Rhubarb meringue

Torta di rabarbaro meringata
Once you decide to grow rhubarbs in your garden, you have to make a serious effort to get them used. Two to four plants can easily provide for a large extended family, but luckily the sticks keep well when frozen or preserved as compote.

Another option is to use them for cakes, and this recipe is an old family favourite, which is extremely addictive and contaminating.

Ingredients
For the cake
175 g butter
2 dl sugar
2 tbsp vanilla powder
3 egg yolks
4 dl flour
3 tsp baking powder
5 tbsp milk
½ kg rhubarb sticks

For the meringue
2½ dl sugar
3 egg whites
100 g walnuts (optional)

Preparation
Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F
Mix butter and sugar until white and fluffy. Add one egg yolk at a time.
Stir in flour, vanilla, and baking powder alternately with little milk
Put the mixture in a greased cake dish.
Clean the rhubarb and cut them in 2-3 cm pieces.
Press the fruit lightly into the cake mixture.

In another bowl stiffly whisk egg whites and sugar until all the sugar grains have been dissolved. (Have patience)
Fold in coarsely chopped walnuts.

Spread the meringues over the rhubarb as topping on the cake.
Bake the cake in the oven for about 1 hour. Remember meringue burns easily, so it should be left in the oven to dry rather than bake. Don’t cover the cake with aluminium foil when it is finished, unless you want the meringue to go soggy.