Irish Country Rhubarb Cake

Irish Country Rhubarb Cake looks much more like a pie than it does a cake and for good reason – when you get to the instructions it tells you to have a deep tin or pie dish which means it’s actually a pie and boy oh boy what a pie it is!!

I can’t even tell you how swiftly I consumed both pieces of this pie within minutes of finishing these photos. I don’t say that lightly as usually I try to test things out during the photo process more to give the viewer an idea of what this dish looks like, but with a little cream or ice cream, this is one of those ‘can I have another slice’ dishes.

Two of us successfully finished the whole thing by breakfast the next day because the rhubarb flavor just is so full in this and that scone crust will definitely be appearing here again because it left a mark. The pastry alone is the most forgiving and easy one I’ve ever made so much so that I’m keeping it stored in my back pocket for other uses.

Ireland being an island nation is one where the locals would utilize all the food they have available on their shores and so stumbling upon this recipe made sense for the type of hardy vegetable rhubarb is and the fact it likes a wet environment to grow, with cold not really deterring it too much from sprouting back again in the spring.

Having only spent 48 hours in Ireland, all of it in Dublin, I have yet to experience the green hills and some of the beautiful scenery it has, but in the meantime a slice of this rhubarb pie will do.

How to prepare your Irish Country Rhubarb Cake

• Prepare the pastry: Ensure your buttermilk and butter is as chilled as possible before adding to your dry ingredients.
• Halving the dough: Use a scale to halve evenly, it is also best to refrigerate your dough halves whilst you prepare each portion ahead of baking.
• Rolling out the pastry: Simple roll out each half, pressing the bottom portion into your pie dish and allowing for 1/4 inch overhang over the edges.
• Prepare your rhubarb: You can prepare your rhubarb just before you are ready to bake and top with pastry.
• Preparing the top pastry layer: Crimp the edges tightly, slice slits into the top.
• Baking the cake: The pie will be perfectly baked when you can see bubbling from inside the pie and the pastry looks perfectly golden all over.

Tips for the best Irish Country Rhubarb Cake

Scone pastry: The scone pastry is not like regular pie dough so if it has been sitting on your kitchen counter for 15 or 20 minutes this cake will still turn out beautifully, however, to make sure the dough is easy to handle, you should ensure it’s place in the refrigerator if you are not going to handle or bake it within the next 10 minutes

Rhubarb: You want fresh rhubarb for this cake and approximately 6 stalks of medium rhubarb will measure the quantity needed for this recipe. It’s best to slice your rhubarb to be no longer than 1 inch in length so the sugar is able to successfully mix with all the portions as the cake bakes.

Keeping the cake: You can leave this out and covered for 1 day, any longer you will want to place the cake in the fridge.

Reheating the cake if it’s few days old: Preheat the oven to 100C/210F and place your servings in a heatproof dish and place in the oven until the pastry feels warm to the touch, approximately 7 minutes. It should be almost as good as the day you baked it.

More pie recipes you’ll enjoy

Cereal Pie

Coffee Blueberry Pie

Strawberry and Rhubarb Crumble Pie

Irish Country Rhubarb Cake
Adapted from irelandseye.com
Serves 8

Ingredients:
Scone pastry
340 grams / 2 2/3 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
100 grams / 1/2 cup superfine/caster sugar
80 grams / 2.8 ounces butter, cold and cubed
1 egg
175 milliliters / 3/4 cup buttermilk
Rhubarb filling
500 grams / 1 pound rhubarb, roughly chopped
150 grams/3/4 cup superfine/caster sugar

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 180C/350F and greaseproof a pie dish.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl, adding your sugar and stirring through to combine.

Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs and make a well in the center.

Beat the egg and buttermilk in a small bowl until well combined and pour into the dry mixture.

Carefully stir together until a dough has formed, and turn onto place on a lightly floured surface.

Halve the dough, setting one aside.

With the remaining half, roll out until it is approximately 1/4 inch thickness, adding more flour to your working surface as needed to ensure it doesn’t stick.

Press into your pie dish, allowing for at least 1/2 inch overhang.

Place the sliced rhubarb into the base and spread out evenly.

Pour the sugar over the top evenly, tapping to let it sink within the layers of rhubarb.

Roll out the remaining half of dough and carefully place on top.

Slice off any overhang beyond 1/2 inch and press the edges together.

Slice slits into the top of the pastry.

Place in the oven and bake for 50 minutes or until golden and bubbling.

Remove and allow to cool to room temperature.

Slice and serve with pouring cream or ice cream.

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