Rhubarb Curd

Home-made Rhubarb Curd

Rhubarb Curd

This home-made Rhubarb Curd is really easy to make and tastes delicious. It is creamy and buttery with a zing of sharpness from the rhubarb.

Fruit curds are a great way of capturing the flavour of a wide range of fruits and work best with strong-tasting ingredients – such as lemon, lime, passion fruit or rhubarb – where the sharpness is softened by the butter and eggs.  The method and ingredients for a fruit curd are very similar to those for making custard – so when you make this recipe you are making a kind or rhubarb and custard combination which is a taste classic.   

You can make Curd from a number of other tropical fruit such as lime, orange, mango and passion fruit. I think it works best with strongly flavoured fruit – if you are a fan of rhubarb, have a look at my recipe for Lemon Curd

What you need to know about this recipe

  • You do not need to add too much water (step 2) as the rhubarb will produce liquid as it cooks.
  • You can either strain your cooked rhubarb to remove the fibres or process it in a blender (step 2). If you choose to blend it, you curd will be slightly thicker. It is important to either strain or blend the mixture otherwise your curd will not have a lovely smooth texture.
  • Allowing the rhubarb mixture to cool slightly before adding it to the eggs (step 3) and adding cornflour to the mixture will prevent the eggs scrambling when it is re-heated.
  • You can add a few drops of colouring (step 5) which will make your curd pink. If you don’t do this, it will still taste just as good!
  • You must put your curd in a sterilised jar and keep it in the fridge. It does not keep as long as jam and must be eaten within a week.

How to use Rhubarb Curd

So what can you do with Rhubarb Curd? Well, lots and lots of things, actually! First off, it is great as a spread on bread as an alternative to jam or honey. It is also great stirred into plain yogurt or spooned over vanilla ice cream. However, in my opinion, it really comes into its own as a cooking ingredient. Its punch of rhubarb flavour is fantastic in all kinds of sweet dishes. It is particularly useful as a filling for cakes and in all kinds of puddings. I use it as a cake filling in my Rhubarb and Vanilla Victoria Sandwich cake and also to make my easy Rhubarb Curd and Rose Ice Cream.

Other rhubarb recipes

I love rhubarb and have lots of other rhubarb recipes in addition to . It makes a great jam or compote. It is also great in a crumble. Rhubarb is also good in many home-baking recipes such as Rhubarb Crumble CakeRhubarb Bread and Butter PuddingRhubarb Upside Down Cake and Rhubarb Roulade. It also makes a good basis for cold desserts such as Rhubarb Fool. You can also use it to make Rhubarb Cordial and a pretty good Rhubarb Gin liqueur!

Other jam and preserve recipes

Making your own jam and preserves is really easy. They taste delicious, keep for a long time and also you know exactly what is in them. You can moderate the sugar content and also be sure that there are no artificial preservatives. It is also a great way to use a seasonal over-supply of a particular fruit.

My home-made jam recipes use seasonal ingredients and often have a bit of a flavour twist.   For example, my Strawberry Jam is flavoured with rose geranium and my Rhubarb Jam is flavoured with vanilla.    I have some simple jams such as my classic Gooseberry Jam.

Some of my other preserve recipes are a bit more unusual.  I make a delectable Rose Petal Jam which can be used in lots of different ways.  I also have a Chilli Jam which is fantastic as a dip or with savoury dishes.

Loved this recipe? Checkout the Recipe Index.

