It’s the most wonderful time of the year!
That’s right … it’s rhubarb season!
I heart heart HEART rhubarb.
It’s tart and fresh …
It screams spring is finally here …
My mouth salivates just thinking about it.
Add to it some lemon curd and almonds … and you have yourself the makings of a pretty darn delicious loaf.
For realz.
This combo is ridiculously delightful … I tend to use those words a lot to describe my baking … don’t I???
Well it is!
It’s got that slight nutty flavour thanks to the almond meal and slivered almonds … plus it has the tartness of the stewed rhubarb AND then … the pop of the lemon curd … which just melts into the loaf as it bakes.
Sigh.
RIDICULOUSLY. DELIGHTFUL. No word of a lie.
I based this recipe on the hummingbird bakery‘s rhubarb almond loaf. The lemon curd isn’t necessary … but it sure does make for a tasty treat. Lemon and rhubarb are a combo made in heaven … I promise.
stewed rhubarb
ingredients:
4 – 5 stalks rhubarb, chopped into small pieces
70 g sugar
20 g butter
Place the rhubarb in a saucepan along with sugar, butter and 50 ml of water. Cook on medium heat, stirring frequently, until the rhubarb softens. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool completely.
almond loaf
ingredients:
190 g butter, at room temperature
140 g flour
190 g sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp baking powder
50 g ground almonds
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ginger
25 ml buttermilk
100 g stewed rhubarb
1/4 c. lemon curd
15 g flaked almonds
Preheat oven to 325 F. Grease the loaf pan and set aside.
In the bowl of your stand-mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. About 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well on medium speed after each addition, and scraping down the sides of the bowl to ensure that everything has been mixed properly.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl; combine the flour, baking powder, ground almonds, cinnamon and ginger. Add half of the mixture to the creamed butter/sugar/egg mixture, followed by half the buttermilk.
Mix well after each addition, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add the remaining dry ingredients and then the rest of the buttermilk.
Stir in the stewed rhubarb making sure it is evenly mixed into the batter, then pour into the prepared loaf tin. Add dollops of the lemon curd. Swirl them in.
Sprinkle with flaked almonds on top.
Bake for 50 – 60 minutes
Not a big fan of rhubard but paired with the lemon and almond I’m sure I could manage a few slices