One of my favourite cakes is this Rhubarb Coffee Cake.
I found the recipe in a book of Amish recipes that’s in the 2nd Air Division Memorial Library in Norwich.
As the name suggests it’s a memorial to the men of the US Airforce who were stationed in Norfolk during World War 2.
At that time the whole county was one giant airfield – within five miles of the tiny village where I used to live in West Norfolk there were more than a dozen runways and landing strips.
It was a time of great change for this very rural area.
And the USAF is still here in Norfolk and Suffolk 75 years later.
There are bases at Lakenheath, Mildenhall and Feltwell.
I ventured into the memorial library for the first time about six years ago.
I was helping organise an Americana Music weekend which was really a chance to showcase the unique singing tradition of Sacred Harp or Shapenote music which I’d fallen in love with.
I handed out flyers put up posters and then had a quick look at the bookshelves and found the Amish recipe book.
That’s where I found the instructions for this Rhubarb Coffee Cake.
I soon realised that “coffee” didn’t allude to any ingredient but rather to having a slice of cake with a cup of coffee.
Anyway.
I’ve converted the recipe that was scrawled in my own scrapbook so that it’s entirely plant-based.
And it works.
Phew!
I’ve subbed flax eggs for hens eggs and used fancy Rapadura sugar but would use soft brown sugar if I didn’t have this.
Hope you love it as much as I do.
All measurements are in US cups
- 1/2 cup vegan butter or margarine
- 1 1/4 cups soft brown sugar
- 2 flax eggs (2 tbsp ground linseed mixed with 6 tbsp warm water and left for five minutes)
- 3/4 cup soya milk
- 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp vanilla essence
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 1/2 cups chopped rhubarb
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 2 cups plain flour
- 1 tsp melted vegan butter or margarine
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/3 cup soft brown sugar
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Heat the oven to 180 Celsius, 375 Farenheit or Gas Mark 5
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Cream the vegan butter with the sugar in a large bowl ( I use electric beaters/whisk).
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Stir the lemon juice OR vinegar into the soya or plant milk and then add to the butter and sugar mixture in the bowl.
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Add the flax eggs to mixture along with the vanilla essence and combine - but do not overmix.
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Add sifted flour and baking powder and baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) and combine.
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Add chopped rhubarb and fold in well. The pour/scrape into 10 inch (25 cm) diameter tin or silicone mould. The mixture should be quite stiff and not runny.
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Melt butter/margarine, cool and then stir in cinnamon and sugar till it resembles breadcrumbs.
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Sprinkle evenly on top of cake batter in tin/mould.
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Bake in moderate oven for 40 minutes or until firm.
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Remove from oven and cool for ten minutes on a wire rack before loosening with a knife round the edge and inverting onto a plate and then back up the right way onto the rack.
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