rhubarb, ricotta and hazelnut loaf
22 Jul 2024
One of my work colleagues asked me how I choose what to bake. I replied that sometimes the recipe comes straight out of a book or magazine but often times I use a recipe as a starting point and then think but what would happen if I made a few little changes. Sometimes it works out fine. Sometimes I have to do a bit of tweaking before it works.
Leftover ricotta that I didn't want to waste and in season rhubarb that I wanted to use, inspired this recipe. I used the Strawberry, spelt ricotta loaf recipe by Danille Alvarez as my starting point and used rhubarb instead of the strawberries. Rhubarb pairs very well with orange and hazelnut so I used a bit of hazelnut meal instead of flour and changed the lemon rind to orange rind.
It's a thing with me, but I don't like the texture of rhubarb when it's baked on top of a cake. I find it way too dry for my liking but I didn't want to go through the time consuming process of oven roasting the rhubarb, my usual go-to method. Instead I looked for a microwave version and found this recipe online, which I adapted. Please note you just fold uncooked rhubarb into the cake batter, the poached rhubarb is just for the topping but if you don't mind the texture of baked rhubarb stalks, then you can forgo this step entirely.
Here’s the
recipe for you inspired by a Danielle Alvarez recipe, which makes a small loaf cake. For all my recipes I use a 250ml cup and a 20 ml tablespoon,
unsalted butter and 60g eggs. My oven is a conventional gas oven so if your
oven is fan forced you may need to reduce the oven temperature by 20°C.
Rhubarb, ricotta and hazelnut loaf
Poached rhubarb
125g rhubarb stalks, chopped into 9cm lengths (the dimensions of the tin)
2 tsp honey
1 tbs orange juice or water
Poached rhubarb
125g rhubarb stalks, chopped into 9cm lengths (the dimensions of the tin)
2 tsp honey
1 tbs orange juice or water
Cake
110g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch fine sea salt
40g hazelnut meal
40 ml milk
65g ricotta
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
90g rhubarb stalks
115 g unsalted butter, at room temperature or slightly warmer (but not melted)
3 tsp orange rind
110g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch fine sea salt
40g hazelnut meal
40 ml milk
65g ricotta
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
90g rhubarb stalks
115 g unsalted butter, at room temperature or slightly warmer (but not melted)
3 tsp orange rind
150g caster sugar
1 tablespoon raw sugar
1 tablespoon raw sugar
To finish (optional)
1 tbs raspberry jam, thinned with 1 tbs boiling water, then heated in the microwave for 1 minute
Poached rhubarb
Combine rhubarb, honey and the orange juice in a microwave-safe bowl, cover with baking paper. Microwave mixture on medium for 1 minute or until the stalks are just starting to soften but not falling apart. If not quite ready, cook for another 30 seconds Set aside to cool completely before using.
Poached rhubarb
Combine rhubarb, honey and the orange juice in a microwave-safe bowl, cover with baking paper. Microwave mixture on medium for 1 minute or until the stalks are just starting to soften but not falling apart. If not quite ready, cook for another 30 seconds Set aside to cool completely before using.
Cake
Preheat the oven to 180°C conventional. Line a small loaf tin with baking paper, allowing the sides of the paper to extend past the edges of the tin.
Preheat the oven to 180°C conventional. Line a small loaf tin with baking paper, allowing the sides of the paper to extend past the edges of the tin.
Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl, then stir through the hazelnut meal. In a separate bowl, combine the milk and ricotta. Set both bowls aside.
Crack the eggs into a small bowl (do not whisk) and add the vanilla extract. Set aside. Chop the reserved rhubarb into 1 cm pieces.
Add the butter, orange rind and caster sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on a high speed until the mixture is light, fluffy and almost white in colour. This will take about 5–7 minutes. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides as needed.
With the machine running, add the eggs, letting one slide in at a time, and waiting until each egg is fully incorporated before adding in the next.
Stop the machine, add in half the flour mixture, and turn the machine on to low speed to just combine. Add in the milk-ricotta mixture and mix until combined. Finally, stop the machine again and add in the remaining flour mixture. Return the machine to a low speed and mix until it all just comes together. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and gently fold in the chopped rhubarb.
Spoon the batter into the tin, level the batter with an offset spatula then top with the slices of poached rhubarb. Sprinkle the raw sugar over the rhubarb and bake on the centre rack of the preheated 180°C conventional oven for 70–80 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Let the loaf cool in the tin before tipping it out.
Just before serving, if you like, you can glaze the rhubarb by brushing with the thinned out jam then slice and serve.
See you all again next week with some more baking from my kitchen.
Bye for now,
Jillian
