Norwegian Rhubarb Cake

Serves 10-12 Prep Time 20 minutes   Cook Time 40 minutes   Rated: Print

Videos

A rustic Norwegian farmhouse classic, inspired by an unforgettable slice at Leirvågen Gård organic farm.

There's a particular kind of cake that only tastes right in the place it was born. I found mine on a quiet stretch of Norwegian coastline, at a working farm called Leirvågen Gård, where the rhubarb comes straight from the garden beds out front and the cake arrives still warm, dusted with sugar, no fuss, no fanfare — just generations of knowing exactly what to do with a stalk of rhubarb and a good oven. We were actually served this cake but with raspberries (from the summer garden) instead of rhubarb, but when a bunch of homegrown rhubarb ended up in my possession over the weekend, I couldn't help myself. When I posted my image on instagram, the farm sent me the recipe and so this is now a bit of a mix of my original idea with some of their instructions added too. I wasn't far off! 

The farmhouse cake was tender and buttery, the raspberries sharp enough to cut through the sweetness, and the whole thing tasted like it belonged exactly where it was served. Simple, honest, and built for sharing around a table with people you like.

Serving Suggestions

Serve warm, as they do at the farm, with a dollop of lightly whipped cream or a spoonful of crème fraîche to balance the tartness

Serve with everyone's favourite ice cream.

Pair with a strong pot of coffee for a proper Norwegian kaffe og kake moment

Dust with icing sugar just before serving for that rustic farmhouse finish

Leftovers are excellent the next morning, gently warmed, with a drizzle of cold cream

For an Insider Club touch, plate it alongside a small glass of aquavit or a chilled elderflower cordial for a Nordic-inspired afternoon tea

 

Need

Do

1  

Preheat the oven to 180°C and butter and line the base of a 20cm springform tin.

2  

Wash the rhubarb and chop most of it into 1cm pieces. Leave a few larger pieces for the top. If you are adding strawberries, make sure they are thawed and not too large.

3  

Place the butter and sugar and essences into the Thermomix bowl and chop 5 sec/speed 5. You may need to chop the butter a little longer than suggested before adding the butterfly if the butter is colder.

4  

Insert the butterfly and whip 1 min/butterfly/speed 4.

5  

Scrape down the sides of the bowl and repeat. You cannot afford the butter to melt, so make sure it is aerating and not melting. Stop whipping if it looks like the butter is beginning to melt and proceed with the recipe.

6  

Remove the butterfly. Add the eggs one at a time and beat 30 sec/speed 4. Scrape down lid and sides of bowl in between the eggs.

7  

Add the flour, baking powder, milk and salt and whip 20 sec/speed 6. Finish combining with a spatula if necessary.

8  

Stir in about half of the fruit, folding it into the batter. Spread the batter into the prepared cake tin. Finish it with the larger pieces of fruit then sprinkle with the raw sugar.

9  

Bake for around 1 hour or until a skewer test is nearly clean. A little gooey in the middle is ok and a little wobble.

10  

Cool in the tin and remove and slice to taste, serving with cream, sour cream, ice cream, custard...dusted generously with icing sugar as well!

Tenina Holder is a wife, mother of five and grandmother of nine, who started cooking in the olden days before Thermomix was even a thing.

Tenina has become the premium go to source for all Thermomix expertise and of course fresh and easy recipes that work. Her cooking classes and foodie trips are sold out in literally hours, her cookbooks appear on the Australian best seller lists and her social reach is in the millions. Her Insider Club is the most fun you can have with a Thermomix and you really should join her! She believes chocolate, butter and salt are health foods. Her food positivity mantra is, eat everything, just not all at once! 

More Bakery

See all Bakery in Collection