Note: This recipe makes a small pound cake making 6 servings, baked in a 20cm x 14cm loaf pan. Double the cake batter quantities for a larger cake, for which you can use a slightly larger loaf pan. Use the same rhubarb quantity.

Make up a batch of rhubarb poached in a sugar syrup. The recipe is here, using 400g rhubarb and 140g sugar. You don’t need to leave overnight before using. Separate the rhubarb pieces and its syrup in two dishes and set aside.

In a small bowl mix together 100g flour with ½ tsp baking powder and ¼ tsp salt.

In a larger bowl beat together 110g butter with 100g sugar using an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in 2 eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl between each addition. Beat in half the flour mixture until just combined, then beat in the zest of 1 lemon and its juice (around 40ml). Beat in the remaining flour mixture until just combined.

Scrape half the batter into a prepared loaf pan (with butter and flour), then lay half the rhubarb slices in an even layer on top of the batter. Cover with remaining batter, smoothing the top.

Bake the cake for 20 minutes at 180c, then remove the pan from the oven and quickly lay the remaining rhubarb slices next to each other on the top of the cake. Return the pan to the oven and bake until a toothpick inserted in the cake’s centre comes out clean, another 35 to 50 minutes (depending on the amount of cake batter).

Brush some rhubarb syrup on top of the cake once it comes out of the oven. Let cake cool in pan on a wire rack before serving, at least 2 hours, then carefully remove the cake from the pan and serve.