Upside-down Rhubarb & Ginger Cake

Back once again with the rhubarb beats... This very simple recipe will keep for a few days and work a treat as an afternoon cake, but even better as a hot dessert fresh out the oven served with lots of clotted cream ;)

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My Upside-down Rhubarb & Ginger Cake

serves 6-8

INGREDIENTS

• 500g rhubarb
• 50g sugar
• 8tbsp finely chopped stem ginger
• 8tbsp ginger syrup from the jar
• 175g self-raising flour
• 1/2tsp baking powder
• 1tsp ground ginger
• 175g soft light brown sugar
• 175g softened butter
• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 180C or gas mark 4. Grease a deep 8-inch round cake tin, line the base with greaseproof paper. 

Chop the rhubarb into 2cm chunks, place into a baking tray cover with the sugar and bake for 8-10 minutes or until softened. Fill the tin with the rhubarb (lay as flat as possible) and half of the chopped ginger, then spoon half of the ginger syrup over the top.  

Sift the flour, baking powder and ground ginger into a mixing bowl. Stir in the soft brown sugar and butter, then add the eggs and beat together for 1-2 minutes until level and creamy. Carefully spoon the mixture into the tin and smooth the surface. 

Bake in the centre of the oven for about 50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. Leave the cake to cool in the tin for about 5 minutes. Turn out on a wire rack, peel off the lining paper and leave to cool completely. Add the reserved chopped ginger to the top of the rhubarb and drizzle over the remaining ginger syprup. 

Mango Tarte Tatin with Coconut & Peanut Brittle

Salvador! The biggest and busiest city in the northeast of Brazil, Salvador is known for its architecture, history, music and mind-blowing gastronomy. The locals pride themselves on using regional produce and there's a huge variety of natural products to choose. I met Mariana, who's got a huge knowledge of the local produce, but she is actually from the south of Brazil. She says that when she arrived in Salvador, they introduced her to a completely different world. Where the variety of fresh produce is almost overwhelming, from palm oil to green tomatoes, there is a lot more choices. The variety of local products together with a strong African influence makes the food of Bahia utterly special. One of the ever present products is coconut and the Bahia state is the biggest consumer of coconut in all of Brazil. I was then taken to try Cocada - A sweet coconut snack made with condensed milk. The Brazilians like their treats sweet and everyone seems to have a sweet tooth!

The coconut and it's flavours have inspired this dessert and with the abundance of mango juice in Brasil I just had to incorporate their flavour into this dish. The crunchiness of the brittle works well with the soft mango and giving a real tropical kick to it too.

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My Mango Tarte Tatin with coconut and peanut brittle 

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE COCONUT BRITTLE:

• 150g caster sugar
• 50g salted peanuts, roughly chopped
• 25g dessicated coconut

FOR THE MANGO TARTE TATIN:

• 150g caster sugar
• 50g unsalted butter
• 2 mangos, peeled and cut into thick wedges
• 1 sheet ready rolled puff pastry

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius or 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper or a silicone sheet. Pour the sugar into a heavy-based, non-stick frying pan and set over a medium heat. Gently tilt and swirl the pan (do not stir) until the sugar has melted and turns a deep caramel colour.

Add the peanuts and coconut and stir to combine. Pour the mixture into the lined tray and leave to cool. When cool, break into shards and set aside.

For the mango tart, unroll the pastry and cut out a circle the same diameter as the pan you’re going to use. Heat the sugar and butter in a 20cm non-stick frying pan until the sugar has melted and turned a deep caramel colour.

Remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly. Add the mango wedges and shake gently until they start to caramelise. Remove from the heat then lay the pastry over the top.

Bake for 20 minutes until the pastry in risen and golden. Leave to cool slightly then turn out onto a plate. Serve the mango tart topped with shards of the brittle.