These gooey rhubarb and custard blondies will get you keep coming back for more! Delicious, buttery squares topped with rhubarb compote, custard and white chocolate drizzle. Perfect treat to share with your friends and family!
Hi guys!
Welcome to this week's post and the recipe! As much as January was dragging and going super- slow, February seems to by flying by! Which I'm totally OK with, because I'm soooo excited for all the new season's produce, that is just around the corner!
So speaking of the new season's produce, today's recipe features one of my favourite, forced rhubarb! It appears very early in the year and it has this characteristic, beautiful bright red colour. I absolutely love using it in bakes, and today's recipe is a great way of making the most of this fab ingredient!
Rhubarb and custard blondies
Just in case if anyone is not familiar with what blondies are... They are like an older sister of brownie. The main difference is there is no cocoa powder in blondies, instead we use white chocolate and vanilla. These dense, fudgy and gooey little squares are just perfect for whenever you need a quick fix of something sweet, but don't fancy baking a cake or anything too complicated.
Why rhubarb and custard?
Firstly, the combination of these two ingredients is simply delicious. Different flavours and contrasting textures of these two are a true excitement for the tastebuds. Tart and tender rhubarb plus sweet, velvety- smooth custard are just perfect together. There has been many combinations of these two ingredients in desserts over the years, but this one, by far, is my favourite to date.
What ingredients do I need to make these blondies?
Let's just start with the fact that you don't actually have to use rhubarb in this recipe. If you are not a fan of rhubarb, simply replace it with your favourite jam or a compote.
But if you do like it, you can use fresh, frozen or canned rhubarb. If you are using canned rhubarb, make sure to drain it first. I like to use fresh, forced rhubarb, mainly because it's much sweeter and more tender than maincrop 'normal', outdoor grown rhubarb. Plus, the colour of it is simply stunning and never fails to impress.
Whichever type of rhubarb you decide to use, it almost always needs some sugar added to it, to reduce its tartness.
To make these rhubarb and custard blondies, you will need 10 ingredients in total. Blondies batter is made by mixing together butter, light brown and caster sugars, flour, custard powder, baking powder, eggs, vanilla extract and white chocolate. The topping is made with rhubarb compote (mixture of rhubarb and caster sugar wit water), custard and white chocolate drizzle.
How to make rhubarb and custard blondies
Start by prepping your rhubarb and custard topping. If you are using fresh rhubarb, cut it into smaller chunks (roughly about 2- 3 cm long) and place it in a wide saucepan with caster sugar and 2 tbsp of water. Cook it until it starts to break up and becomes jammy. If you'd like, you can add few drops of pink food colouring to intensify the colour of the compote.
To make blondies batter, start by melting butter and both sugars together until they become smooth and glossy. Allow the mixture to cool before adding eggs into it.
Next, mix in the dry ingredients: flour, custard powder and baking powder. Add them to the cooled butter mix and stir until combined. Pour in the vanilla and fold in the white chocolate, before pouring the mix into baking tin.
Add dollops of rhubarb compote and custard on top of the batter, and use a cocktail stick or a toothpick to create the marble pattern with it. Bake for 35-40 minutes until the edges are coming away from the tin and the mixture is set. If it starts catching a bit of colour too quickly, cover it with some kitchen foil.
Allow it to cool and drizzle with melted white chocolate. Cut into squares and watch them disappear!
How to store these blondies?
You can store these in the airtight container for up to 3 days. The blondies will also freeze well. Make sure to freeze the individual squares, then defrost overnight in the fridge.
This recipe was adapted from BBC Good Food Magazine. You can find the original recipe here.
Thanks for tuning in to today's post. As always, feel free to leave me a comment and a rating below if you try this recipe!
Rhubarb and custard blondies
Equipment
- 20 x 30 cm baking tin
- baking parchment
- rubber spatula
Ingredients
- 225 g butter plus some extra for the tin
- 200 g light brown soft sugar
- 100 g caster sugar
- 150 g plain, all- purpose flour
- 50 g custard powder
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 3 medium eggs
- 250 g white chocolate chips (or finely chopped white chocolate)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
For the rhubarb and custard topping:
- 200 g rhubarb chopped into 3-4 cm pieces
- 75 g caster sugar
- 4 tbsp ready- made custard
Instructions
To make rhubarb and custard topping:
- Place the chopped rhubarb into a wide pan with caster sugar and 2 tbsp of water. Cook on a medium heat, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes, or until the rhubarb breaks down and turns jammy. Set aside to cool.
