Rhubarb Cinnamon Cake

My update to a fairly common recipe, inspired when I was gifted with several kilos of rhubarb this spring from my in-laws' garden! It's a dense, moist, pudding style cake rather than a light, crumbly tea-time one. The cinnamon sugar topping is much more practical than other variants, you could ice (frost) it with cream cheese icing, in which case leave off the sugar and cinnamon at the end but this may just be too rich? Let me know how it turns out if you do. It keeps for 3-4 days refrigerated and is even better the day after making. serve warmed with double cream or cool with a cup of tea.

• Ready In: 1 hr 5 mins
• Serves: 10
• Yields: 1 Large cake

Ingredients

• 120  g butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing the cake tin
• 300  g caster sugar
• 1  large egg
• 1  teaspoon vanilla extract
• 250  g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 2  teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
• 230  ml  semi skim milk
• 1  teaspoon lemon juice
• 500  g rhubarb, chopped fairly small (but see note in method, below.)
• 2  teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1  teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 100  g light brown sugar

Directions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C.
2. Prepare a 25cm / 10in cake tin by greasing thoroughly and dusting with a fine layer of plain flour.
3. Cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. add in the egg and vanilla extract and mix well.
4. Mix together the semi-skimmed milk and lemon juice. add to the other ingredients and beat until combined.
5. Add the bicarbonate of soda and then gradually add the flour, beating well after each addition. Add two teaspons of the cinnamon, and mix until it is all well combined.
6. Take the chopped rhubarb (I divide the stalks into two longwise, then chop into slices about the thickness of a one Pound / Euro coin).
7. NOTE As the rhubarb is cut small it will rise, giving a rhubarby "layer" on top of the cake. If you don't like this idea, don't cut the rhubarb so small - keep it in 1cm or so chunks and dust it with a very little plain flour before incorporating. Fold it into the cake batter.
8. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and level with the back of a spoon.
9. Sprinkle the top with the light brown sugar (use less if you don't have a sweet tooth), crumbling any lumps between your fingers as you go.
10. Finally sprinkle the top with the remaining teaspon of cinnamon - or more to taste.
11. Bake in the centre of the preheated oven for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
12. Leave to cool in the tin for 15 mins, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.