A Happy Accident

I found some delicate pretty-in-pink forced rhubarb at the market the other day. Just the thing for a rhubarb cake.

I got my ingredients together: equal quantities of flour, ground almonds, butter and golden caster sugar (I cut down on this last, obviously). Then odds and ends like baking powder, additions of my own like ginger and cinnamon, and crushed walnuts as I had no flaked almonds. And of course the chopped rhubarb to go on top.

Then I mixed my ingredients together and popped them in the baking tin. It seemed a little smaller than I’d imagined, but never mind. Into the oven it went, looking good.

Just before it was due to come out, I noticed my scale pan …

Yes. There was the flour, with baking powder, ginger and cinnamon. Clearly, these ingredients had not been included in my cake.

Hmm. Nothing for it but to bash on and hope for the best.

Reader, it was delicious. Next time I use this recipe – and it’s a keeper – it still won’t have flour or baking powder. Though I might allow the spices in.

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Author: margaret21

I'm retired and live in North Yorkshire, where I walk , write, volunteer and travel as often as I can.

66 thoughts on “A Happy Accident”

  1. Sounds like a tasty baking ‘accident’, Margaret! Looks delicious, too. Many great recipes have come about by accident, so you are following a great tradition here…

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  6. It looks delicious. There’s a German song based on an old tongue twister about ‘Barbera Rhabarberbar’ doing the rounds at the moment, have you come across it? Barbera makes the best rhubarb pie in the land- think she has some stiff competition here!

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    1. I’ve just asked my fluent-German-speaker husband about the tongue twister. No joy. But if Barbera makes good rhubarb pie I should get to know her!

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  7. An excellent outcome! Some of the best discoveries were accidental, eg, chocolate chip cookies, and of course the sandwich named after the Earl. Will this be named after Margaret?
    I can’t help but notice the scale pan — looks vintage.

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  8. Recipe duly noted; it looks delicious. I regularly switch ground almonds for flour but I’ve not tried removing the flour element without a replacement. And you’ve reminded me that I need to buy some rhubarb! A happy accident indeed. Thanks for sharing; pity you can’t pass the cake around too! 😉

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  14. It looks and sounds delicious, despite the omissions! My favourite flourless chocolate cake recipe (one of Nigella’s) uses ground almonds instead of flour so I’m not surprised this worked out so well 🙂

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    1. I like that! My French friends used to love coming round to bake English teatime treats with me. They rated English bakes. Their to-end patisserie is wonderful, but I think less highly of their day-to-day offerings.

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  21. oh I giggled! Sadly though as delicious as it looks I will not be joining the crowd clamouring to eat it or make their own as rhubarb is a stalk I have yet to fall in love with. Robert despaired of my taste buds as he was like you and apparently every other blogger and loved rhubarb!

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      1. Yup, doesn’t matter how delicate it is I don’t enjoy it – same with gooseberries, coffee and red/white/black currants. oh and ginger in sweet things. You can see now why Robert was in despair at times over my taste buds!!

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      2. As I am. You’re talking about some of my favourite foods here. I missed gooseberries and currants of all colours desperately in France. And I can’t begin the day without coffee. If I can’t have any, I’m a real grump.

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  27. A happy accident indeed. I use ground almonds with oats to make crumble for rhubarb or apple instead of flour. It works well and I always halve the amount of sugar in any baking I do these days (which is not a lot).

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