Food is for me, away to express caring and love.  I love nothing more than bringing people together at the table, feeding them good food, pouring them some wine and spending quality time, talking to them and listening to them. Food, especially baking is a very important part of my life and I have got to know some lovely people because of it.

I spend a lot of time researching recipes and Social Networks can be great for this. Many of my recipes I find on Pinterest, some from Blogs and this latest recipe is no exception. I also love Twitter, its away of talking to and sharing with other foodie people, and this is how I came across this recipe.

I recently posted a recipe on Twitter, a recipe that featured rhubarb and I got chatting to a lovely local lady, who kindly shared this yummy recipe with me.

This recipe is perfect for the first rhubarb of the season, the evenings can still be a little chilly and what better way to warm you up than a steaming hot dessert straight from the oven. It would also be a perfect Sunday lunch pudding.

This rhubarb and ginger sponge pudding is a gorgeous gingerbread sponge on top of a layer of rhubarb, served with cream, custard or a good vanilla ice cream, it is heavenly. The rhubarb is tart and fresh, the sponge topping is light and spicy, plus it is so simple to make and takes seconds, so perfect for a quick dessert for anytime. I even think it has enough wow factor to be served as a dinner party dish to rhubarb loving guests.

How ever you enjoy your rhubarb, just love sharing your food with others, not just at the table but also on social networks, its a lovely way for other foodie people to find new recipes and a great way to get to know new people.

Buon appetito

450g rhubarb, cut into 1in/2.5cm lengths
225g soft brown sugar
110g butter
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
60g ground almonds
2 eggs, lightly beaten
60g self-raising flour

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4.

Spread the rhubarb out in an ovenproof dish (one about 6x8in/15x20cm) and scatter with half the brown sugar.

Cream the butter and the rest of the sugar until smooth and fluffy.

Beat in the spices, almonds and then eggs, one at a time.

Fold in the flour (if you are making this in a food processor then just pulse in the flour, stopping as soon as it is amalgamated).

Spoon the mixture on top of the rhubarb, spreading it out lightly.

Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until golden brown and more or less cooked through. It will still be quite gunky in the middle, which is part of the charm. If you cook it before lunch, and let it sit for up to an hour in a warm place before serving it, the pudding will firm up a bit more.

Note : I apologise that the photograph at the top of this blog is not one of mine, but I was in such a hurry to eat the dessert that I forgot to take one !!! This photo was taken from the original recipe when it appeared in The Telegraph, I will try to remember to take one next time I bake this dish.