Short & Sweet: A classic with a twist

A classic with a twist

As the weather is starting to get slightly more spring like I thought I would share these tangy and delicious rhubarb crumble cupcakes.

A crumble is one of my all time favourite desserts, and whats better than this combined with cake! The soft vanilla sponge and icing paired with the bursts of baked rhubarb throughout the cake and the tangy rhubarb syrup drizzled on top makes so the perfect flavour combination.

Rhubarb crumble cupcakes

Preparation time: 45 minutes- 1 hour
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Serves: 6 cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the cakes:

100g caster sugar
100g softened butter or margarine
2 free range medium eggs
100g self raising flour
150g rhubarb
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the Icing:

100g softened butter
200g icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the rhubarb syrup:

Juice from the rhubarb used in the cakes
50g caster sugar

For the crumble topping:

40g plain flour
10g oats
1 tsp granulated sugar
1tsp demerera sugar
20g softened butter

Method:

For the cupcakes:

Firstly, preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius, and line a cupcake tray with cases.

Chop up the Rhubarb into chunks about 2cm long, and place onto a baking tray. Sprinkle two teaspoons of sugar onto the rhubarb, and place into the oven for 20 minutes, or until soft. *You could also add a vanilla pod or a teaspoon of vanilla extract to sweeten the rhubarb.

Whilst the rhubarb is cooking, place the softened butter and caster sugar into a mixer and mix until fully combined and of a creamy consistency.

Add the eggs, one at a time, ensuring to mix well between each addition. Finally, add the vanilla extract, and sift in the flour. Gently fold the flour into the mixture, until all of the ingredients are incorporated.

Once the rhubarb is done drain the liquid from the tray into a bowl, using a siev. Place the rhubarb into a blender and blend until smooth.

To fill the cupcake cases place a tablespoon of the blended rhubarb on top of the cake mixture, and as you take a spoonful of the mixture ripple the rhubarb into the mix.

Continue adding the rhubarb a bit at a time until all of the cupcake cases are filled.

Place into the oven for 15 minutes, or until of a golden brown colour and springy to touch. Once cooked, place onto a wire rack to cool completely.

For the crumble:

Place the flour, sugar, butter and oats into a bowl and crumb together with your hands, until the mixture is of a large crumb consistency.

Place the crumble onto a baking tray and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Leave to cool.

For the rhubarb syrup:

Take the liquid that you drained earlier from the cooked rhubarb and place into a pan over a low heat, reduce the liquid until it had halved, and is of a thick consistency. This should take about 5 minutes.

Leave to cool completely.

For the buttercream:

Place the butter into a mixer, and mix for a couple of minutes, or until smooth and of a lighter colour. Add the vanilla.

Gradually add the sifted icing sugar to the butter, until they are full combined. If the icing is too thick to pipe, you can add a small amount of milk.

Prepare an piping bag with your nozzle of choice (I used a Wilton 2D 6 point star tip nozzle). Fill the piping bag with your icing ready to decorate.

To decorate:
Pipe your buttercream onto the cooled cakes, in your desired design. I decorated mine by starting in the middle and moving outwards in a clockwise direction. This creates a rose like design.

Drizzle the cooled rhubarb syrup over the iced cakes. Finally place a small amount of the cooled crumble on top to finish.

I hope you enjoyed learning how to make these delicious, tangy cupcakes. Happy Baking!

A classic with a twist

Rhubarb crumble cupcakes

Ingredients:

Method:

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