Rhubarb and Custard Cake

I made this cake for the first time on Sunday as an experiment as my parents were coming for dinner and both my Dad and I absolutely adore rhubarb. It made a completely delicious dessert served with good vanilla ice cream.

It had a tartness from the rhubarb but was well balanced with the sweet custard-flavoured cake batter and I’ll be sure to make it again. I mean, who doesn’t have a fondness for the combination of rhubarb and custard.

We eat the entire cake in one sitting between the six of us so that should give an indication of the reception it got. I will say it looked a little over-brown and charred when it came out of the oven, but it really did taste great.

I took inspiration from The Australian Women’s Weekly The Cake Stall recipe book which I was gifted a long time ago; but I made a cheat short-cut in adding ready-made custard instead of making my own. This added a thicker baked custard-like texture and just sped up the process (I was painting garden fences whilst preparing dinner on Sunday). Feel free to make your own custard though if you have plenty or time. 

Rhubarb and Custard Cake

Rhubarb and Custard Cake

Here’s how;

• 4 rhubarb stalks
• 110g Caster sugar
• 200g Softened butter
• 185g Self-raising flour
• 3 tbsp custard powder
• 3 eggs
• 1 carton or tin of ready-made custard

Firstly pre-heat the oven and grease and line a small but deep tin.

Now prepare the rhubarb stalks by cutting the ends off and then slicing length-ways down the rhubarb and setting aside.

In a mixing bowl cream together the sugar and softened butter until thick and creamy, then add the eggs, beating them in one at a time.

Next combine the flour and custard powder and sift into the wet mixture and mix until all is combined.

Now pour about half of the cake mixture into the bottom of the tin and smooth across so it’s evenly covering the base.

Now take a few of the rhubarb stalks and place them gently into the cake batter.

Next pour over the custard, and then finally spoon on the remaining cake batter and carefully spread over the custard.

For the final thing before baking, gently place the rhubarb on top of the cake batter, and press lightly down.

Place into the oven for 45 minutes, then test with a skewer to ensure when prodded the skewer comes out dry. If not return to the oven for a further ten minutes.

Serve with vanilla ice cream or even more custard.

For more baking inspiration here are a few other cake recipes you might like:

Lemon Drizzle Cake

Mary Berry's Marbled Chocolate Ring Cake

Guilt Free Apple Cake

Coffee and Walnut Tray Bake with Vanilla Latte Icing

St. Clement's Drizzle Cake

Peach Upside Down Cake

Lemon Honey and Yoghurt Cake with Blueberries

Carrot Cake

Mary Berry's Marbled Chocolate Ring Cake

My daughters love to cook with me but over all else, they love to bake. This morning, before heading out for the weekly shop, I gave my eldest, Bridget, Mary Berry's Baking Bible to rifle through and select something for us to bake together this afternoon - she chose this Marbled Chocolate Ring Cake.

It is a fairly simple bake and results in a lovely crumbly texture with a rich iced finish. It went down incredibly well in our household - whilst I'm more of a Lemon Drizzle Cake girl, everyone else loves a chocolate cake.

I took this from Mary Berry's Baking Bible in the 'chocolate cakes' section - aside from a couple of very minimal modifications, this is Mary's to the letter.

Mary Berry's Marbled Chocolate Ring Cake

Here's how:

• 225g softened salted butter
• 225g caster sugar
• 225g self raising flour
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1.5 level tablespoon cocoa powder
• 1.5-2 tablespoons warm water

For the icing:

• 150g dark chocolate
• 2 tablespoons water
• 100g butter
• 80g milk chocolate

Firstly pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees and grease a 3 pint ring mould generously. I use a silicon mould as find them easier to remove cakes from after baking that metal tins.

Omitting the cocoa powder and water - place everything else into a mixing bowl and fold in and mix well.

Once everything is well mixed, take a tablespoon and place 1 scooped tablespoon of the cake batter in the mould, and then repeat around the circular mould with small gaps in between each mound of batter. Use about half of the batter - this will help with the marbled effect.

Now pop the cocoa into a tea cup or mug and add the water and mix well, to an almost paste like consistence. Now add this to the remaining cake batter, and spoon over the batter in the gaps and all around until it is all in the mould.

Place the mould onto a baking tray and into the oven for 30-35 minutes. Test with a skewer that the cake is cooked through, and if so remove and leave in the mould for 5-10 minutes to cool a little. Then turn out carefully to cool completely - I place onto a wide chopping board as it's an easy place to ice the cake shortly.

For the icing, break the dark chocolate up and place into a bowl, with the butter and water. Place above a small saucepan of boiling water and allow to slowly melt, stirring with a wooden spoon to help it on its' way.

Once melted, it should have a beautiful glossy sheen to it, then spoon or pour over the cake to completely cover it. Now set aside somewhere cool and allow it to set for about an hour.

For the final part, break the milk chocolate into another bowl, and then place above the saucepan with recently boiled water. Once melted, transfer it to your piping vessel - you can of course use a piping bag, but I don't have much luck with them, so I just used a food bag and snipped a small hole in it.

Then finally drizzle over the cake in any pattern you'd like - the beauty of a homemade cake is the rustic appearance so let the children get involved and go crazy. Enjoy! 

Here are some other cakes and bakes you could attempt with your children as an activity during the holidays:
Simple Double Chocolate Traybake
Lemon Drizzle Cake
Guilt Free Apple Cake
Pig Face Cupcakes
Chocolate Cornflake and Marshmallow Cakes
Banana and Berry Breakfast Muffins
Deliciously Ella Sweet Potato Brownies
Monte Carlos Biscuits
St. Clement's Drizzle Cake