Recipe for easy Rhubarb Curd

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Rhubarb Curd

Rhubarb Curd

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  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Cook Time: 20
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 2 jam-jars 1x
  • Category: Preserves
  • Cuisine: English

Description

Creamy Rhubarb Curd is fantastic spread on bread or as an ingredient in cakes and puddings.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 800 g (1 and a half pounds) rhubarb
  • 100 ml (3.5 fluid oz) water
  • 4 eggs
  • 300 g (10 oz) caster sugar
  • 4 teaspoons cornflour
  • 50 g (2 oz) butter
  • A few drops of pink food colouring (optional)

Instructions

  1. Wash the rhubarb stalks thoroughly.  Cut into pieces of around 2 cm.
  2. Put the rhubarb pieces into your heavy saucepan with 100 ml of water.  Heat until the mixture is simmering and cook for around 5 minutes until the rhubarb is soft and mushy.
  3. Now you can either strain the rhubarb mixture through a sieve to remove the fibres and use the strained juice to make your curd.  Alternatively, you can blend the mixture in a blender or with a stick blender and use the thicker puree to make your curd.  Allow the rhubarb mixture to cool slightly.
  4. Beat the eggs in a bowl and then add the caster sugar and cornflour which should stop the mixture curdling and turning into scrambled eggs!
  5. Now, gradually pour the rhubarb mixture into the bowl and combine it with the egg mixture.   Add a few drops of pink food colouring if you wish – if you don’t do this, your curd will not look so pretty but will taste just as good!
  6. Put the mixture back into your heavy saucepan, add the butter and heat very gently for around 10-15 minutes until it has thickened to a custard-like consistency.  You will need to stir it often and keep an eye on it.
  7. Remove the mixture from the saucepan and pour into sterilised jam jars – it will fill two medium-sized jars.    It must be kept in the fridge once cooled and will last for around a week.

Notes

You can sterilise your jam-jar by washing it in warm, soapy water, rinsing well and then drying off for 15 minutes in an oven set at 140C/120C fan/gas 1.

Rhubarb Upside Down Cake

Rhubarb Upside Down Cake – a cake and a dessert!

This Rhubarb Cake consists of a layer of sweet-sharp rhubarb on top of a light, buttery sponge. It is extremely easy to make and can be used as either a cake or a dessert.

I make a lot of Upside Down Cakes – they are really versatile and can be used as puddings or are great mid-morning with a cup of coffee or with afternoon tea!  I usually use them a lot as puddings as they are very quick and easy to do and are fantastic, served with cream or ice-cream, at the end of a meal.   Rhubarb Upside Down Cake tends to go down well with those who have past form as rhubarb-haters (such as my eldest son) as the topping is effectively a jam and so is less astringent than in some other dishes and therefore more palatable.

In praise of rhubarb

In the past, I have been a bit ambivalent about rhubarb.  On the one hand, I liked its sharp/sweet flavour but I also had a lot of unfortunate memories from my school days of pink mush shrouded in lumpy custard… 

The turning point in my relationship with rhubarb was when we moved into our current house a few years ago and found a huge rhubarb plant in the middle of one of the flower beds.  Over several years, I did my best to kill it and, when this failed, to move it, as I wanted to plant pretty flowers!   It resisted all my attempts at destruction and, in the end, in a spirit of defeat, I decided to start trying to use it and looked for tasty recipes.   I am now quite pleased that I failed to get rid of it, although it still looks a bit odd in the middle of the flower bed, and have adapted a lot of my favourite recipes, including the one for Upside Down Cake, to include rhubarb.

Other rhubarb recipes

I love rhubarb and have lots of other rhubarb recipes. It makes a great jamcompote or fruit curd. It is also great in a crumble. Rhubarb is also good in many home-baking recipes such as Rhubarb Crumble CakeRhubarb Bread and Butter PuddingRhubarb Victoria Sandwich Cake and Rhubarb Roulade. It also makes a good basis for cold desserts such as Rhubarb Curd and Rose Ice Cream or Rhubarb Fool. You can also use it to make Rhubarb Cordial and a pretty good Rhubarb Gin liqueur!

Other baking recipes

I love home-baking and make a lot of easy, traditional cakes, biscuits (cookies) and desserts.

Recipe for Rhubarb Upside Down Cake

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Rhubarb Upside Down Cake

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  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 20
  • Cook Time: 30
  • Total Time: 50 minutes
  • Yield: for 6 people 1x
  • Category: Cake
  • Cuisine: English

Description

Rhubarb Upside Down Cake can be served as a cake with morning coffee or afternoon tea or as a desssert with cream or ice cream.


