Yesterday on Facebook I asked for recipes to use up some soy milk, not realizing that I had buttermilk left over from lemon scones I needed to use up first. Tastespotting lead me to this wonderful whole wheat strawberry lemon buttermilk cake. We added some rhubarb, too.
This cake is great because it's made with whole wheat flour, and a relatively small amount of butter (I suspect you could also use oil). And it's a bit more interesting than others because it's sweetened with agave syrup. Agave syrup (or nectar-- same thing) is made from the juice of the agave plant (you may remember agave from tequila), and gained popularity in recent years for being a natural, healthier alternative to more refined sugars. It's lighter than honey, and has a low-glycemic index. Some people seem to still think it's shit. I have little opinion about agave syrup, other than it was really expensive, but also pretty fun to try.
Strawberry Lemon Rhubard Tart
adapted from Anja's Food 4 Thought
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
75g butter
2/3 cup agave syrup
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 to 2 cups fresh strawberries, trimmed and quartered, and rhubarb thinly sliced
1 tablespoon sugar
Preheat oven to 200C. Grease a 9 inch round tart tin.
Sift together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.
In a large bowl, mix butter and agave with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add lemon zest, vanilla extract and egg and mix until well combined. Now stir in the buttermilk. Add the flour mixture in several small batches and stir until just combined.
Pour the batter into the cake tin, levelling the top. Scatter the strawberries evenly over the top and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for about 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean of the center of the cake. Let cool in the tin for 10 minutes, before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.
