if all else fails, line an equal-sized pan with parchment paper, leaving enough of an edge to hold on to later, and once the cake has cooled, lift it out very carefully using the edges of the parchment.

    Preheat oven to 350Β°. Butter the tart pan, making sure to get into all the little creases, and sprinkle generously with sugar, tapping out excess. Or if you’re using a regular pan, line it with parchment paper first and then butter and sugar the inside of the paper as this gives the cake a nice crunch on the outside!Β  Slice the rhubarb in half lengthwise (quarter if very large). Measure 6-8 of the prettiest pieces to make sure you have enough for the top of the cake and set aside; chop remaining rhubarb into ½” pieces.Β  It’s OK to piece the strips together if they’re not long enough.

    Pulse flour, almonds, baking powder, and salt in a food processor until almonds are finely ground (texture should be sandy).Β  Check the texture before you continue, and if the almonds are still chunky, give it one more minute in the food processor.

    Place butter and sugar in a large bowl. Add vanilla paste or extract, mix until blended. Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating to blend first egg before adding the second. Beat until mixture is pale and fluffy, another 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low and gradually add dry ingredients, followed by yogurt. Mix, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, just to combine (batter will be thick). Fold in chopped rhubarb and scrape batter into prepared pan. Smooth batter and arrange reserved rhubarb over top; sprinkle top evenly with another 3 tablespoons of granulated sugar.

    Place tart pan on a large rimmed baking sheet (to catch any rogue juices) and bake, rotating once, until cake is golden brown and rhubarb on top is soft and beginning to brown, about 60 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let the cake cool before removing from pan.

    Do Ahead: Cake can be baked 3 days ahead. Keep tightly wrapped at room temperature.

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