To celebrate the publication of Rosie Chambers’ delicious new novel Katie’s Cornish Kitchen, we’re sharing one of the recipes that features in the book! These rhubarb and custard cupcakes are the perfect treat to enjoy whilst losing yourself in this beautiful new Cornish romance.
For the cupcakes you’ll need:
225g softened butter
225g caster sugar
4 eggs
225g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp milk
For the filling and topping:
400g rhubarb, washed & chopped into pieces
50g sugar
One piece of stem ginger, chopped
200g softened unsalted butter
375g icing sugar, sifted
75g custard powder
1 tsp vanilla essence
50ml milk
Small pot of ready-made custard
Red food colouring
Method
1. Place the rhubarb on a baking tray, sprinkle with the sugar, stem ginger and three tablespoons of water, then wrap in foil and bake in the oven 180°C/160°C fan/Gas mark 4 for 15–20 mins. Remove and leave to cool, then drain the compote through a sieve, allowing the juices to collect into a saucepan and then simmer until reduced by half.
2. In a mixing bowl, beat the 225g butter and caster sugar together until pale yellow in colour, then add the eggs, one by one with a little flour. Fold in the remaining flour, baking powder, and finally add the milk. Divide between 18 muffin cases, then bake in the oven for 15–18 mins at 200°C/180°C fan/Gas mark 6 until golden and springy to the touch. Leave to cool.
3. For the buttercream icing, combine the butter, icing sugar, custard powder and vanilla essence, adding the milk carefully until the correct consistency is achieved.
4. When the cakes are cool, use an apple corer make a hole in the centre of each one and fill to halfway with the rhubarb compote and then fill to the top from the pot of ready-made custard. Next, draw stripes of red food colouring onto the inside of a piping bag, fill it with the buttercream and then pipe each cupcake with generous swirls. Drizzle the rhubarb syrup to taste.
Enjoy with elderflower cordial or a fruit tea of your choice.
If you bake yourself a batch of these gorgeous cakes, make sure to take a photo and share it with us on Twitter, tagging us @HQStories and Rosie @RosieCBooks! Katie’s Cornish Kitchen is out now!
