Rhubarb Roulade – an easy celebration dessert!
This Rhubarb Roulade is made from a quick and easy sponge cake rolled around a filling of Rhubarb Compote and whipped cream. The sponge and the Compote can be made a day ahead and then the Roulade assembled a few hours before it will be eaten. It looks beautiful, especially if it is dusted with icing sugar and then decorated with a few freeze-dried raspberries. It also tastes really good with a classic combination of sharp rhubarb, light buttery sponge and thick, whipped cream.
Rhubarb Compote is basically just fresh rhubarb cooked with sugar. It is a great basis for other rhubarb dishes, such as this Rhubarb Roulade, and is also the basis of another easy dessert recipe, Rhubarb Fool. I made a big batch of it, as I have a very productive rhubarb plant in my garden and then set about thinking about ways that I could use it.
As I was giving a special dinner, and needed an easy but show-stopping dessert, I immediately thought about making a roulade. They can be made in advance, assembled just before they are eaten, the combination of sponge, cream and fruit is generally popular with everyone and no one ever seems to realise how easy they are to make! Initially, I thought about making a more traditional Strawberry Roulade but then I thought about my Rhubarb Compote and decided to try something a bit different. I think the sweet-sour taste of the compote makes this dessert really special and, even though some of my guests were self-proclaimed rhubarb-haters, they all seemed happy to have second helpings.
Other Rhubarb recipes
In addition to this recipe for Rhubarb Roulade and the Rhubarb Compote which is used to make it and Rhubarb Fool, there are many of my other rhubarb recipes are included in this blog. There are basic recipes for both Rhubarb Curd and Rhubarb and Vanilla Jam. If you are a rhubarb lover – or at least “rhubarb curious” – you might also like to have a look at Rhubarb Curd and Rose Ice Cream, Rhubarb Upside Down Cake, Rhubarb Victoria Sandwich Cake and Rhubarb Bread and Butter Pudding. If you want to save a bit of money and like flavoured gin, you should definitely try making Rhubarb Gin and use it in some Rhubarb Gin Cocktails!
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Rhubarb Roulade
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 15
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: Serves six
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: English
Description
This Rhubarb Roulade is a fantastic celebration dessert which looks beautiful and tastes delicious. It consists of light, airy sponge rolled around a combination of sweetened Rhubarb Compote and whipped cream.
Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- 85 g caster sugar plus 1 tablespoon
- 85 g plain flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Around 5 tablespoons of Rhubarb Compote
- 200 ml double cream, whipped to form soft peaks
- A little icing sugar
Instructions
- Set oven to 180 C, 350 F or Gas Mark 4.
- Line your Swiss roll tin with baking parchment or grease-proof paper.
- Combine the eggs and sugar and whisk until thick and foamy. This can take up to 5 minutes. This is one recipe where you really need a food processor with a whisk attachment or an electric whisk rather than attempting to do it with a hand whisk.
- Fold the flour and baking powder into the foamy egg and sugar mixture.
- Pour the combined mixture into your Swiss roll tin.
- Put the tin in the oven and bake the sponge for 15 minutes until firm and golden.
- Turn the cooked sponge onto another sheet of baking parchment or grease-proof paper on which you have sprinkled around a tablespoon of caster sugar.
- While the sponge is still warm, roll it up so it looks like a Swiss roll with the paper inside. You need to roll it up while it is warm – you can’t do this when it has cooled off as the cake will crack! Allow to cool completely.
- You need to construct your roulade a couple of hours before you are ready to eat it – otherwise, the filling will make it soggy. You need to unroll the sponge and remove the paper. Spread the Rhubarb Compote over the sponge and top it with the whipped double cream. Don’t spread filling too thick and don’t take it quite up to the edge of the sponge (leave a gap of a couple of centimetres). This will avoid too much squidging out when you roll the cake up again!
- Roll the filled cake up into a Swiss roll shape again.
- Dust with sieved icing sugar.
Notes
The cooking times given are for making the Rhubarb Roulade using Rhubarb Compote that you have already made. You will need to allow a further 45 minutes preparation and cooking time to make the Compote plus additional time to allow it to cool.
Keywords: rhubarb, roulade, rhubarb roulade, rhubarb dessert, rhubarb recipe
