Our rhubarb and custard layer cake is the perfect Easter bake
delicious. team
Feast your eyes on our March coverstar. Our spectacular rhubarb and custard layer cake tastes as good as it looks – the fruit’s tart flavour perfectly balances the rich sweetness of the custard icing. If you’re looking for that weekend cooking project to get you through the latter stage of this lockdown (fingers crossed?!), this cake is it. Your hard work will be rewarded in the form of a mightily impressive, Instagrammable showstopper of a cake.
Scroll down for video inspiration, top tips on how to achieve a flawless bake and other ways to cook with rhubarb. If you don’t have your hands on a copy of our jam-packed March issue, you can order one here.
Watch our rhubarb and custard layer cake come to life
Find the full recipe inside this month’s issue of delicious. magazine. You can order yourself a single copy today.
Food team’s tips
“I’m a fussy cake eater. The ones I love double as pudding: fruity numbers with a tartness to cut through the sugar. This is one of those cakes. Rhubarb and custard are a magic combination, and to celebrate Easter (or Mother’s Day) we’ve added a few show-off finishing touches. Don’t be put off, though – if you want to make the cake less fancy, it tastes just as good simple, luscious and unadorned.” Jen Bedloe, Food Editor
How to make candied rhubarb for the top of the cake
Ingredients
- 50g caster sugar
- 15-20cm stick of rhubarb
Method
- Heat the caster sugar and 5 tbsp water in a pan until dissolved. Set the sugar syrup aside to cool. With a Y-shaped peeler, peel strips from a stick of rhubarb, then submerge them in the cooled sugar syrup for 10 minutes.
- Line a baking sheet with compostable baking paper. Shake the excess sugar syrup from the rhubarb, spread in a single layer on the paper and bake at 110°C/90°C fan/gas for 15-20 minutes or until just dry to the touch.
- Remove the rhubarb strips from the oven, let them cool slightly, then curl them around the handle of a wooden spoon and leave to set. Carefully slide them off the handle and use to decorate the cake.
Top tips for layering the sponge
- Ensure your sponges are completely cool before beginning your assembly, otherwise your buttercream will melt .
- Try to use the same amount of buttercream for each sponge to get a nice, even effect. Each layer will require around 6-8 tablespoons of buttercream.
More ways to cook with rhubarb
Boozy rhubarb and custard tart
If you’re looking for a dessert that’ll really showcase the colour of this candy-pink fruit, try our boozy tart topped with an eye-popping rhubarb liqueur jelly.
Rhubarb isn’t just for sweet treats, it also works really well in a range of savoury dishes. If you’re lucky enough to have a glut of rhubarb lying a round, then whip up a batch of spiced chutney to see you through the rest of the year.
Rhubarb and apple flapjack crumble
Flapjack and crumble combined? Sign us up! The addition of jumbo oats to the crumble topping gives it a fabulously moreish texture. We love it served piping hot with vanilla ice cream on top.
Rhubarb and vanilla sponge pudding
This is possibly one of our most popular rhubarb recipes ever – and it’s so simple to make! Velvety vanilla-roasted rhubarb is baked beneath fluffy sponge. Serve with vanilla custard or vanilla ice cream.
Add vibrant rhubarb to vodka for a pretty pink cocktail. Our super easy recipe uses just four ingredients; all you need is patience while it steeps and infuses.
Haven’t got your hands on a copy of our March issue yet? Make sure to order yourself one here, and we’ll deliver it P&P free! And, for more ways with rhubarb, check out our 17 tasty rhubarb recipes here.
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