Tuesday, May 7, 2013

BWJ - Rhubarb Baby Cakes


Last night, I watched an amazing performance on The Voice by Kiyomi Vella singing Paloma Faith's Upside Down.  I had never heard of this song before, but after seeing Kiyomi's performance, I was sold. 

For Baking with Julia this week, we turned our own worlds upside down and made Rhubarb Baby Cakes, hosted by Erin of When in Doubt - Leave it at 350.  I had thought this would be similar to the Ginger Baby Cakes we have already made, and except for my own laziness, I was going to make these in mini muffin tins.  Now that I know how these cakes go together, I know that would have been a huge mistake - phew!

I made my baby cakes in a 12 hole muffin tin and got 12 cakes out of the recipe.  These cakes are comprised of a nutty caramel topping (I used macadamias instead of pecans),  followed by a layer of sliced rhubarb, and topped with a butter cake batter.  There seemed to be so much rhubarb packed into the tins, I was not sure that the cakes would hold together, but they did.  And they were amazing!!!  The sweetness of the caramel, the crunchiness of the nuts, the tartness of the rhubarb and the soft, tender cake make for a magical dessert.  I ate one of these served warm, and it was fantastic.  I would definitely make these again.

To see what the other Julia bakers thought, visit the LYL section of the website on Tuesday, US time.  If you want the recipe, buy the book, or Erin will have it on her site.

24 comments:

Choc Chip Uru @ Go Bake Yourself said...

I don't eat rhubarb often, I should definitely :D

Cheers
CCU

Cindy said...

Looks like I still have time to hurry and make these! I have rhubarb in the garden that is perfect. On to the kitchen..

tricia s. said...

These look amazing. I never would have believed this combo of ingredients but as usual, leave it to Dorie. I came looking for your poached eggs but you are so busy they are 3 posts back (that birthday cake looked fabulous !!). Your FFWD eggs and mushrooms also looked great. A fun and easy recipe. Thanks also for the sweet comments about our cancelled trip to France.

Cher Rockwell said...

I think the cake part was my favorite part of this recipe - it was really pleasant.
I was very lazy and made this in a skillet :-)

Cathleen | My Culinary Mission said...

This did turn out to be a great recipe! Love macadamia nuts.

Karen said...

Your little muffins look great! Great idea using macadamia nuts.

Johanna GGG said...

oh yum - I am in a rhubarb sort of mood right now and could just eat some with caramelised nuts

Kari said...

These are really cute looking cakes! I love the look and sound of the ingredients too - rhubarb is perfect at this time of year.

Caroline Taylor said...

These sound so good, lovely idea.

Liz That Skinny Chick Can Bake said...

Magical is right! Wish I had 12 more!

Teresa said...

The muffin tin size would be perfect for a party - I love how your caramel soaked into the cake.

Marlise said...

Macadamia nuts sounds like a great addition to this recipe. Wish I had thought of that. Great job!

Have Apron....Will Bake said...

Good idea using muffin tin. Makes for nice looking little cakes!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the muffin tin tip! And, great nut substitution!

Jill said...

I skipped this one but now I'm sorry that I did! Great idea to use muffin tins.

Unknown said...

I love your muffin version, the cakes look so cute!!!
Your description of the cake is perfect ... it's a "magical dessert", to make and remake in all seasons!!

Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella said...

They sound wonderful the way you described them Cakelaw! And are baby cakes like cupcakes?

Cakelaw said...

Hi Lorraine, apparently baby cakes are little cakes made in 4 inch tins.

Andrea_TheKitchenLioness said...

Very lovely looking mini upside-down rhubarb cakes! Nice touch to use macadamias instead of the pecans and quite smart to use the muffin pan for these! Glad that you enjoyed this wonderful recipe too1
Have a great Wednesday!

Paula @ Vintage Kitchen said...

I can´t get rhubarb and it sounds like the perfect balance to the sweet dough. How cute that you made small ones! Lazy me made one big cake...

gfcelebration said...

Happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe. We also really loved this one. Your baby cakes look great.

TeaLady said...

Those look tasty. If I could only find rhubarb here....

loavesandstitches said...

I like how cute they are at this size. This was a yummy one.

Kayte said...

It is rhubarb season here right now and I love it so much...have been so busy haven't had a chance to bake with it but I am marking this to try to get to it next week. Your little notes are so helpful.