Happy Marriage Cake / Hjonabandssaela

This is my adaptation of an Icelandic recipe for a deliciously rich and tangy sort of streusel cake made with fresh rhubarb. It’s a great way to launch into the fresh flavours of spring, or cheer up a dreary winter day if you have some rhubarb pieces in the freezer.

This stuff works – Hubbie loved it so much I didn’t get a picture until it was mostly gone!

1-1/2 lb fresh rhubarb

1/4 cup turbinado sugar

Pinch salt

1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1-1/4 cups quick oats (makes for a smoother cake batter – if you only have rolled oats, pulse them in the food processor with the flour for a minute or two)

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp ground cardamom

½ tsp sea salt

2 large eggs

14 tbsp butter, cubed (190 g if you have a scale)

1 egg, mixed with 1 tbsp milk

¾ cup all-purpose flour

2/3 cup brown sugar (light or dark works fine)

9 tbsp butter, cubed (125 g)

1-1/4 rolled oats (this provides a better chew for the topping)

½ tsp ground ginger

¼ cup chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350F. In a medium baking dish, toss in rhubarb pieces with 1/4 cup turbinado sugar & salt. Bake for approximately 25 minutes, just until soft and slightly roasted.

Prepare crust – a food processor works well, or a large bowl if you don’t have one. First, blend flour, oats, baking soda, cardamom and salt (if you need to pulse your oats, do that in your food processor, then dump into a bowl. No need to clean the processor.)

Blend 3/4 cup sugar and 2 eggs until smooth in food processor, then gradually add dry mixture. Lastly, add butter pieces and pulse until well mixed. Place dough in greased 8 inch square pan and press down slightly.

Make topping: Combine flour, oats, brown sugar and ginger into food processor. Pulse to blend, then add butter pieces and pulse again. Add egg mixture and pulse until you have a shaggy crumble.

Assemble cake: Spread rhubarb over dough in pan. Drop topping over rhubarb in pieces, covering the filling. Sprinkle nuts over top of crumble.

Bake at 350F for approximately 30 minutes, then switch to 350F convection to brown top and bake 10 minutes more. (If you don’t have convection, it make take another 5 minutes to achieve a golden hue.) Cake is done when internal temperature reaches 195F.

Let cool on wire rack. Serve in squares with a good cup of coffee or tea, or a bit of Skyr or vanilla ice cream if you want to gild the lily.