Celebrations and dance parties

Sunday was perfect. Not because everything went according to plan, but because we got the chance to celebrate. My brother and his wife came up for the weekend to join in on my mom's birthday brunch. We ate and indulged in dessert (ok, and maybe one mimosa). With bellies full, I turned some music on and before I knew it my brother and I had a living room dance party that took us through the lazy afternoon. It was wonderful. We joked, we laughed, we danced. That afternoon has stayed with me this week and makes my heart burst with gratitude. How available it was. It wasn't fancy, it wasn't planned. Yet, it was exactly what I needed. It felt like we celebrated hard and were the better for it.

Mind you, we got to dancing after some cake. And while I will go on record that we should be super mindful around sugar, I also believe that food can punctuate a moment of celebration and add more magic to a special event. So, for any spring time celebrations you may have, I offer you this cake. ps: I also highly recommend the dancing!

Strawberry and Rhubarb Cake
adapted from My Darling Lemon Thyme
serves 8

I was just 1/4 cup short on almond flour, so I ground 1/4 cup of hazelnuts briefly in the food processor with 1 TBS brown rice flour to prevent it from going to hazelnut butter. 

Fruit: 
1/2 lb rhubarb, cut into small chunks
1/2 lb strawberries, stems removed and quartered
2 TBS grade B maple syrup

Cake: 
6 TBS unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup grade B maple syrup
2 eggs, room temperature
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup whole milk Greek yogurt

1 cup brown rice flour (160 grams)
1/4 cup buckwheat flour (35 grams)
1/2 cup ground almond flour (75 grams)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350'. Butter and parchment a 9 inch springform pan. Combine fruit with maple syrup in a small bowl and set aside. In another small bowl combine flours with baking powder and salt. Whisk well to mix and set aside. In a medium bowl, beat butter until light and fluffy with an electric mixer. Drizzle in maple syrup and mix to combine. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Add in yogurt and dry ingredients and mix well to combine. Mix in half of the fruit mixture and pour into cake mold. Top with remaining fruit (It is OK to drizzle juice/maple syrup over top of cake, this will help the fruit caramelize on top) and bake for 40-50 minutes or until golden brown.