This journal part of my website has been neglected for some time (I’m shamefully talking years). Writing up the recipes and compiling the posts can be a lengthy procedure, so when times were busy they were the first thing to fall off my to-do list. Over the years Instagram has become my platform of choice. I love the immediateness of it and the community who constantly inspire. It’s probably made me a bit lazy though.

We now find ourselves in unprecedented times due to the Covid-19 pandemic and my work commitments have slowed down somewhat. As worrying and unnerving as these things are, I’m trying to use this time positively - sowing seeds on the balcony, more cooking, spending time on the allotment and reviving this Journal section of my website. I’ll be sharing recipes and a few other related posts. There’ll be some favourite recipes that I have never got around to writing up along with some recipes that I am cooking at the moment that use store cupboard ingredients and raise the spirits.

I’m starting with rhubarb. We’re lucky enough to have a plentiful patch on our allotment - so crumbles, tarts and puree for the morning porridge have been on a constant cycle in our house for a number of weeks now. A good rhubarb cake is invaluable too, working as both a cake to have with coffee and a dessert served with a dollop of greek yoghurt.

I came across this recipe when scouring the shelves of my local library. It’s by Diana Henry and can be found in her rather wonderful book, ‘How to Eat a Peach’. The combination of rhubarb with rosemary and marmalade won me over immediately - I also have plenty of rosemary on my allotment and I’m never ever without a jar of marmalade in my kitchen cupboard.

RHUBARB, MARMALADE + ROSEMARY CAKE

Serves 8-10

225g caster sugar
8 sprigs rosemary
225g butter, at room temperature
125g ground almonds
3 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
200g marmalade (plus 40g more for glazing)
finely grated zest of 1 orange
100g plain flour
125g polenta
1 tsp baking powder
275g rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 3cm lengths (or longer, if you like)
2 tbsp granulated sugar

Preheat the oven to 160C/gas mark 3. Butter and base-line a 20cm springform cake tin.

Put the sugar and two sprigs of rosemary into a mortar and bash with a pestle for a couple of minutes, to infuse the sugar. Remove the sprigs and spines, shaking off the sugar, and discard them.

Beat the butter and rosemary sugar together until pale and fluffy. Stir in the almonds, then beat the eggs in a little at a time, mixing well after each addition.

Fold in the marmalade, orange zest, flour, polenta, baking powder and a pinch of salt.

Lay three sprigs of rosemary on the base of the cake tin. Spoon in the cake batter and lay the rest of the rosemary on top.

Toss the rhubarb with the granulated sugar, then spread this on top of the rosemary. Bake for 1 hour 20 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. You will need to cover the cake with foil in the last 20 minutes, as it can get quite dark.

Gently heat the extra marmalade in a saucepan until it becomes quite syrupy, then push it through a sieve to remove any bits of zest. Leave the sieved marmalade to set a little (just enough to make it easily spreadable) then, using a pastry brush, brush the marmalade thickly on top of the cake.

Leave to cool, then run a knife between the cake and the inside of the tin and carefully remove the cake, then remove the base and the paper. Slide the cake on to a plate to serve.