A "Secret" Baked Layer Cake: Scottish Rhubarb & Ginger Crunchy Streusel Cake Recipe (2024)

A “Secret” Baked Layer Cake:

Scottish Rhubarb & Ginger Crunchy Streusel Cake Recipe

The lovely Scottish preserves company Mackays sent me a selection of jams and curds recently with the suggestion that I bake something with them, as part of their #bakingwithmackays challenge, as well as creating a new recipe to be shared on their site, and here it is, aScottish Rhubarb & Ginger Crunchy Streusel Cake!I was sent some Scottish Raspberry Preserve, Rhubarb and Ginger Preserve as well as some jars of their delectable Lemon Curd. I was going to make or should I say bake, a Bakewell Tart kind of pie, with a few changes here and there, and then I was planning on making a cake with some of the lemon curd, but then I had a brain wave, well, a sort of “waking up in the middle if the night with a recipe idea moment”, I would bake a streusel cake, which is any cake or bake that has a crunchy topping on it, based on the German “Streuselkuchen”.I am rather partial to a good streusel cake and when I lived in the States, they were VERY popular there, especially at the Fairs, and many a slice has passed my lips, and remained on my hips!

My recipe is a simple egg-enriched sponge cake mixture with a secret layer of rhubarb and ginger jam baked inside along with a layer of streusel mixture.The hidden layer adds a little surprise when the cake is cut and the jam works beautifully with the nutty and crunchy streusel mixture – as well as having a wonderful light crumb, as you can see in the photos. I served this cake with a cup of tea as an afternoon treat the other day and we have also tried it warm (like a pudding cake) with custard since then…..which was very naughty, but totally comforting and divine! You could, if you wanted, also warm up some extra jam with a little water and serve some extra sauce with the cake if it’s served this way, as a pudding. I decided to add some of my streusel mixture to the filling of the cake, it’s usually always scattered on top; but, you can just scatter it on top if you decide to make this, however, I love the nutty layer that is hidden through the middle and it works so well with the jam too.

The recipe for this cake is shared below, and I may try making this cake again, but with some raspberry preserve, with almonds and cinnamon for the streusel mixture……yes, I am on a streusel roll! As this cake DOES have a layer, even if it is baked into the cake, I am also entering this into Tea Time Treats, the baking and cooking challenge that I host along with Kate; Kate is hosting this month’s challenge and the theme is “Layer Cakes”.Another great occasion to bake this cake would be for a BIG summer picnic! Yes, the sun has arrived and picnic weather is here….you can cut the cake into squares beforehand and pop them in a tin, or you can can just take the cake on the baking tin, and cut it when you get there, in large “picnic” style slabs! Anyway, that’s enough cake for one day, I have to go now as I need to do some weeding in the garden, see you later, and have a fabulous, sunny weekend! Karen