Devilishly Destructive Delights Bakes: Rhubarb & Custard Crumble

Despite owning this blog for over three months now, this really is the first time I have actually blogged in detail about something I have baked. This seems like a fine way to start.

Photograph courtesy of @timberyarduk instagram page.

I love rhubarb but what I love more is the combination of rhubarb and custard! I am of course referring to the beloved old fashioned sweets which are certainly a firm favourite with me. 

This recipe is not only inspired by those delicious gems but also my recent visit to Timberyard in London where I sampled the most incredible Rhubard Crumble Croissant complete with cold custard centre. 

I was immediately hooked with the idea of recreating this and settled with starting with a simple crumble before maybe one day developing it to create my very own pastry...

Rhubard and Custard Crumble...

6 stems of rhubarb

1 ½ tbsp sugar

450ml custard

110g plain flour

75g butter

75g sugar

I can't even begin to tell you how easy this recipe is. So simple yet so tasty and there is so much more you could do to it such as adding ginger to the rhubarb mixture or almonds to the crumble. I kept it quite simple but I am certain I will develop it next time now that I know it's a success. The great thing about this is that you don't have to prepare the rhubarb before, you simply wash, cut and whack it in. 

So first of all get yourself a good sized pudding dish ensuring you will have enough space for the layers this pudding demands. Then you need to cut your stems of rhubarb into chunks, around 3cm in length. Pop these in the bottom of the dish, spacing out appropriately. I found I had a few too many so took out the small, weeny pieces (in hindsight its those ones I should have placed rather than replacing them with larger pieces that needed more cooking time). Use the tablespoon of sugar and sprinkle it over the rhubarb to reduce that sharp taste. I then poured over some cold custard. That's another great thing about this recipe- it's great for those with very little time and resources. I used a carton of custard and polished off the whole lot but of course you don't need to go mad unless you love it as much as I do.  

Next you need to make the crumble topping. I like to leave it quite lumpy and rustic so I don'y tend to spend as much time on it as most people do, again this is up to you. Put the flour and butter into a bowl and combine together before adding the sugar so that you have a breadcrumb consistency. All that's left to do is sprinkle this mixture over the top of the cold 

custard and rhubarb, adding a sprinkle more sugar over the top to give it an extra sweet crunch. Whack it in the oven at 180 degrees for twenty minutes or so, longer if you have great lumps of rhubarb like I did otherwise you will have crunchier pieces than others which I personally didn't enjoy although it did have more flavour that way.

That's it. Done. So easy, so simple and yet very tasty even when served cold.