Rhubarb and Almond Streusel Traybake with blood orange whipped cream
Rated 5.0 stars by 1 users
Cuisine
British
Servings
10
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
45 minutes
Forced rhubarb and blood oranges arrive in the shops at almost exactly the same moment each year, and this recipe makes the most of that happy coincidence. The two are natural partners — both sharp, both jewel-bright, both at their best in the bleakest months of winter — and together they make a traybake that tastes as startling and vivid as it looks. The almond sponge beneath is tender and fragrant, the streusel topping gives a satisfying crunch, and the blood orange whipped cream — somewhere between a sauce and a syllabub — is the kind of thing you'll find yourself making as an excuse to eat with a spoon.
Why you'll love making this
Traybakes are the most forgiving format in baking — no tricky assembly, no precarious layers, no anxiety about whether it will hold together on the plate. This one is particularly straightforward: a simple one-bowl sponge, a streusel that comes together in minutes with just your fingertips, and a whipped cream that requires nothing more than a saucepan and a bowl. The result looks spectacular, especially if your rhubarb is that deep, candy-pink forced variety. It will feed a crowd generously, travels well if you need to take it somewhere, and is just as good the following day. A recipe, in short, that is entirely on your side.
Ingredients
-
250g unsalted butter, room temperature
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250g golden caster sugar
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4 large eggs
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200g self raising flour
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100g ground almonds
- 1 tsp almond extract
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1 blood orange, zest of
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400g rhubarb, cut into bite size chunks
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For the streusel:
- 100g cold butter, cubed
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125g plain flour
-
60g Demerara sugar
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50g flaked almonds
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For the blood cream:
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300ml double cream
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2 tbsp icing sugar
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1 blood orange, zest and juice
Directions
Preheat your oven to 160C FAN / 180C / 350F / GAS 4 and line an oven tray with a sheet of grease proof paper.
Beat the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy and then add the eggs one at at a time, beating well in between each addition. Fold through the flour and ground almonds and mix until smooth. Pour in to the prepared baking tray and then scatter with the rhubarb pieces and blood orange zest.
Make the streusel topping by simply adding the butter, flour and sugar to a bowl and rubbing together with your finger tips until clumps form. Scatter over the rhubarb, following the flaked almonds and then bake for 40-45 minutes, or until golden.
Once baked, remove from the oven and cool in the tin.
Prepare the blood orange whipped cream by whipping the cream until soft peaks form. Heat the sugar and blood orange juice in a small saucepan until thickened and syrupy and then fold through the cream.
Serve the rhubarb traybake warm, with the whipped cream on the side.
Recipe Note
As with all recipes featuring forced rhubarb, if you're making this later in the season outdoor rhubarb is a perfectly good substitute. It will be thicker, greener and more assertively sour — cut it into slightly smaller pieces to ensure it softens properly during baking, and taste the raw sponge batter before adding the fruit to decide whether you'd like a little extra sugar.
Blood oranges have a frustratingly short season, usually at their best from January through to March. Outside of that window, the juice and zest of a regular orange will work well, though you lose the dramatic burgundy colour in the cream. A small dash of pomegranate juice added to the blood orange syrup is a good cheat for extending the colour if needed.
The streusel can be made ahead and kept in the fridge for up to three days or frozen for a month — it's worth making a double batch to keep on hand as it improves almost any fruit-based bake.
Ground almonds can be swapped for ground hazelnuts for a slightly earthier, more autumnal flavour, though the almond version is the better match for the blood orange here.
The traybake will keep well at room temperature for two days, loosely covered. The blood orange cream is best made on the day but the syrup can be prepared in advance and folded through the freshly whipped cream just before serving. Any leftovers of the cream are excellent spooned over Greek yoghurt for breakfast the following morning — cook's privilege.