My first rhubarb of the season is ready and I just had to bake this cake which I found on Pinterest, it is a gorgeous rhubarb custard tea cake. It is a little tricky, as the cake batter is very thick, I wrestled with the baking paper & got rather frustrated with it sliding around, even harder was doing the second later on top of the custard! It was however all rather worthwhile and the cake is just delicious.

It is a perfect combination of rhubarb & custard, the sponge is light and fluffy, there is the gorgeous sweet and comforting custard and the top crystalised to perfection, to give you a bit of a chew. I couldn’t resist a slice with a cup of tea, even though I did make it just incase my friend Fiona popped in for a coffee, oh well, there is plenty left!!!

I have many rhubarb recipes on my blog, but I think this one has to be my favourite and I will be baking it again and again over the rhubarb season.

Buon appetito

200g butter
110g caster sugar
2 eggs
185g plain flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
40g custard powder
1 – 2 fresh rhubarb stalks
20g butter, mleted
4 teaspoons of granulated sugar

For the custard
2 tablespoons custard powder
55g caster sugar
250ml milk
20g butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

First make the custard by mixing together the custard powder and caster sugar in a small saucepan. Whisk in the milk and bring to the boil, stirring frequently. The mixture will start to thicken very quickly and when it does, take the pan off the heat. Whisk in the butter and vanilla extract. The custard should be very thick and will thicken even more whilst cooling. Place cling film directly onto the surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming and leave to cool.

Preheat your oven to 180C, 350F.

Now for the cake, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in one egg at a time, together with a tablespoon of the flour to help it all come together. Add the remaining flour, baking powder and custard powder, and mix well. The batter is very thick, but should be spreadable. It is a little tricky to handle but it is worth persevering with.

Line the bottom of a 20cm (8 inch) cake tin with baking paper and grease the sides of the tin. Use a small spatula to spread half of the batter into the cake tin. Make sure it covers all the bottom of the tin, as I said, this is a little tricky and requires a little patience. Spread the custard over the cake mixture.

Now dollop spoonfuls of the remaining cake batter over the custard and carefully spread the cake batter to completely cover the custard. My custard was still slightly warm and seemed to help with this part.

Trim the rhubarb into 10cm lengths and slice them length ways, about 1cm thick. Arrange the rhubarb as in the photo, trimming if necessary.

Brush the top of the cake with melted butter and sprinkle generously with granulated sugar.

Bake for about 1 1/4 hours, depending on your oven.

Remove the cake from the tin and cool on a wire rack.