Juliet Sear’s rhubarb & custard cake
With rhubarb perfectly in season, Juliet Sear is joining us in the kitchen with a real treat. She’s combining those delicious pink stalks, with custard to make an epic cake creation.
Rhubarb & Custard Crumble Layer Cake
Serves 6-8
Ingredients
For the sponges
200g golden caster sugar
300g rhubarb, chopped into 1cm pieces
1 orange, zested and half of it juiced
200g butter, very soft
4 medium eggs
200g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
For the crumble topping
50g slightly salted butter, cold and cut into cubes
100g plain flour
70g golden caster sugar
For the custard buttercream
250g icing sugar
30g custard powder
150g unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract, or vanilla bean paste
A little boiling water
You will also need
2 x 8 inch tins
Piping bag with large 1cm round nozzle (optional)
Method
1. Heat the oven to 170C fan, gas mark 3 and grease, base and side line the tins.
2. Sprinkle 40g of the sugar over the rhubarb pieces and add the orange zest and juice. Stir well and set aside to get all juicy.
3. Get the crumble ready by rubbing the cold butter cubes into the flour until it resembles chunky breadcrumbs, then add the sugar. Set aside.
4. Beat the remaining sugar and butter together in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment (or do by hand with a wooden spoon) until light and fluffy.
5. Beat in the eggs one at a time.
6. Add the flour and baking powder, fold through then fold through the sweetened rhubarb pieces.
7. Divide equally into the tins, and level off.
8. Scatter half the crumble topping over the top of each cake going right up to the edges, covering over each one, leaving some lovely chunky bits randomly over the batter.
9. Bake for approximately 35 minutes until the sponges are completely cooked through, going a dark golden and shrinking away from the edges a little. The crumble will be a light golden colour.
10. While the cakes are cooking, make the buttercream by mixing the icing sugar and custard powder together with a hand whisk or fork to distribute the powders evenly. Sieve it if it’s clumpy.
11. Place 1/3 of the sugar mix into the stand mixer, add the butter and beat for a few minutes until it is pale, creamy and smooth.
12. Add the vanilla, beat again, then add half of the remaining icing sugar and cream together for a couple of minutes until pale and smooth.
13. Add the rest of the icing sugar, mix in then beat again until pale and fluffy. Add a little drizzle of recently boiled water to loosen slightly, and beat until you have a lovely soft icing that will still hold its shape if you wish to pipe the buttercream on the cake. Don’t make it runny, just soft and smooth.
14. Spoon the buttercream into the piping bag and cut a 1cm hole at the end of the bag to give you a large circle to pipe through, or use a large round nozzle.
15. Place one layer of the cooled cakes, crumble side up onto a cake place or stand and pipe little blobs all around the outside, about 1 inch in size, then continue piping inside the circle to fill the cake. Alternatively, spread a lovely thick layer over the cake, then top with the second sponge, crumble side up to finish.
16. This cake is best eaten as fresh as possible, but if you are saving it it’s best kept in the fridge because of the amount of fruit in it. Just make sure to bring to room temperature before eating.