Rhubarb and Custard Cupcakes
These Rhubarb and Custard Cupcakes have a custard-flavoured cupcake sponge swirled with a Rhubarb compote and are decorated with custard buttercream.
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Rhubarb
Spring can only mean one thing…it’s rhubarb season. Rhubarb crumble and custard is a firm family favourite. I look forward to spring every year just to get my hands on some rhubarb.
This is the first rhubarb recipe I have on my blog and it is a new favourite. The sweetness of the rhubarb paired with the custard cupcakes and buttercream is just utterly delightful.
Baking Cups
Whenever I make cupcakes I always use these Baking Cups from Iced Jems. I am obsessed with them, especially the polka-dot ones they are just so cute.
There are so many different colours and designs and they are the perfect size for cupcakes.
Because they have flat bottoms, they can be baked onto a flat oven tray and they hold their shape during baking rather than a cupcake or muffin tray.
Rhubarb Compote
To make the rhubarb compote cut the rhubarb into large chunks, roughly the length of your thumb and put them into a large saucepan.
Simmer the rhubarb for around 20-30 minutes until it is soft and mushy.
Blitz the compote until it is completely smooth using a blender and leave it to one side.
Rhubarb and Custard Cupcakes
Whenever I make cupcakes, I always start by using the same four base ingredients: flour, sugar, butter and eggs.
For cupcakes, it always needs to be self-raising flour. Self-raising flour has a raising agent added in it which helps the cupcakes to rise.
I used caster sugar in this recipe alongside unsalted butter but a baking spread like Stork could also be used.
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Finally, I used large eggs. I always work with the ratio of 1 egg to every 50g of the other ingredients. So, in this recipe, I used 150g of flour, sugar and butter so I would use 3 large eggs.
To make these Rhubarb and Custard cupcakes I also added custard powder to the cupcakes. It gives the cupcakes a lovely yellow/custardy colour and makes them taste delicious.
Once I had split the cupcakes into their cupcake cases I added a tablespoon of Rhubarb compote on top and using a skewer swirled it through the cupcakes.
You don’t want to mix it in completely you want to just swirl it enough to get lovely streaks of Rhubarb through your cupcakes.
Baking
The cupcakes need to be baked in the centre of a preheated oven. Preheating the oven is such an important step to ensure that the cupcakes are baked evenly and correctly.
The cupcakes should be golden brown in colour, when baked and the rhubarb compote should have set. There shouldn’t be any liquid in the cupcakes.
Leave the cupcakes to cool for 15-20 minutes in their muffin tray or oven tray before moving them to a cooling rack to cool fully.
Custard Buttercream
This custard buttercream is the same buttercream I used in my Custard Cream Cupcakes, and it is heavenly. It is so light, sweet and custardy it is perfect for these cupcakes.
It is an American buttercream and the two main components of it are butter and icing sugar.
The butter needs to be unsalted butter, the type that normally comes in 250g blocks wrapped in foil. If you use any other kind of butter or margarine it will be too soft, and your buttercream won’t be thick enough to pipe onto the cupcakes.
To get the custard flavour I removed a small amount of the icing sugar and replaced it with custard powder. The custard powder gives the buttercream a lovely custard yellow colour too.
Decoration
I went with a super simple decoration for these cupcakes. I added a tablespoon of the rhubarb compote on top of the buttercream and let it drip down the side of the buttercream.
Alternatives
If you don’t want the cupcakes to be too custardy you could leave out the custard powder in the cupcake batter and replace it with self-raising flour.
Equipment
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Rhubarb and Custard Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the Rhubarb Compote
- 400 g Rhubarb
- 100 g Golden Caster Sugar
- 3 tbsp Cold Water
For the Rhubarb and Custard Cupcakes
- 150 g Unsalted Butter or Baking Spread
- 150 g Caster Sugar
- 125 g Self-Raising Flour
- 3 Large Eggs
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 50 g Custard Powder
- 12 tbsp Rhubarb Compote
For the Custard Buttercream
- 200 g Unsalted Butter
- 350 g Icing Sugar
- 50 g Custard Powder
- 3-4 tbsp Whole Milk (optional)
For the Decoration
- Leftover Rhubarb Compote
Instructions
To Make the Rhubarb Compote
- Cut the rhubarb into chunks approximatley 4cm long and place them into the saucepan along with the golden caster sugar and water.
- Heat on a low-medium heat and stir continuously until all the sugar has dissolved.
- Leave to simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rhubarb breaks down.
- Leave the rhubarb compote to cool completely before adding to a blender and pulsing until it is completely smooth.
To Make the Rhubarb and Custard Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 180C/160 Fan. Line a muffin tray with cupcake liners and leave to one side.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy
- Add in the flour, eggs, baking powder and custard powder and whisk until they are all combined.
- Split the mixture into the cupcake liners. I use a small ice cream scoop to do this so I know that they are all even.
- Add a tablespoon of the rhubarb compote on top of each cupcake. Using a skewer swirl it into the cupcake batter.
- Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes. You will know the cupcakes are ready when they are springy to the touch.
- Leave them to cool for 15-20 minutes before moving them to a wire cooling rack to cool fully.
To Make the Buttercream and Decorate
- Beat the butter for 5-10 minutes until it is soft and supple.
- Add in the icing sugar and custard powder and beat until all the ingredients are incorporated.
- If the buttercream is too thick add 1 tbsp of milk and mix. Repeat until the buttercream is the desired consistency.
- Put the buttercream into a piping bag and pipe it on top of the cupcakes
- To decorate add a tablespoon of the rhubarb compote onto the top of each cupcake and gently encourage it to drip down the sides of the buttercream.
Notes
- These Rhubarb and Custard Cupcakes will last 3+ days in an airtight container.