- Heat the oven to 180 C (160 C fan). Place the butter and both sugars in a medium pan over a low heat. Melt them together until smooth and glossy, remove from the heat and cool for about 10 minutes.
- In a large bowl, sieve together the flour, custard powder and baking powder. Butter the baking tin and line it with baking parchment.
- Beat the eggs into the cooled sugar and butter mixture, then fold in the dry ingredients, until you have a smooth batter. Stir in 150g of white chocolate chips or chopped white chocolate and vanilla. Pour the batter into the baking tin then use a teaspoon to swirl the rhubarb on top of the batter.
- Add dollops of custard, then swirl a skewer or a toothpick through the rhubarb and custard to create the marbled pattern. Bake for 35- 40 minutes until set and the edges are coming away from the sides of the tin. Leave in the tin to cool.
- Melt the remaining 100g of white chocolate chips or white chocolate and drizzle it over the cooled blondies. Cut into equal squares and enjoy!
Notes
- You can add few drops of pink food colouring to your rhubarb compote to intensify the colour
- Instead of using fresh rhubarb, you can also use frozen or canned rhubarb (if using canned rhubarb, make sure to drain it first)
- If you are not a fan of rhubarb, you can swap it for your favourite jam or compote
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Nicole
I think I might have to dig out the rhubarb from the freezer and make these, stat! Gosh, these look and sound incredible and really give me those spring feels!
annabanana
Yaaas Nicole! Do it! 😉 Frozen rhubarb will work very well in this recipe! And yes, not long now until spring and all the fresh new produce that comes with it!
Sophie
This is so so good. I love rhubarb based desserts and these look just perfect.
annabanana
Thank you Sophie! I'm also a huge rhubarb fan, can't wait to bake some more with it this season!
Elaine
Fabulous looking blondies that I can't wait to have in front of me - the looks, the anticipation of making them and the recipe itself (so easy to follow) - everything is perfect!
annabanana
Hey Elaine! Thanks for stopping by! That's so sweet of you, I hope you will try this recipe soon and enjoy it as much as I do! Hugs!
Daniela
Your pics are amazing!!!! I love the one of all the square flat and the one in the middle tuned so you can see the inside. I adore rhubarb and these sound so delish!
annabanana
That is so lovely of you, thanks Daniela! So happy that you like the photos and the recipe! Have a great week ahead!
Veronika
You photos are absolutely beautiful and the recipe looks delicious! Such a great flavor combination, will try to make it this weekend!
annabanana
Thanks so much Veronika, let me know how you've enjoyed this recipe! Hugs!
Paula Montenegro
I adore rhubarb and this might be one of the best ideas ever! Love how you used it! And the photos are fantastic. Thanks for sharing!
annabanana
Hey Paula, thanks so much for your kind words! So happy that you like the recipe, rhubarb works so well in here, not overpowering, just enough to add a lovely taste and texture!
Leslie
I've never seen blondies that look as perfect as these do! These look amazing!
annabanana
Thanks Leslie, that's so sweet of you! I hope you will try this recipe and love it as much as I do!
Kushigalu
These Blondies look fantastic. What a great dessert to try. Your pics are awesome.
annabanana
Thank you so much! Hope you will try them some time soon!
Bianca Zapatka
These look so beautiful and delicious, my sweetheart! 😍 love your photos so much! ❤️
Lots of love,
Bianca
annabanana
Hi Bianca, thanks so much for stopping by and your lovely comment! I always drool over your food and photos! Big hug, have a great rest of the week!
Sharon
These blondies have gotten a fresh fruit update! These would make a great dessert for the Spring holidays.
annabanana
Hey Sharon, thanks for stopping by! They really do make great dessert, that jammy rhubarb and custard combo is a match made in heaven!