Rhubarb, Rose and Pistachio Cake!

When life gives you rhubarb... I have absolutely no idea how to finish that sentence! 

But my best friend currently has an excessive supply of homegrown rhubarb going begging, so with rhubarb by the kilogram turning up at my door I decided to get creative with the ways I could use it up! Crumble with homemade crème Anglais is nice, but there's only so many days in a row you can have it before it starts to wear thin... 

Enter then this gluten-free Rhubarb, Rose, and Pistachio Cake!

A very pretty slice!

Let me start this off by saying I am absolutely obsessed with this cake! Another gluten free masterpiece, this cake consists of three layers of gluten-free rhubarb and pistachio sponge brushed with a vanilla and rosewater syrup, and is filled with a rhubarb and rosewater compote before being decorated with a vanilla buttercream and fresh flowers. I'm not usually a fan of using fresh flowers to decorate cakes, but the look is so elegant that I couldn't resist this time! 

Naturally, the first step here was to make the rhubarb and pistachio sponge! Ground almonds, ground pistachios, and gluten-free flour are sifted into a bowl, whilst butter and golden caster sugar are creamed together in a separate bowl. Eggs, soured cream and vanilla are added to the creamed butter mixture, followed by the dry ingredients. Finally, chopped rhubarb is folded in before the sponges are baked in the oven until risen and golden. In my experience with gluten-free cake, the resulting sponge can end up being quite dry, however, the addition of ground almonds and ground pistachios helps to add moisture to the sponge and keep it moist for longer! 

Any opportunity to show off
the delightful rhubarb and rose 
compote!

With the sponges in the oven, the next step was to prepare a vanilla and rose syrup by combining caster sugar, water, vanilla paste, and rosewater, and heating until the sugar dissolved. Once the syrup had cooled, I poked holes in the cooled sponges and brushed them with plenty of the syrup, allowing time for the syrup to soak in between brushes. This syrup was a brilliant way to add flavour and moisture to the cake! 

As it turns out, the compote that would become the filling was very easy to prepare. Rhubarb and caster sugar are combined in a pan, and left to sit for ten minutes. This encourages the rhubarb to release liquid, before simmering on the hob for five minutes until the chunks soften. Rosewater is then mixed into the compote, before leaving it to cool. This was actually my second time preparing a rhubarb compote, as I made this previously to top my Rhubarb Crumble Cupcakes (post coming soon!), but in all honesty I did come very close to burning the first one! 

Before assembly could begin, the final component to prepare was the vanilla buttercream, by simply beating together butter and icing sugar until pale/white in colour, and then beating in vanilla paste. I only recently learned that the white colour of buttercream is achieved not by adding white food colouring, but by beating the butter alone for at least five minutes, then beating in the icing sugar until the white colour is achieved. Every day is a school day! 

This sign that was part of the 
bouquet of flowers was recycled
as a part of my decorations!

With this cake consisting of three layers and measuring six inches in diameter, it didn't take overly long to decorate. I simply piped a ring of buttercream around the edge of the first sponge layer, and filled the centre of the ring with the rhubarb and rose compote. I topped this with the second sponge, and repeated the filling, before topping with the final sponge. I then crumb coated the cake, and decided not to apply any more buttercream, opting instead for the semi-naked look! 

The final touch was to sprinkle the top of the cake with the crushed pistachios, and arranging the fresh flowers and mint on top. Sorted! 

I tried to get a nice picture of 
the cake outside, but once again 
my camera skills let me down!

I'll admit I've never used a compote as a filling before, and I was a bit wary about deviating from a buttercream filling, but the rhubarb and rosewater compote was one of the nicest cake fillings I've ever tasted! I'll 100% be using it again soon! 

Recently I used some of the extra rhubarb to make a batch of Rhubarb Crumble Cupcakes, so I'll be posting about these soon. I'm already thinking about what rhubarb masterpiece I can come up with next! 

Gibby x