How to make a rhubarb and Swiss meringue cake that's almost too pretty to eat

Forced rhubarb, which will shortly disappear, is one of early spring's rare seasonal treats. 'Sure, wild garlic is starting to peep through,' says Tom Parker Bowles, 'and English chicory, too, but this is a cusp month that sits, slightly awkwardly, between the last, aged fumble of winter and spring’s lusty thrust.'

'The plants start their life outside, grown for a couple of years in rich, fertile soil, which fills those roots with nutrients. A frost is essential, allowing all that stored vim to convert into vigorous growth, once starved of food or light. Which is what happens when the crowns are replanted in dark, long and warm sheds. Back in the old days, these low buildings were heated with coal, locally mined, abundant and cheap. Diesel is now preferred, but the stems still shoot up in the balmy gloom, desperately seeking the sun.'

Then again, aren't we all?

Rhubarb, orange and almond cake with amaretto, burnt Swiss meringue and rhubarb bows

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 250g rhubarb, cut into bitesize pieces
• 2 tbspn caster sugar
• 3 tbspn amaretto liqueur
• 200g unsalted butter, softened
• 200g caster sugar
• 1 orange, zest of
• 4 large eggs
• 150g ground almonds
• 100g plain flour
• 1 tspn baking powder
• A pinch of salt
• 50g flaked almonds, lightly toasted

For the rhubarb bows:

• 150g rhubarb, sliced lengthwise into thin ribbons with a vegetable peeler
• 100g caster sugar
• 100ml water

For the Swiss meringue:

• 4 egg whites
• 240g caster sugar
• 1 tspn vanilla

Method

1. Prepare the washed rhubarb by trimming the ends and chopping into bite-size pieces. Toss in the two tablespoons of sugar and set aside to macerate for 30 minutes
2. Reserve the excess liquid to make a syrup. In a small saucepan, heat the reserved juices with the amaretto for five minutes to slightly thicken and become syrupy. Set aside to cool
3. Preheat your oven to 160 ̊C fan/180 ̊C/350 ̊F/gas mark 4 and line a 23cm (9in) loose-bottomed cake tin.
4. Using electric beaters or a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until pale and then add the orange zest and eggs, one at time, beating between each addition. Fold through the ground almonds, flour, baking powder and salt. Mix until just combined and then fold through the macerated rhubarb and toasted flaked almonds. Mix gently to combine
5. Spoon the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 50–60 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Remove from the oven and, when the cake is still warm, brush with the amaretto syrup. Cool for 10 minutes in the tin and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely
6. Make the rhubarb bows by adding the rhubarb ribbons to a saucepan with the sugar and water. Cook for a couple of minutes so they are softened, but not falling apart. Gently remove, shape into bows and then set aside
7. Place the egg white and caster sugar into a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Whisk gently and heat until you can no longer feel grains of sugar when you rub a little between your fingers. Transfer to a stand mixer and whisk until glossy peaks form. Add the vanilla, mix and either spoon onto the cake or into a piping bag and create something more intricate. Use a kitchen blowtorch to gently toast the meringue and then arrange the bows. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream. This cake will keep for three days in an airtight container