Radio Times Rhubarb Crumble Cake, Thermomix style

Last October I spotted this mouth-watering recipe in the British television and radio programme guide, Radio Times. Master baker Paul Hollywood and other contestants from The Great British Bake Off had the arduous task of picking the winner of the Radio Times baking competition held over the summer of 2012. The decision was unanimous: the winning recipe was a sticky rhubarb crumble cake submitted by Sandra Romano of Chalfont St Giles in Buckinghamshire.

I love rhubarb, which has just been in season here in the UK, and I love cakes – or hadn’t you noticed? I also love my Thermomix so here is my adaptation of the recipe so that you, too, can enjoy a fast and easy, delicious treat.

Sandra Romano’s Rhubarb Crumble Cake
Adapted for Thermomix by Madame Thermomix. Makes an 8-inch square cake to serve 6 to 8 portions. “It’s delicious,” says Paul Hollywood in Radio Times Magazine. “The texture is perfect, the rhubarb is coming through and there’s a nice crispiness to the top.”

Ingredients
225 g rhubarb, cut into batons
50 g soft light brown sugar
½ tsp ground cinnamon (grind your own from fresh cinnamon sticks!)
Thinly peeled rind of 1 orange
FOR THE CRUMBLE
80 g butter
60 g dark brown sugar
60 g granulated sugar
1tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp mixed spice
Pinch of salt
100 g plain flour
FOR THE CAKE
90 g butter
80 g soured cream
1 egg plus one egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla essence
140 g plain flour
85 g caster sugar (grind your own from granulated, 3 seconds/Speed 10)
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
Pinch of salt

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Grease a 20cm/8in square cake tin and line the base with baking parchment/waxed paper.
2. Weigh brown sugar into your TM bowl. Add the cinnamon and orange peel. Grind 20 seconds/Speed 10.* Scrape out into a mixing bowl, add the rhubarb, and mix together.
3. Make the crumble: Weigh the butter into your TM bowl (no need to rinse) and melt 50° C/3 minutes/Speed spoon. Add the remaining crumble ingredients and mix 5 seconds/Speed 5. Scrape sides of bowl with spatula and mix again 5 seconds/Speed 5. Note that you will have a solid dough rather than crumbs. If you have a second TM bowl, grab it now. Otherwise, scrape the crumble dough into another bowl and set aside.
4. Make the cake: Weigh and add the cake ingredients into your TM bowl (again no need to rinse) and mix until smooth, 10 to 20 seconds/Speed 5*. Pour half the mixture into the cake tin and arrange the rhubarb over the top. Add the remaining cake mix. Break the crumble dough into smallish lumps and scatter over the cake.
5. Bake for 45-50 minutes until golden brown. Serve warm with clotted cream, cream or vanilla ice cream, with crème fraîche or with a luscious Thermomix custard or crème anglaise that you can make while it’s cooking!

Bon appétit !

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*Notes on recipe conversions: This recipe was written for traditional hand baking and I have converted it to Thermomix. But how did I know how long and on what speed to grind the orange peel with the sugar and cinnamon, or to mix the cake batter? The answer is simple: I used my Fast and Easy Cooking Thermomix TM31 Recipe Book as a template, found similar recipes involving these steps, and used them as a guide. For instance, I know that to make Cream Cheese Icing for the fabulous Thermomix Carrot Cake you grind orange peel with sugar, so I looked at that recipe on pages 216-217 and used Step 1. To determine the time and speed to mix the cake batter, I used the brilliant “Basic Recipes, Tips and Hints for your TM31” on pages 6 to 12 of F&E. Done! Fast and Easy Cooking and other Thermomix TM31 Recipe Books produced by Vorwerk or by exclusive Thermomix distributors in other countries are invaluable in familiarising yourself with various techniques and procedures. They enable you to convert and adapt your family’s favourite recipes for Thermomix – and save time, energy and effort in the process.

Happy Thermomix cooking!

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