A delicious rhubarb loaf cake made with earl grey tea. Perfect for afternoon tea, the tart rhubarb goes perfectly with the sweet tea loaf.
Baking with rhubarb
I've been experimenting with rhubarb bakes over the last few weeks. I made the Five o'clock apron rhubarb bread and butter pudding which Mr R and me devoured in minutes. However, Little Miss R ate the bread and left the rhubarb.
Then I had grand plans for a rhubarb, custard and crumble cake which totally collapsed the second I took it out of the tin.
Tasted absolutely amazing but sadly not bloggable, although my husband did suggest that "splat cakes" could become a new baking trend.
My rhubarb tea loaf was a huge hit
I finally got it right with this delicious rhubarb earl grey tea loaf.
In my opinion you can't beat a tea loaf. This is:
- almost fat free (apart from the egg - which can be easily replaced with a flax egg to make this vegan)
- dairy free
- full of juicy tea-soaked sultanas
- contains a portion of veg (yes, rhubarb is a vegetable), and
- is absolutely delicious
It's a great way to sneak in an unusual vegetable into your child's diet if they're not keen on it normally.
Rhubarb is actually a vegetable
Although it's often mistaken for a fruit and usually appears in puddings, rhubarb is actually a vegetable.
What ingredients do you need to make this rhubarb loaf cake?
You will need the following ingredients to make this rhubarb tea loaf:
- 300g sultanas (other dried fruit can be used too)
- 200g roasted or stewed rhubarb
- 300ml strong hot tea - I used earl grey but English Breakfast will also work fine
- 100g dark brown sugar
- 275g self raising flour (or plain flour plus 1 teaspoon baking powder)
- 1 egg or vegan equivalent eg flax or chia egg
Other vegetarian rhubarb recipes
- strawberry and rhubarb oven-baked risotto
- spiced rhubarb chutney
- healthy rhubarb bars
- rhubarb and strawberry crumble
- vegan rhubarb muffins
- refined sugar free rhubarb compote
Pin earl grey tea and rhubarb loaf cake for later
How to make earl grey tea and rhubarb loaf cake
If you have made this recipe I would love it if you’d leave a comment and rating below. Thank you!
Earl grey tea and rhubarb loaf cake
Ingredients
- 300 g sultanas
- 200 g roasted or stewed rhubarb see note below
- 300 ml strong earl grey tea or tea of choice
- 100 g dark brown sugar
- 275 g self-raising flour or 275 g plain flour and 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 flax egg* or 1 beaten egg if not vegan
To ice (optional)
- 50 g icing sugar confectioners' sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons cold water
Instructions
- Start this recipe the night before you plan to make it.
- Mix 300g sultanas, 200g roasted or stewed rhubarb and 100g brown sugar together in a large bowl. Cover with 300ml strong hot tea and leave to soak overnight.
- Pre-heat the oven to 150°C(fan)/170°C/gas mark 3. If using a flax egg mix 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds with 2.5 tablespoon water and set aside to thicken.
- Grease and line a 2lb/900g loaf tin with baking paper. Stir 275g self raising flour and the flax egg (or beaten egg) into the fruit mixture. Pour into the prepared tin.
- Bake in the oven for 1 ½ to 1 ¾ hours* or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cover the top with foil if it's getting too brown.
- Allow to cool in the tin for five minutes then carefully turn out onto a cooling rack.
To ice your rhubarb tea loaf (optional)
- If you're icing the cake let it cool completely before doing so.
- Sift the icing sugar into a bowl and gradually stir through the cold water, a little at a time, until you have a thick, smooth icing.
- Drizzle over the cake and allow to set for a few minutes before serving.
Notes
- To make a flax egg mix 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds (linseeds) with 2.5 tablespoons water and set aside)
- To roast the rhubarb chop into 2cm pieces, toss with 20g caster sugar (or more if you prefer it to be sweeter - I don't think it needs more sugar in this recipe), cover and roast for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, in an oven preheated to 200°C.
- Ovens vary so leave it in for longer if the skewer doesn't come out clean.
- Nutritional information is approximate and is intended as a guide.