Ingredients

Scale

For the rhubarb topping:

  • 300 g (10 oz) rhubarb
  • 180 g (6 oz)  caster sugar
  • 50 g  (2 oz) butter

For the cake:

  • 125 g (5 oz) butter
  • 125 g (5 oz) caster sugar
  • 125 g (5 oz) self-raising flour
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tablespoon milk

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C/gas mark 4.
  2. Wash the rhubarb stalks thoroughly.  Cut into small pieces of around 1 cm.
  3. Put the rhubarb pieces, 180 g (6 oz) caster sugar and 50 g (2 oz) butter into your tarte-tatin dish or frying pan and put on a low heat for around 15 minutes.   The rhubarb will soften and, initially release a lot of moisture, but by the end of the time the mixture should be syrupy and jam-like in consistency.   Remove the pan from the heat and allow the mixture to cool slightly.
  4. Make the cake batter by creaming together the 125 g (5 oz) butter with the 125 g (5 oz) sugar.   Add the eggs gradually to ensure the mixture does not curdle.  Then add the 125 g (5 oz) self-raising flour followed by the 1 tablespoon of milk.
  5. Spoon the cake batter on top of the syrupy mixture in your tarte-tatin dish or frying pan.
  6. Put the dish into the oven for around 30 minutes.   At the end of this time, the cake should be light brown and springy to the touch.
  7. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for around 5 minutes.   Then, put a plate over the pan, turn it upside down and remove the pan so that the cake is on the plate rhubarb-side upwards.   Don’t leave it any longer than this or it will be hard to turn it out as the jammy mixture will solidify as it cools and glue the cake to the pan!
  8. You can either serve immediately when it is warm or leave to cool to room temperature.

Notes

You will need a cast iron tarte-tatin dish or a cast iron frying pan which can be used on the hob and also can be put in the oven.

Rhubarb Cordial

Rhubarb ready to be made into rhubarb cordial
Freshly-cut rhubarb and jars

This is a companion to the recipe for Rhubarb Gin and offers an alternative for those who do not like gin or who do not drink alcohol.  Children love it too although sometimes more when they are not told that it has rhubarb  in it!   There are many recipes for Rhubarb Cordial but this is the very simplest and requires minimal skill or time to make although you do need to leave it overnight before you can enjoy it.  It is very versatile and can be used to make non-alcoholic drinks or used as a flavouring in alcoholic cocktails.   It can also be used as a flavouring in cooking when making cakes and puddings.  As with the Rhubarb Gin, you can add additional flavours to your taste – some are suggested in the recipe but feel free to improvise!

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Rhubarb jam

Rhubarb Cordial

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  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Cook Time: 10
  • Total Time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 1 litre 1x
  • Category: Cordial
  • Cuisine: English

Description

Sweet and zesty Rhubarb Cordial is an easy way of capturing the flavour of rhubarb for use in drinks and food recipes.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 kg rhubarb stalks
  • 600 g caster sugar
  • 1 litre of water
  • Juice of 1 lemon

Ingredients (variations)

  • If you wish to try different flavours you could add one of the following additions: 1 vanilla pod  or other spices (cardamon and star anise go well with rhubarb) or 5 slices of fresh root ginger

Instructions

  1. Wash the rhubarb stalks thoroughly.  Cut into 3 cm pieces.
  2. Put the rhubarb pieces, sugar, water and lemon juice in a saucepan and bring to the boil.   Then allow to simmer for 10 minutes until the rhubarb is very soft.
  3. Take the saucepan off the heat and allow the mixture to cool.
  4. Strain the mushy juices through a muslin-lined funnel into a bowl or jug.  It takes a while for the juice to filter through and the process can be done overnight in your fridge.
  5. The juice that has filtered through the funnel is your Rhubarb Cordial and is ready to use.
  6. The Rhubarb Cordial will keep in a sterilised bottle in your fridge for around a month.  Alternatively, you can freeze it – best to do this in ice-cube trays – and it will keep for up to six months.

