i first made this cake on a grey saturday in february of last year. i hadn’t planned it out much before, i just wanted to see how it came together. in the last year i’ve tweaked and perfected it. the result is a big, fun, rhubarb meringue cake. it features an almond and vanilla sponge with rhubarb poached in orange juice and lots of dramatic italian meringue. the meringue is toasted with a blowtorch, creating a beautiful marshamallowy flavour.