Mira Soda’s Rhubarb and Custard Trifle recipe

DHe was the first time I ate rhubarb and custard together, a baked dessert from a big jar at my mother’s store. You can flip the dessert in your mouth and rub your tongue for the flavor you like. Too sour? Flip to the custard side. Too creamy? Flip again. It was one of the best ways to spend 10 minutes as a seven-year-old in the early 1990s. In a few decades, a lot has changed. Mum doesn’t have a corner shop anymore and I don’t like baked sweets, but rhubarb and custard is a lovely way to spend another 10 minutes (at least).

Rhubarb and custard triple

You will need two large, approximately 30cm x 40cm baking trays and a small 20cm bowl. You can make the custard in advance, even the day before, as long as you add the jaggery.

Product 10 min
Cook 1 hour
Cold 30 min+
serves 8

1.2 kg forced pink rhubarbtop, tail and cut at an angle into 4cm pieces
200 grams of sugar
3 orangesgrind 1 gruel well and then get all 3 juices, 150 ml
3 large egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla paste
10 grams of cornflour (1⅓ teaspoon)
1 large pinch of fine sea salt
120 ml whole milk
600 ml of double cream
30 small sponge fingers
30 grams of slivered almondsfried

Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/Gas 6. Place the rhubarb in an oven tray, add 150g sugar and all the orange zest and juice, then toss. Bake the rhubarb in a single layer (a second layer may be needed), cover tightly with foil, and bake for 20 minutes. Carefully lift the foil and check the rhubarb with the tip of a sharp knife: the rhubarb should not resist the knife, but it should hold its shape. Otherwise, cover and bake again, checking for doneness every five minutes.

Once the rhubarb is cooked, remove the tray from the oven and allow to cool. After about half an hour, when it has cooled, strain the liquid into a pitcher and set aside. Cover both the rhubarb and the juice separately and store in the refrigerator.

Meanwhile, make the custard. Mix the egg yolks, vanilla paste, cornflour, remaining 50g sugar and salt in a medium to large heatproof bowl. In a saucepan, heat the milk and 240ml of cream, stirring constantly until small bubbles appear. Very slowly, pour this into the egg yolk mixture in a heatproof bowl, whisking all the time. Once well mixed, pour the lad back into the pan and heat over low to medium heat until the custard thickens. Remove from heat and pour into a heatproof bowl; Cover the surface of the custard with a circle of nonstick baking paper to prevent a skin from forming and leave to cool completely.

Whip the remaining 360ml of cream to soft peaks, fold in 120g of the chilled custard, then transfer to a container, cover and chill until needed.

To assemble, pack 15 sponges tightly on their sides (not their backs) in a single layer. Pour in about 150ml of the rhubarb juice, then add half the rhubarb, then half the custard. Repeat the layers (seaweed, juice, rhubarb, custard), then finish with the remaining whipped cream. Sprinkle the toasted almonds on top and refrigerate until ready to serve.