At the garden my rhubarb is ripe and my strawberries are almost ready. I picked a good bunch and decided to make a rhubarb upside down cake. That evolved into a strawberry and rhubarb upside down cake when I saw the strawberries on sale in the supermarket. Rhubarb is the quintessential summer fruit. It will take you from the last days of spring all the way to autumn (fall) and pairs with almost any of the fruits that come into season over that time. Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blue berries, apples… even banana. It’s also great added to savoury dishes such as roast pork chops.
Sweet & tangy
The tart, tangy flavour of rhubarb pairs wonderfully with the rich, sweet cake. For that reason I try not to add too much sugar to the fruit. I also use butter to make my cakes and I recommend you do the same. It adds to the richness, the flavour is amazing and I think it helps the cake texture too.
I use the Victoria Sponge recipe from the Be-Ro Flour Home Recipes for the cake, but substitute butter for the margarine. This cook book has been around since the 1930’s and is an essential addition to any kitchen in the North East of England, with copies being handed down through families. To learn more about the history of this cook book and order one for yourself check out the Be-Ro webpage: https://www.be-ro.co.uk/. This is not a sponsored or affiliate link, I just happen to love the recipes in this cook book and appreciate the history.
A note on flour
In the UK we have two types of flour, plain and self raising flour. Self raising flour as the name suggests, has a raising agent added. North America has cake flour which appears to be the same as the self raising flour in the UK, but it is more common to use all purpose flour (plain flour) and add baking powder and sometimes baking soda to it.
Self raising flour substitute
For every cup (112g) of all purpose (plain) flour add 1 teaspoon of baking powder
Ingredients
- 250g strawberries
- 250g rhubarb
- 100g plus 1 tablespoon white sugar
- 100g self raising flour or all purpose flour
- 100g butter
- 2 large eggs
- (1 teaspoon baking powder if using all purpose flour)
Materials
- sharp knife
- table knife
- chopping board
- 8 inch square baking tin
- parchment paper
- wooden spoon
- electric whisk (optional)
- kitchen scale
- measuring spoons
- mixing bowl
- serving plate
Method
- Get your butter and eggs out of the fridge to let them warm up to room temperature
- Preheat your oven (or BBQ – more on this below) to 180C or 350F
- Grease an 8 in square baking tin then line with parchment paper
- Sprinkle 1/2 tablespoon of sugar evenly over the bottom of the tin
- Slice the rhubarb and strawberries and put in a layer over the bottom of the tin ensuring the bottom is fully covered.
- Sprinkle the other 1/2 tablespoon of sugar over the fruit layer
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until the mixture is fluffy and the colour is lighter.
- Slowly beat in the eggs one at a time. Add a little bit of flour as you go to help stop the mixture curdling (don’t worry if it does curdle, you’ll still get a cake at the end)
- If using baking powder, mix it into the flour before adding it to the mixture.
- Fold the flour into the sugar butter and eggs using a figure of eight motion until the four is fully incorporated.
- Spoon the cake mixture over the fruit and spread out to full cover the tin from edge to edge. Take care not to disturb the fruit layer.
- Bake in the oven for 40 to 45 mins or until the top is golden brown and cake is springy to the touch in the centre.
- Allow to cool before removing from the tin
- To remove from the tin, run a table knife around the sides of the cake, holding a plate firmly over the top, turn the tin upside down.
- Peel the parchment paper from the bottom – now top – of the cake.
- Serve with cream, ice cream, custard or a nice cup of tea
Baking on a barbeque
Our apartment has huge windows which makes it bright and airy but also very hot in the summer months. Turning on the oven on hot days results in unbearable heat so overtime we’ve learned how to cook most things on the BBQ, including cakes and Yorkshire puddings.
To successfully bake on the BBQ you need to be able to control and measure the temperature. We have a gas/propane BBQ with a built in thermometer and lid which essentially makes it a gas oven. I’ve never tried on a charcoal BBQ but it should be possible although I imagine more difficult to maintain a specific temperature.
We have 3 sets of burners for the BBQ. I turn on the outer two and leave the middle one off. As with any oven, I preheat it until the temperature gauge reads the correct temperature, adjusting the flame until I can maintain the required temperature. The cake pan gets placed on the grill in the middle so that it is not directly over the burners. As with any cake, you want to avoid opening the lid in the early stages but do monitor the temperature gauge to ensure the temperature is maintained.
Things usually take a little bit longer to cook on the BBQ. Once the time is up, I open the lid, check on the cake and then decide how much longer it might need. For this cake, I checked it after 40 mins and it took about 50 mins to be fully baked.
Have cake, will travel
This cake is great for a picnic. Keep it in the tin for protection on the journey and turn it out onto a plate to serve. Of course if you are very brave you could cook it on the BBQ while on a camping trip and eat it while you watch the sun set with a nice cold glass of wine or a beer.
Whatever you decide, don’t miss out on making this fabulous cake.
Stay safe, stay home and always be creative.
Like the look of this, would be lovely with a nice cup of tea !
Ooh yum. Have to try it on the bbq for sure.
Ok. So did try it. In the oven first. A huge success. 😃 the family loved it and I now have another foolproof standby until my repertoire 😄. Thanks, Claire!
Glad the family liked it.