Brown butter sprouted grain cake with rhubarb meringue buttercream

Makes 1 cake Cakes, Bread and Pastries

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Method

To make the cake, in a large shallow frying pan melt the butter over a medium heat. Swirl the pan around a bit every couple of minutes to help it cook evenly. Over a period of several minutes, you’ll notice the foam at the top of the butter start to change from a light yellow to dark tan. Once it reaches the dark tan stage and the butter looks light brown and golden, smell it. It should smell nutty, toasted and almost toffee-like. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 175C/ 350F/Gas 4. Grease the baking tins with butter and line with baking paper cut to fit.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and 1⁄2tsp salt. Set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the cooled brown butter and the sugar on medium speed until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix until combined. Add the milk and the flour mixture in four separate additions, alternating between the two, and mix until combined.

Evenly distribute the cake mixture between the prepared cake tins and place them in the oven. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until lightly golden on top and a skewer inserted into the centre of each cake comes out clean. Remove the cakes from the tins and place on a wire rack to cool.

To make the rhubarb meringue buttercream, bring the rhubarb, granulated sugar and 3tbsp of water to a boil over a medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and continue cooking for around 20 minutes, until the syrup is very pink and the rhubarb disintegrates slightly. Strain, reserving the syrup.

Bring a pan of water to a boil over a medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and whisk together the egg whites, caster sugar and rhubarb syrup in a heatproof bowl over the water (but not touching). Cook, whisking continuously, until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is hot but not boiling. Transfer the mixture to a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and beat on a high speed for around 8 minutes, until the meringue is thick and glossy and the outside of the bowl feels the same as room temperature.

Stop and change the whisk to the paddle attachment. With the mixer running on low speed, add the butter, one cube at a time, mixing until smooth before adding the next one. If the buttercream curdles, continue mixing it, and it will eventually smooth out.

Once the buttercream is suitably smooth, assemble and frost the cake. To help give the frosting a really smooth finish, you can use an icing spatula. Dip it in hot water to before making a final pass over the frosting. Serve.