Rhubarb and custard buckle cake
Serves: 12
Prep time: 40 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Martin Poole
Rhubarb and custard buckle cake
Make the most of vibrant pink, seasonal forced rhubarb in this take on an old-fashioned American buckle cake. Custard is baked into the sponge for extra indulgence, and an oaty streusel topping contrasts with the tart fruit. Enjoy at teatime, or pour over extra custard for dessert
Serves: 12
Prep time: 40 minsTotal time: 
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Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
424Kcal
Fat
23gr
Saturates
12gr
Carbs
45gr
Sugars
26gr
Fibre
2gr
Protein
7gr
Salt
0.7gr
Abigail Spooner
Abi is our Senior Food Producer. An obsessive foodie with a sweet tooth, she is happiest when baking and is a firm believer that there is always room for dessert (preferably following a big bowl of pasta)
See more of Abigail Spooner’s recipes
Abigail Spooner
Abi is our Senior Food Producer. An obsessive foodie with a sweet tooth, she is happiest when baking and is a firm believer that there is always room for dessert (preferably following a big bowl of pasta)
See more of Abigail Spooner’s recipes
Ingredients
- 600g forced rhubarb, trimmed
- 240g caster sugar
- zest of ½ orange, plus 1 tbsp juice
- 150g long-life custard (such as Ambrosia), plus extra to serve if you like
- 200g soft salted butter, plus extra to grease
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- 200g self-raising flour
- 75g ground almonds
- ½ tsp baking powder
For the topping
- 50g cold butter, diced
- 50g plain flour
- 50g rolled oats
- 50g light brown sugar
- zest ½ orange
Step by step
To store
The cake keeps in an airtight container for 3 days, or individual slices can be frozen.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 4. Grease a 20cm diameter x 7cm deep cake tin and line the base and sides with baking paper so that it rises 2cm above the sides of the tin.
- Make the topping first; rub the butter into the flour and oats with a pinch of salt until it resembles chunky crumbs. Stir in the brown sugar and orange zest. Continue to rub the mixture between your fingertips until you can bring the mixture together into a ball of dough. Flatten, wrap and chill while you continue.
- Cut the rhubarb into 4cm chunks and toss with 40g caster sugar and the orange zest in a bowl, to coat. Set aside.
- Reserve 50g of the custard in a small bowl. Use an electric whisk to beat 100g custard with the soft butter, remaining sugar and vanilla until pale and creamy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, adding a spoonful of the flour with each egg. Fold in the remaining flour, ground almonds and baking powder with a pinch of salt. Lastly, stir through 1 tablespoon of orange juice.
- Spoon the batter into the tin and level the surface with a spatula. Use a teaspoon to add small dollops of the reserved 50g custard at random then top with half the rhubarb chunks in a layer. Top with the rest of the rhubarb to give roughly two layers. Break the chilled crumble into chunks and scatter over the rhubarb so that it’s mostly covered but some fruit is still showing through.
- Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes or until risen, set and golden brown. Test by inserting a skewer into the cake; it should come out fairly clean, without any sticky cake batter on it.
- Leave to cool in the tin for 1 hour then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Serve with extra custard on the side, if you like.
