MARY STADNYK'S RHUBARB PUDDING

Mom loved Hornby Island.

Beautiful scenery,

whales, sea lions, seals, pottery, wineries – all this plus the company of family and lots of wonderful food --  

-- of course she loved Hornsby, as she called it.

Mom said that it would have been a great place to live and enjoy a garden and chickens.   She would have needed high fences though – what with all the deer grazing in everyone’s yards.

Anyway, it was really nice when Kathy served Mom’s Rhubarb Pudding for dessert our last night there.

 Mom made other things with rhubarb, such as jam, but her Rhubarb Pudding was best of all.  It is such a family favourite that it would be unthinkable to have a garden without a rhubarb patch.

I love the way the red juices bubble up above the golden cake topping and make a kind of sticky toffee on the sides of the pan.

Mom served her pudding with thick farm cream and that’s still my sister Diana’s favourite. 

Kathy served the pudding with vanilla ice cream; the way I like it best. 

MARY STADNYK’S  RHUBARB PUDDING

5 cups finely cut rhubarb

1 ¼ cups sugar

2 ¼ tbsp flour

1/8 tsp (pinch) salt

2 tbsp butter at room temperature

1 egg

½ cup sugar

½ cup milk

1 cup flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1.  Slice up the rhubarb.
2. Rinse the rhubarb in cold water and drain.  Do not dry the rhubarb as the rinsing is needed so the sugar it gets tossed in will stick to it.
3. Mix 1 ¼ cups sugar in large Pyrex bowl or casserole with 2 ¼ tablespoons flour and a pinch of salt.
4. Mix the rhubarb into the sugar and flour.  Set aside.

5.  Preheat oven to 350.  (A self-clean oven is more air tight and the heat is more consistent so I use 375 degrees in the self-clean oven.)
6. Cream butter and ½ cup sugar. 
7. Add egg and beat.
8. Add milk, flour, baking powder, pinch salt, and vanilla.  Beat well.
9. Spread dough over the rhubarb.
10.   Bake for one hour.  It should be well-browned and syrup has bubbled over some of the cake.  Stick a toothpick in centre of cake to test if you want.

If it is not well-browned, bake for 10, 15, or 20 min more.  Record how long it took in your oven for next time.

Serve with milk, cream, or ice cream!