Recipe of the week: rhubarb and almond cake
If rhubarb isn’t in season, you can use raspberries, blackberries or even blueberries for this versatile cake

The idea of throwing chopped rhubarb into cake batter, raw, like little sticks of Brighton rock, came to me via my friend Sarah Standing, says Skye McAlpine. And it is sheer genius. When rhubarb isn’t in season, you could use raspberries (frozen or fresh), blackberries or even blueberries.
Ingredients: serves ten people
- 370g salted butter softened, plus more for the tin
- 370g caster sugar
- 370g ground almonds
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 5 eggs
- 3 tbsp milk
- 190g polenta
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- 300g rhubarb, chopped into 2cm pieces
- sea salt flakes
Method
- Heat the oven to 190°C. Butter a 23cm springform cake tin and line it with baking parchment.
- Beat the butter and sugar together until pale and light. Stir in the ground almonds and vanilla. Now beat in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the milk. Lastly, fold in the polenta, baking powder and ½ tsp salt.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared cake tin, then drop in the chunks of rhubarb, scattering them evenly through the cake.
- Bake in the oven for 70-80 minutes, until the cake is set and golden brown on the top. Let it cook a little more in the tin, then turn the cake out onto a dish or stand.
Taken from A Table Full of Love by Skye McAlpine, published by Bloomsbury at £26. To buy from The Week Bookshop for £20.99, call 020-3176 3835 or visit theweekbookshop.co.uk.
Sign up for the Food & Drink newsletter for recipes, reviews and recommendations
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Giorgio Armani obituary: designer revolutionised the business of fashion
In the Spotlight ‘King Giorgio’ came from humble beginnings to become a titan of the fashion industry and redefine 20th century clothing
-
Kim Jong Un’s triumph: the rise and rise of North Korea’s dictator
In the Spotlight North Korean leader has strengthened ties with Russia and China, and recently revealed his ‘respected child’ to the world
-
Crossword: September 13, 2025
The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Giorgio Armani obituary: designer revolutionised the business of fashion
In the Spotlight ‘King Giorgio’ came from humble beginnings to become a titan of the fashion industry and redefine 20th century clothing
-
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale – a ‘comfort’ watch for fans
The Week Recommends The final film of the franchise gives viewers a chance to say goodbye
-
The Paper: new show, same 'warmth and goofiness'
The Week Recommends This spin-off of the American version of The Office is ‘comfortingly and wearyingly familiar’
-
Rachel Jones: Gated Canyons – ‘riotously colourful’ works from an ‘exhilarating’ painter
The Week Recommends The 34-year-old is the first artist to take over Dulwich Picture Gallery’s main space
-
Born With Teeth: ‘mischievously provocative’ play starring Ncuti Gatwa
The Week Recommends ‘Sprightly’ production from Liz Duffy Adams imagines the relationship between Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe
-
Art review: Lorna Simpson: Source Notes
Feature Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, through Nov. 2
-
Jessica Francis Kane's 6 favorite books that prove less is more
Feature The author recommends works by Penelope Fitzgerald, Marie-Helene Bertino, and more
-
Book reviews: 'Baldwin: A Love Story' and 'The Fort Bragg Cartel: Drug Trafficking and Murder in the Special Forces'
Feature A loving James Baldwin biography and the drug crimes of two special ops veterans