Godmother cake.

Godmother Cake Full Size

I made this cake back in September for my beautiful Godmother’s birthday.  It’s such an outdated notion, I know…the godmother part, not the birthday cake!  We often laugh about how she’s completely failed in her mission to see to my spiritual guidance all these years, as neither of us are at all religious…but we do both share a great love of op shopping and very similar eclectic bower-bird home decoration tendencies!  And far more valuable than any religious instruction in my opionion, she has kindly passed on many of her secret Melbourne second-hand shopping locations to me…now that’s my kind of spiritual guidance 😉

Godmother Cake

Adapted from Karen Martini’s Banana, Rhubarb & Yoghurt Cake

Ingredients

  • 250g self-raising flour
  • 50g almond meal
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 120g unsalted butter
  • 120g castor sugar
  • 3 extra-large eggs
  • 60g natural yoghurt
  • 60ml rosewater
  • 160g baked rhubarb, cut into 3cm lengths, syrup reserved (here is a great recipe for baked rhubarb, courtesy of  the lovely HFW…or my TV boyfriend, as my brother likes to call him)
  • 120g ripe banana, sliced (about 2)
  • 100g shredded halva (a nutty, sugary sweet sold at Middle Eastern grocers)
  • 30g pistachios

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 160C conventional. Grease and line a 20-centimetre loose-bottomed cake tin.
  2. Add the flour, almond meal and baking powder to a large bowl and dry whisk to break up any clumps.
  3. Using a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time until incorporated. Add the dry mix and beat until incorporated. Follow with the yoghurt and rosewater, and then fold in the rhubarb and banana by hand.
  4. Tip the mix into the prepared tin and bake for about 70 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. Set aside to cool a little before unmoulding.
  5. Warm the reserved rhubarb juices in a small saucepan and then spoon over the whole cake, letting it all soak in.  Make sure the cake is on a plate to catch any syrup that collects at the bottom…over time it will be reabsorbed.
  6. Top with the halva and pistachios and serve.

Notes

  • Pine Nuts or Almonds can be substituted for pistachios
  • Some cardamom added to the flour gives it a spicy lift
  • If you can find it, use the ‘shredded’ type of halva – not the stuff that comes in a block.  I was a bit confused when I saw the picture with this recipe…I thought it was persian fairy floss at first!  I got mine at Al Alamy in Coburg, but any Middle Eastern grocer should be able to help you out.

 

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