For my housemate Karla’s birthday I made this lemon almond yogurt cake, which is gluten-free because she’s sensitive to gluten. I was a bit nervous about baking without gluten, because I haven’t done much of it, but this cake turned out wonderfully.

 

When it comes to rhubarb, people in my family have kind of a strange way of eating it. We like it peeled, raw, with a generous sprinkling of salt. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water. I’m sure that there are others out there who eat it this way, but I haven’t met any who aren’t related to me. As far as I know, my mom learned it from her father, and she passed it along to me and my siblings. Other people seem to think it’s weird, or even gross or dangerous (someone told me he thought rhubarb is poisonous raw, which the stalk certainly is not, though the leaves are). To me, salted rhubarb tastes like summer.

Which is not to say that I don’t also enjoy it cooked and sweetened. Mark my words, this definitely won’t be the last rhubarb recipe you’ll be seeing around here.

This cake is really lovely, but it is more dense and moist than the bouncy and fluffy cake you would get with gluten. It’s also super lemony, which is definitely a plus as far as I’m concerned. But you can also use plain yogurt, for slightly less lemon flavor.

Lemon Almond Yogurt Cake Recipe

(Adapted slightly from here)

1 cup almond flour
1/2 cup sweet rice flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of fine sea salt
1 cup packed light brown sugar
5 eggs
4 oz. (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup lemon yogurt (non-fat or low-fat is fine)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Lemon zest (fine grated peel) from 1 fresh lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Powdered sugar

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line the bottom of a 9-inch Springform or cake pan with buttered parchment paper.

Beat the eggs in a large mixing bowl until they are light and foamy. Beat in the butter and yogurt until combined.

Add in the lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla; beat to combine.

Add the almond flour, sweet rice flour, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt and sugar to a sifter. Gradually sift the flour mixture into the liquid a bit at a time. After you’ve added all of the flour mixture, beat on medium speed for a minute or two.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake in the center of a pre-heated 350ºF oven for about 40 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center of the cake emerges clean.

Cool on a wire rack. Run a knife around the edge of the cake and release from the pan. Can be made ahead of time and refrigerated or frozen.

Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Makes 10 servings.

The original compote recipe called for almost twice as much sugar as I used, but I knew I didn’t want it that sweet. If you like your compote sweeter than I do, though, I recommend starting with 3/4 of a cup of sugar and increasing to taste from there.

Rhubarb Compote

(Adapted from here)

4 1/2 cups 1/2-inch pieces peeled fresh rhubarb (about 1 1/2 pounds)
3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp sugar
Juice from 1 lemon (about 2 Tbsp)
1/4 tsp Triple Sec
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add additional sugar to taste. Serve warm, or cover and chill until cold, about 2 hours.

Makes about 3 cups.

Serve with vanilla ice cream. This rhubarb compote is actually excellent as an ice cream topping, or mixed into yogurt.