Buckwheat Butter Cake and Roasted Rhubarb

Buckwheat cake with roasted rhubarb.
Photo by: Steve Randazzo.

BUCKWHEAT BUTTER CAKE RECIPE

Serves 10-12

Ingredients

• 8 oz unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup organic cane sugar
• 5 large egg yolks, divided
• 1 whole egg
• 1 tsp vanilla paste
• 2½ Tbsp aged rum
• 1 cup light buckwheat flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp fine sea salt
• 1 tsp heavy cream
• 1 tsp turbinado sugar
• ½ tsp flaked sea salt

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF and butter a 9-inch springform cake pan.
2. In the bowl of a standing mixer, cream the butter and cane sugar until pale and aerated.
3. Beating on high, add 4 of the egg yolks and the whole egg, one at a time, incorporating each one in before adding the next.
4. You want this to get very fluffy. Beat in the vanilla paste and the rum.
5. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flours and fine sea salt.
6. Incorporate this into the batter without overmixing.
7. Scrape into the prepared pan and smooth the surface with an offset spatula.
8. Whisk the remaining egg yolk and the cream together to make a glaze. Using a pastry brush, gently spread it over the entire surface of the cake.
9. With a fork, rake a large crosshatch pattern into the surface.
10. Sprinkle the turbinado sugar and flaked sea salt on top.
11. Bake until deeply bronzed, about 45 minutes.
12. Remove from the oven and cool completely on a rack before taking out of the pan. The gâteau keeps well, wrapped, for about a week.

ROASTED RHUBARB RECIPE

Ingredients

• 1 lb rhubarb, cut into 2-inch pieces
• ¾ cup organic cane sugar
• 1 Tbsp vanilla paste
• Zest and juice of 1 orange
• 3 Tbsp wildflower honey

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
2. In a large bowl, toss the rhubarb with the sugar, vanilla paste, orange zest, and juice.
3. Set aside for a few minutes, until a little syrup starts to form, then pour into a baking dish.
4. Cover the baking dish with foil and roast the rhubarb for 15 minutes.
5. Stir gently, then re-cover and roast a few minutes more.
6. Remove the foil and roast for another 5 minutes or so, until the syrup is bubbling and the rhubarb is tender.
7. Remove from the oven and drizzle with the honey. Serve warm or chilled.

This bonus content accompanies “First Harvest”—an article about two early season crops: lovage and rhubarb—in the Winter 2017 issue of Garden Design magazine.

RELATED:

Garden-to-Table Recipes
Growing Garden Edibles