Mary Berry Rhubarb Sponge Food

RHUBARB & CUSTARD CAKE

Steps:

• Make the roasted rhubarb first, carefully draining off the juices before you let it cool. Butter and line a 23cm loose-bottomed or springform cake tin. Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4.
• Reserve 3 tbsp of the custard in a bowl. Beat the rest of the custard together with the butter, flour, baking powder, eggs, vanilla and sugar until creamy and smooth. Spoon one-third of the mix into the tin, add some of the rhubarb, then dot with one-third more cake mix and spread it out as well as you can. Top with some more rhubarb, then spoon over the remaining cake mix, leaving it in rough mounds and dips rather than being too neat about it. Scatter the rest of the rhubarb over the batter, then dot the remaining custard over. Bake for 40 mins until risen and golden, then cover with foil and bake for 15-20 mins more. It's ready when a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool in the tin, then dredge with icing sugar when cool.

EASY RHUBARB CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4. Grease a 23cm/9in springform cake tin with butter and line the base with baking paper.
• Put the butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla or almond extract, almonds, flour and baking powder in a food mixer or food processor. Beat until smooth and thick.
• Spoon the cake batter into the prepared tin. Top with the rhubarb, pressing it down gently. Sprinkle with the reserved 3 tablespoons of sugar.
• Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Cover with foil if the cake starts to overbrown before it is cooked in the centre.
• Cool in the tin for 20 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack. Serve warm or cold.

RHUBARB CRUMBLE CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3 and grease and line the base and sides of a deep 20cm round cake tin with a little of the butter and baking parchment. Put the butter, 250g sugar and vanilla into a big mixing bowl. Beat until light and fluffy with an electric whisk.
• Beat in the eggs, one by one, then fold in the 300g flour and baking powder. Spoon out 85g of the batter, and stir the extra 7 tbsp flour and cinnamon into this with a cutlery knife so it becomes crumbly.
• Fold the rhubarb into the rest of the cake batter and scrape into the prepared tin. Scatter over the crumble mix followed by 1 tbsp sugar. Bake for 1 hr 15 mins, until a skewer poked in comes out clean - you'll need to lay a sheet of foil on top after an hour if the cake is browning too much. Cool for 15 mins in the tin, then finish on a wire rack.