Nutrition
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Lorraine
Hi, can you cook this recipe in a slow cooker?
Mandy Mazliah
Hi Lorraine - I don't have a slow cooker so I don't know for sure but if you usually bake cakes in your slow cooker it should be fine
Julie
Used rhubarb tea to increase flavour and ginger syrup mixed with icing on the top! Yum!
Mandy Mazliah
That sounds delicious Julie - yum!
Margaret mackenzie
Recipe sounds great. Love rhubarb. Would I need to strain stewed rhubarb before adding to mixture?
Mandy Mazliah
Hi Margaret, I don't strain the rhubarb before making this recipe. If you feel that there is excess liquid you can do so but it should be fine without it.
Susan
Absolutely delicious! I was struggling to use up the rhubarb from my dad’s garden, so I’m so glad to have found this recipe. It has a lovely rich, deep flavour and the tartness of the rhubarb is perfect. I love it with a little butter and didn’t bother with the icing. One I’ll be making every year now.
Mandy Mazliah
So glad you enjoyed it Susan - we love this cake as well
Yvonne P.
Would you be so kind as to convert these measurements for me to standard
cups and teaspoons. This old lady gets confused trying to do it.
Earl Grey is my favorite tea and I've always love rhubarb (my cousin has a
rhubarb farm, so we get all we want). Thanks!
Mandy Mazliah
Hi Yvonne - if you go back to the recipe there is the option next to the title "Ingredients" to convert the recipe to US customary which will give the measurements in cups. Hope you enjoy the recipe.
Chocsmarty
This cake was absolutely fabulous. I was eager to make it but forgot to do the prep the night before so had to wait another day. Boy was I mad about that. However it was worth the wait. On the day I actually made it I had only to add the egg and flour and so it took no time at all to put it all together. What a great result. Needless to say I’ve made it more than once!
Mandy Mazliah
I'm so happy to hear that you loved the rhubarb loaf so much! It's one of my favourites.
Jacqui Bellefontaine
I love teabreads. Great idea to add rhubarb.
Mandy Mazliah
Thanks Jacqui - this one is really delicious
Janice
I'm really very excited about your recipe. I love rhubarb and I love teaabreads but have never thought about combining them. Thanks for this great recipe.
Mandy Sneaky veg
Thanks so much Janice - it's a great combination!
Suzie
Was looking for something to bake other than rhubarb crumble. This cake turned out great and was so easy to make. The sweetness from the sultanas and the tang from the rhubarb are just petefect together.
Mandy Mazliah
Thanks so much Suzie - I'm so glad that you enjoyed it x
Linda Hearne
My rhubarb has gone mad again this year. Nice to find something other than rhubarb crumble to use it in. I adapted the recipe slightly - used less sugar and added a tablespoon of marmalade. Turned out very moist but I didn't want to overcook it. I've no room in my freezer so I am going to have to share with work colleagues!
Mandy Mazliah
Marmalade is a great idea, glad you enjoyed it and hope your colleagues do too!
Fuss Free Helen
I love a good tea loaf and this one has a lovely twist. Thank you for linking up with #ExtraVeg, I always forget rhubarb is a veggie.
Mandy Mazliah
Thanks Helen, yes it's a funny old vegetable but I really can't get enough of it this year. Thanks for commenting.
Kate Veggie Desserts
This sounds gorgeous. I love baking with tea! And that 'splat cake' sounds good - shame it went splat! Thanks for linking up with #ExtraVeg!
Mandy Mazliah
Thanks Kate! Yes, the splat cake tasted amazing. Needs further experimentation I think...
Honest mum
Wow this looks simply incredible. Stunning photography too. Thanks for linking up to #tastytuesdays x
Mandy Mazliah
Thanks so much, it was really tasty. Working hard on improving my photography, still got a way to go but I think they're getting better. x
Julie's Family Kitchen
Ooh looks delicious. I'm looking forward to getting rhuhbarb in my veg box next week. I'm planning on making the traditional crumble but would love to make you cake too.
Mandy Mazliah
Thanks Julie, I absolutely love rhubarb but the kids are less keen!