Torta con farina di riso
e rabarbaro
Rice flour rhubarb cake
A slight crunch and a tangy kick turn this rice flour rhubarb cake into something else. And even though it’s a pound cake it stays moist for days.
In the season when there are rhubarbs galore, I try to sneak it into as many dishes as possible. Even in savoury dishes like salads and stews. And the result is generally surprisingly good, as this rice flour rhubarb cake goes to show.
It’s a straight forward pound cake of the kind you’ll find on any breakfast table in Italian hotels, but the rice flour generates a thin crustiness, it’s a pleasure to bite through. The spices combined with the acidity of the rhubarb give the taste a refreshing tanginess. And then there are small pieces of fruit that make the cake stay moist for days. A perfect wake up bite any time of day.
Ingredients
400 g rhubarb stalks
200 g sugar
200 g butter
3 eggs
140 g flour
60 g rice flour (I used black Riso Venere, but white rice flour can be used instead)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp cardamom powder
½ vanilla pod
2 tbsp sprinkles
Preparation
Use an electric mixer to whisk butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Stir in one egg at a time.
Chop the vanilla pod into tiny pieces and mix it with the batter.
Pass the flour, the rice flour, the baking powder and the spices through a sieve and mix well.
Clean the rhubarbs and cut the stalks into 1 cm pieces.
Fold the rhubarb into the cake batter.
Pour the batter into a greased springform pan, sprinkle with sugar and bake at 180 C / 350 F for about an hour.
Serve the rice flour rhubarb cake with a nice and strong cup of tea.
I’m originally from Ireland but now live in southern Italy. I love rhubarb but have not seen it here as yet either in the orto’s or in the vegetable market. Do you buy or grow your rhubarb please?
Hi Catherine, I grow rhubarb in our garden in Denmark, and have brought preserved rhubarb from Denmark to Italy a couple of times, but- you are right – our Italian friends have never seen them before. I have, however, come across a bunch in our local famila and I suppose they would grow nicely in Puglia in winter.