Rhubarb and custard cupcakes

Last year, I bought The Love Bakery: Cupcakes From the Heart cookbook by Sam Blears in a clearance sale.  It is such a cute book, being pink and glittery and full of cupcakes.  The namesake Love Bakery closed in 2011.  However, its cupcakes live on in this cookbook, which has lots of wonderful sounding flavour combinations and cute decorating ideas for cupcakes.

I was a little obsessed with the sound of the Rhubarb and Custard Cupcakes, and this is the first (and so far only) recipe I have made from the Love Bakery cookbook.

I made these cupcakes quite some time ago, so I don't remember a lot about them, other than that I was somehow mildly disappointed with the flavour.  No matter.  They are super cute (don't you agree?), and the bright red and yellow colour combination would lighten up the darkest day.  In any event, they contain real rhubarb compote and custard, which are lovely flavours in themselves.

If you fancy trying these cupcakes yourself, you will need:

For the rhubarb compote:

2-3 sticks rhubarb
4 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons sugar

Chop the rhubarb into 1cm pieces, and place into a medium saucepan.  Add the water and sugar, and simmer until the rhubarb has softened.  Strain the liquid from the rhubarb and set the rhubarb aside to cool.

For the cakes:

125g butter
125g sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs
125g self raising flour
2 tablespoons milk

Ready made custard

Preheat your oven to 190 degrees Celsius and line a 12 hole muffin tin with cupcake papers.  

In a stand mixer, beat together the butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then alternately beat in the flour and milk, starting and ending with flour.  

Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake papers, and bake the cakes in the preheated oven for 15 minutes or until risen, golden and cooked through.  Turn the cakes out  onto a wire rack to cool.

For the icing:

125g butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
250g icing sugar
1 tablespoon ready made custard

In a stand mixer, beat the butter until it is light and creamy.  Beat in the vanilla then gradually beat in the icing sugar on low speed.  Beat in the custard.  (I also added some yellow colouring to make the icing a bright yellow colour.)

Cut a cone shaped hole in the top of each cupcake and fill with a small amount (~1/2 teaspoon of each) of the rhubarb compote and ready made custard.  Cut the point off the cone shaped cutout of cake and pop back on top of the rhubarb and custard to form a lid.

Put the icing in a piping bag and pipe swirls on top of each cupcake, making sure to cover the holes.

Serve!