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Rhubarb, Pistachio and Salted Caramel Layer Cake
Prep Time
2 hrs
Cook Time
1 hr
Total Time
3 hrs
 
Inspired by this cake from Rasperri Cupcakes blog, and this construction from Alice Arndell.
Course: Dessert
Author: Claudia Brick
Ingredients
Brown Butter and Yoghurt Cake
  • 300 g butter
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 330 g /1.5 cups caster sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 360 g flour (about 2 3/4 cups)
  • 4 tsp baking powder
  • 1 cup plain , unsweetened yogurt
Roasted Rhubarb
  • 500 grams rhubarb , chopped into 2 cm pieces
  • 2 tbsp sugar
Salted Caramel:
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1½ cups caster sugar (330g)
  • 90 g unsalted butter , cubed
  • ¾ cup cream + 1 tbsp
  • ½ -1 tsp table salt (according to your tastes)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Caramel Icing:
  • 500 g Philadelphia cream cheese
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup of salted caramel above
Pistachio crumb
  • 1/2 cup pistachio
  • 40 g caster sugar
  • 40 g flour
  • 30 g butter , cold
Instructions
Brown Butter and Yogurt Cake
  1. In a medium saucepan, heat the butter until melted. Continue cooking at a boil, stirring often, until the milk solids turn brown and the butter starts to smell nutty. This will take 5-10 minutes, and happens quickly near the end so watch carefully to ensure the butter doesn’t burn.
  2. Remove fro, he heat immediately and pour into a bowl (including all the brown flecks). Stir in the vanilla (it will bubble up), then place in the freezer until it is about half solid (about half an hour).
  3. Preheat oven to 175° and grease and line 3 x 20cm round cake tins (if you only have one, you can use the same tin and put the remaining batter in the fridge while you wait for each layer to cook).
  4. Cream the chilled brown butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, ensuring each is incorporated fully.
  5. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder.
  6. Fold a third of the flour mixture into the creamed mixture until just combined. Fold in half the yoghurt, then remaining flour, and finally the rest of the yoghurt.
  7. Divide batter evenly between the three tins and flatten the tops. Bake about 20minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean and the top springs back to touch. Be careful not to overbake.
  8. Cool in tins.
Rhubarb
  1. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Spread the rhubarb out on the baking paper and sprinkle the sugar over the top. Bake for 15 minutes or until tender (a fork speared through should meet no resistance). This baking time may vary depending on the thickness of your rhubarb
  2. When cool, if your rhubarb is thick (like mine was), slice the pieces in half lengthways.
Salted Caramel
  1. Heat the butter and cream in a small saucepan over a low heat until the butter is melted and the mixture is combined. Remove from the heat.
  2. Place the sugar and water in a large pot over a high heat. Cook until the mixture reaches a dark amber colour (~175°C/350°F on a candy thermomenter), swirling the pot to allow the sugar to cook evenly. When it has reached this point (usually around 10 minutes), remove from the heat and whisk in the cream mixture - be careful here, as it boils up vigorously with a lot of steam, so you may want to wear an oven mitt or similar to protect your hand.
  3. When fully combined, return to the heat for 3-5 minutes, stirring constantly, to thicken it slightly. If you feel like the caramel is as dark as you want it early than this, remove from the heat.
  4. Stir in the table salt and vanilla essence. Leave to cool
Cream Cheese Caramel Icing
  1. Beat the cream cheese and vanilla until smooth. Add 3/4 cup of the salted caramel and mix until combined.
Pistachio crumb
  1. In a food processor, blitz the pistachios until roughly chopped (it doesn’t matter if there are pieces of varying sizes (you can use a knife, it will just take longer).
  2. Put the chopped pistachios in a small bowl and stir in the sugar and flour. Add the cubed butter and rub in with your fingers to make a coarse crumb.
  3. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Spread out the crumb on the baking paper and bake for 10 minutes or until starting to turn slightly golden around the edges. If it is baking unevenly, give it a stir and leave in a for a few minutes. It will become more crunchy after you take it out of the oven as well.
Assembly
  1. If the cakes have domed, slice off the top of the dome to flatten them.
  2. Put the bottom layer on your cake stand or serving plate and top with a third of the cream cheese frosting, a third of the rhubarb, and a drizzle of salted caramel. Sprinkle over a couple of tablespoons of pistachio crumb. Repeat with the remaining layers.
  3. If you are going to be moving the cake around a bit, you may find it helpful to cut a few wooden skewers to the height of the cake and spear them through the three layers to keep them all sitting evenly together.
  4. Keep at room temperature until serving. Best eaten the same day. Keep left overs in the fridge in an airtight container.
Recipe Notes

It is best made and eaten the same day, but you can make each component a day in advance and store separately until ready to assemble. Store the cakes wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature. The rhubarb, caramel and cream cheese frosting will keep in airtight containers in the fridge for a couple of days. To use the caramel, heat briefly in a small pot or microwave until runny enough to drizzle over the cake, and you may need to beat the frosting again quickly to get it to a spreadable consistency.