Custard Cake with Rhubarb and Strawberries

Close-up of a custard layer cake with a few slices removed.

5 from 1 vote

Custard Cake with Rhubarb and Strawberries

This custard cake is a little slice of heaven for custard lovers. The combination of custard powder sponge cake and a creamy custard filling is a double whammy of the starring flavour. Team with sweet yet tangy rhubarb compote and fresh strawberries to enjoy a fantastic custard fix in cake form.

Prep Time1

Cook Time25

Total Time1 25

Course: Baking, Dessert

Cuisine: British

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings:

Calories: 558kcal

Author: Jane Coupland

Equipment

2 eight-inch circular sandwich cake tins or 3 six-inch tins

Ingredients

For the Creamy Custard Filling

300 ml Whole milk
4½ tablespoons Bird's Original Custard Powder
4½ tablespoons Caster sugar
1½ teaspoons Vanilla bean paste
300 ml Double cream

For the Rhubarb Compote

300 g Rhubarb
150 g Caster sugar
2 teaspoons Lemon juice

For the Custard Powder Sponge Cakes

240 g Butter or baking margarine soft (at room temperature)
240 g Caster sugar
4 Eggs large, free-range
90 g Soured cream
2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
200 g Plain flour (all-purpose)
120 g Bird's Original Custard Powder
3 teaspoons Baking powder

Instructions

Make the Creamy Custard Filling

Mix the custard powder and sugar together with ⅓ of the milk until smooth, then pour in the rest of the milk and the vanilla bean paste.
Heat gently, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until the custard begins to thicken.
Turn the heat very low and continue to cook until the custard is very thick (keep on stirring).
If the custard turns lumpy use a small handheld whisk to beat it until it turns smooth and/ or push it through a fine-meshed sieve.
Transfer the custard to a bowl and lay food wrap directly on the surface of the custard to stop skin forming. Let cool then refrigerate for at least 6 hours (or overnight).

Make the Ruhbarb Compote

Chop the rhubarb into small pieces about 1cm in length (if your rhubarb is wide also cut in half if it looks too out of proportion to the 1cm length).
Put into a large saucepan with the sugar and lemon juice.
Cook gently for 12-15 minutes until the fruit is soft and the liquid is thick and jammy. Stir as necessary with a wooden spoon but try not to break the fruit up too much.
Set aside to cool.

Bake the Custard Sponge Cake Layers

Preheat the oven to 180C/ 350F. Grease two 8-inch circular sandwich tins with butter and line the base of each with baking parchment.
Use electric beaters to cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
Beat in the eggs, one at a time.
Add vanilla extract and soured cream. Beat again.
Mix flour, custard powder and baking powder together then sieve into the cake batter. Fold in using a large metal spoon. Keep mixing until no streaks of flour remain, then stop mixing.
Divide the cake batter between the baking tins and cook for 23-27 minutes until risen, golden and a cocktail stick poked into the centre comes out clean.
Let the cakes rest in the tins for 2 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack, remove the parchment and let cool completely.

Finish the Creamy Filling and Assemble the Cake

Take the chilled custard out of the fridge and beat using electric beaters until a smooth consistency is reached. It will look horribly thick initially (see the image in the step-by-step section above). Once beaten the custard will turn smooth again.
Pour in the cream and beat again until combined and the mixture holds its shape (don’t let it get so thick that it will be hard to spread).
Put one of the custard sponge cake layers on a plate. Top with just over half of the rhubarb compote then spread around half of the creamy custard filling over it.
Top with the second layer of cake and spread the remaining compote over the top (to within 1-2cm of the cake edge). Use the leftover custard cream to pipe rosettes around the edge of the cake then top each one with a small strawberry.

Notes

Preheat the oven and prepare the baking tins before baking commences so that the cake batter gets into the oven to bake as soon as possible (the raising agents are most active when they are freshly mixed, so letting the batter sit around before baking it is a mistake).
Always grease the tins and use a circle of baking parchment to line the bases regardless of whether or not they are non-stick tins. This is the best way to ensure your cakes never get stuck in the pans.
Measure your ingredients accurately. It makes all the difference to the success of a cake recipe. Using grams (along with a set of digital scales) is a much more accurate measuring system than cups. For this reason, I do not list cup measurements – sorry.
Use the tin size specified (two 8-inch round tins). Don’t use tins that are too small or large as bake times will vary, the batter may overflow as it cooks and the thickness of the finished cakes may disappoint.
Use room temperature butter/ baking margarine. It will be soft and easy to cream with the sugar.
Don’t be alarmed by the thickness of the custard made for the creamy filling. It will be stiff and gelatinous when cold, and it won’t look appetising. But it mixes up smoothly with electric beaters and goes on to produce the best creamy centre for this cake with a fabulous taste of custard (see the step-by-step images if you’ve happened to miss them – you’ll see what I mean).
Don't use readymade custard in this recipe. It is not thick enough for the creamy filling and only custard powder will do for the sponge cakes.

Storage Instructions

As this cake does contain a lovely creamy custard filling, it should be stored in the fridge if not consumed within a few hours (especially on hot days). Leftovers should also be kept chilled. To enjoy this custard cake at its best, do take the cake (or leftovers) out of the fridge 1-2 hours before serving. The flavours and texture both benefit from being enjoyed at room temperature.

Nutrition