Sticky Fingers, Green Thumb

Sticky Fingers, Green Thumb by Hayley McKee is a soulful, earthy and seasonal cookbook which celebrates the use of vegetables, flowers and edible herbs in cakes, cookies, brownies and pies. With beautiful photography and tips on how to cook and bake with the herbs and fruits from your garden, this is the perfect book for those who love to bake. But if you don’t have a green thumb, fear not as all the ingredients can be store bought!

Rhubarb and Pumpernickel Cake with Chocolate and Herb Ganache

All the best sour ingredients meet up in this bittersweet cake. Tart rye joins forces with liqueur-spiked rhubarb, a chocolate herb ganache and a garnish of crispy rye croutons. A satisfying dessert for when the nights get colder.

SERVES  10–12

125g  (4½ oz/1 cup) Dutch (unsweetened) cocoa powder

250ml  (8½ fl oz/1 cup) boiling water

1 pumpernickel bread slice, torn into rough crumbs

3  tablespoons orange-flavoured liqueur (such as Cointreau)

225g  (8 oz) unsalted butter

185g (6½ oz/1 cup) soft brown sugar

345g  (12oz/1½ cups) caster (superfine) sugar

4 teaspoons molasses

4 eggs

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

1 teaspoon salt

300g (10½ oz/2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour

100g  (3½ oz/1cup) rye flour

250g  (9 oz/1 cup) sour cream

450g (1lb) rhubarb, cut into 2cm (¾  in) pieces

Rosemary blossoms, to decorate

HERB GANACHE

2 rosemary stalks

300ml (10fl oz) thick (double/heavy) cream

250g (9 oz) good-quality dark chocolate (approx.60% cocoa solids), broken into chunks

RYE CROUTONS

2 dark rye bread slices, toasted and crusts removed

30g (1 oz) unsalted butter 1½  tablespoons soft brown sugar

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 175°C (345°F). Lightly grease and line individual mini bundt tins, a 12-hole standard muffin tin or a 22 cm (9 in) round cake tin with baking paper.

For the herb ganache, add the rosemary stalks and cream to a saucepan, bring to a simmer and leave to cook over a low heat for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool and infuse.

For the rye croutons, cut the toasted rye bread slices into 5 mm (¼ in) squares. Melt the butter in a frying pan set over a medium–high heat, add the sugar and the bread squares and cook until caramelised and lightly crisp. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Stir the cocoa powder and boiling water together in a bowl to make a thick paste.

Add the pumpernickel breadcrumbs to a separate bowl, pour over the liqueur and set aside to soak while you prepare the rest of the cake.

Beat the butter, sugars and molasses together in the bowl of an electric mixer for 10 minutes, or until fluffy. Continuing to beat on a low speed, add the eggs one at a time, followed by the baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and half of the flours. Add the sour cream, then the remainder of the dry ingredients. Pour over the chocolate paste and mix until evenly combined, then gently mix in the soaked pumpernickel and rhubarb.

Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 25 minutes if using bundt or muffin tins, or 45 minutes if using a round cake tin, until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

While the cakes are cooling, finish the ganache. Remove the rosemary stalks from the cream and add the dark chocolate, then transfer the mixture to a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of lightly simmering water. Heat gently, stirring, until the chocolate has melted completely and the mixture is glossy.

Spread the ganache over the cooled cakes and decorate with the crispy rye croutons and a few rosemary blossoms.

GARDENING TIP

Well-loved rhubarb can be productive for 10 years or more and has a large root system, so plant it somewhere it can dig deep and nest. For a faster   yield, ask your nursery for rhubarb crowns or budded pieces and start from there rather than growing from seed.

 

Find out more about Hayley by visiting her website StickyFingersGreenThumb.com or follow her on Instagram

Photograph by Tara Pearce

Sticky Fingers, Green Thumb by Hayley McKee is published on 8^th March. Order from your local shop that sells books or online from Amazon or Waterstones