Rhubarb and custard scones..
I was in our local supermarket a few weeks ago and spotted a tray full of rhubarb, bright pink stems glowing against the green plastic. It took me back to my childhood, when dad grew rhubarb at the end of the garden and mum would make rhubarb and custard for our Sunday pudding. We’d sometimes get a thin, pink stem and a bowl of sugar and just dip it and eat it fresh. You really needed that sugar – rhubarb is sharp and unforgiving if not graced with a little sweetness!
I always thought of rhubarb as a summer fruit but forced rhubarb, a bit of a Yorkshire delicacy, is available from January to early April, and has two very appealing benefits:
Forced rhubarb is grown in the dark, under cover in large low sheds (though you can do it yourself under a bucket in the garden apparently – not something I have tried!) The absence of light reduces the usual levels of oxalic acid in the fruit, making the stems sweeter and more tender. They are also a brighter pink than rhubarb that grows more naturally – again, the lack of light reduces the production of chlorophyll, the green pigment in all leafy plants.
I bought some of the rhubarb, and then when I got it home wondered what best to do with it? Rhubarb crumble, with custard? Rhubarb gin? Rhubarb jam? Over the last weeks I have bought quite a lot of rhubarb and made quite a lot of things with it, but this recipe, which I found on BBC Good Food, is the one my family have asked me to do again and again. (We don’t know how the gin will turn out yet, it needs a couple more months, but I have high hopes!)
Ingredients
For the scones:
300g self-raising flour
50g custard powder
1 tsp baking powder
50g caster sugar
95g cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
¼ tsp fine salt (I actually use salted butter, because we never buy unsalted, so I leave out the fine salt. Proper cooks do it properly.)
150-175ml whole milk (or you can use oat milk, I have tested it and it works!)
1 egg, beaten
For the rhubarb compote
250g rhubarb, roughly chopped
100g caster or granulated sugar
1 lemon, zested (I don’t always have a lemon, but have found this ingredient is not vital! Orange zest or a couple of teaspoons of orange juice works, too.)
½ tsp vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract. (I don’t have the paste, but we always have the extract for cakes, so just used ½ tsp of this, instead)
drop of red food colouring gel (optional – I don’t use it, it’s a pretty pink colour without)
Method
Mix the flour, custard powder, salt, baking powder and sugar in a large bowl. Rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. I’ve tried this in a food processor and with fingertips, and can’t tell the difference. Apparently a decent scone needs very light handling in the early stages, to not overwork the flour, so a quick pulse in the processor, but going easy, seems to be fine. (I am not a chef, however, or a scone connoisseur).
Gradually mix in the milk until you have a smooth dough – you may not need it all. Carefully roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to 2cm thick. Lift it onto a baking tray covered with baking parchment, cover and chill for 30 mins.
While the dough is chilling, make the rhubarb compote. Tip all the ingredients into a large saucepan along with 2 tbsp water and place over a medium heat.. Once it starts simmering, turn it down to maintain the simmer and cook for 10-15 mins, stirring occasionally. When it has thickened and the fruit is soft, transfer to a bowl and leave to cool completely. TIP: it’s not in the recipe, but I have added a teaspoon of ginger preserve to the compote when cooking it and that’s delicious.
When your dough has chilled, heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7 and remove the dough from the fridge. Line a baking tray with baking parchment. Stamp out three or four scones from the dough using a 7cm round biscuit cutter and arrange the scones on the prepared tray, leaving a 2cm gap between each. Squish together the rest of the dough and gently roll it out again, then stamp out another couple of scones. It’s important you stamp out the scones, not twist the cutter, as this stops them from rising.
Brush the tops of all the scones with the beaten egg (don’t let it drop down the sides, it stops it from rising). Bake for 10-12 mins until the tops are golden brown, then leave to cool completely on the tray. Serve with the rhubarb compote and, if you like it, clotted cream.
The recipe says these are best eaten the day they’re made. I can’t comment on that, as our are always eaten the day they are made.
You can add chopped glacé cherries or sultanas to your scone mix, if the mood strikes, too!
Eddie – Friday 21st March 2025.