Notes

To sterilise your bottle, you can wash in warm soapy water, rinse thoroughly and then dry off for around 15 minutes in an oven set to 140C/120C fan/gas 1.

Rhubarb Cordial is very versatile and can be combined with soda or tonic to make a non-alcoholic drink or added to a glass of prosecco or added to gin or vodka as a flavouring for cocktails.  It can also be poured over vanilla ice-cream to make a quick pudding and used as a culinary ingredient to add flavour.

 

Rhubarb - pink and green and fresh
Rhubarb stems – beautiful!

Rhubarb Gin

Zesty orange and ginger - beautiful ingredients
Ginger and Orange – ready to add flavour to Rhubarb Gin

Rhubarb Gin

Traditionally used to make rhubarb crumbles or rhubarb fools, its sweet and sour taste makes a wonderful flavouring for gin.   Love it or hate it, rhubarb is now in season.  Cheap to buy in the shops and probably over-abundant if you have a rhubarb crown in your in your garden.

In the past few years, there has been an increase in the popularity of flavoured gins, including rhubarb, produced by niche producers and selling for a premium in supermarkets.  I think home-made and traditional is best in terms of both flavour and price, so why not try making your own?   It is  simple to make and, if you do it yourself, and you can play with flavour combinations to produce fantastic variations such as rhubarb and vanilla gin, rhubarb and ginger gin or rhubarb and orange gin.    You may think about other combinations – it is all about producing something that suits your taste!

(If you don’t drink alcohol – or are looking for a drink to suit teetotallers or children – check out my recipe for Rhubarb Cordial)

Rhubarb Gin

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Bottles of rhubarb gin

Rhubarb Gin

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  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 20
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 800 ml 1x
  • Category: Gin
  • Cuisine: English

Description

Adding the flavour of fresh rhubarb to gin creates a fantastic drink that is good either on its own or as a base for cocktails.


Ingredients

Scale

Ingredients (basic recipe):

  • 1 kg rhubarb stalks
  • 400 g caster sugar
  • 800 ml good quality gin

Ingredients (variations)

  • If you wish to try different flavours you could add one of the following additions: 1 vanilla pod or 5 slices of fresh root ginger or 5 pieces of thin orange peel

Instructions

  1. Wash the rhubarb stalks thoroughly.  Cut into 3 cm pieces.
  2.  Mix the rhubarb pieces thoroughly with the sugar in a large bowl.
  3.  Spoon the rhubarb and sugar into a sterilised jar.  Leave for 24 hours to allow the rhubarb to macerate in the sugar and   release its juices.
  4.  At this stage, you can add additional flavour ingredients if you wish.   Simply add a vanilla pod, fresh root ginger slices or   thin orange peel (taken from an orange using a potato peeler avoiding the pith) to the jar.
  5.  Add the gin to the jar of rhubarb and sugar.  Shake thoroughly to ensure it is mixed.
  6.  Leave in a cool, dry, dark place for four weeks.
  7.  At the end of that time, the gin is ready to drink!    You can strain the gin into sterilised bottles through a muslin cloth held in a funnel and it will keep for approximately six months.  Alternatively, you can leave the rhubarb pieces in the gin but, if you do this, you must drink it quickly as it will turn bitter after a couple of months.

Notes

Although it only takes 20 minutes preparation time, you will need to allow 24 hours for the rhubarb to macerate  in the sugar and, once you have added the gin, it will take a further four weeks to allow the flavour to develop.

Rhubarb Gin can be drunk on its own, combined with soda or tonic or used as a based for Rhubarb Gin Cocktails.   It is also good poured over vanilla ice-cream to make a quick pudding.

Rhubarb in jars with sugar and gin - just have to wait four weeks to taste
Jars of Rhubarb, Sugar and Gin

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