Rustic Rhubarb Cake with Roasted Rhubarb

Preheat oven to 350 °F. Grease and dust 6 mini bundts with dry breadcrumbs, tapping out excess.

Beat butter until light and fluffy. Add sugar 1 ¼ cups of sugar to butter, ¼ cup at a time, beating after each addition until fluffy. Beat in lemon zest and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, sift the flour, cornstarch and salt. Add flour mixture, starting and finishing with flour, alternately with half-&-half, blending on medium-low speed after each addition.

In a clean bowl, whip egg whites with remaining ¼ cup sugar until they hold a stiff peak when beaters are lifted. Stir a third of the whites into the cake batter, then fold in remaining whites. Quickly fold in rhubarb and scrape into prepared pan. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until a tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool for 20 minutes in the pan, and then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.

For fruit preheat oven to 350. Mix sugar, wine and vanilla and toss with rhubarb. Pour into a shallow baking dish and cover. Bake rhubarb for 30 to 40 minutes, under tender. Strain off syrup into a small saucepot, reserving rhubarb. Bring syrup up to a simmer. Whisk cornstarch with 2 tbsp cold water and whisk into liquid cooking until thickened. Remove from heat and pour over rhubarb. Chill completely before serving.