Rhubarb, pear and pomegranate custard tea cakes
Elegant, delectable and delicately spiced, these rhubarb, pear and pomegranate custard tea cakes make a wonderful dessert or afternoon tea treat. Serve warm with good quality cream.
- 1 hr cooking
- Makes 8 Item
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Ingredients
Rhubarb, pear and pomegranate custard tea cakes
- 1 ripe small pear (180g), peeled, cored, sliced thinly
- 4 thin stalks rhubarb (250g), trimmed
- 1 pomegranate (320g)
- 100 gram (3 ounces) butter, softened
- 1/2 cup (110g) caster (superfine) sugar
- 1 egg
- 2/3 cup (100g) self-raising flour
- 2 tablespoon custard powder
- 2 tablespoon caster (superfine) sugar, extra
- 1 tablespoon custard powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoon caster (superfine) sugar
- 1/2 cup (125ml) milk
- 10 gram (1/2 ounce) butter
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Method
Rhubarb, pear and pomegranate custard tea cakes
- 1Make cinnamon custard. Blend custard powder, cinnamon and sugar with milk in a small saucepan; stir over medium heat until mixture boils and thickens. Cook, stirring, a further minute. Remove from heat; stir in butter and extract. Transfer to a small bowl; cover surface with plastic wrap. Cool.
- 2Peel pear; core and thinly slice. Cut rhubarb lengthways into 1cm (½ -inch) wide long strips; cut strips into 7cm (2¾ -inch) lengths. Cut pomegranate in half crossways; hold one half over a bowl, tap the back with a wooden spoon to release seeds and juice. Strain seeds over a small jug; reserve seeds and juice separately. You need ¼ cup (60ml) juice; make up any difference with water.
- 3Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Grease an 8-hole (¾-cup/180ml) mini loaf pan; line base and long sides of each pan hole with a strip of baking paper.
- 4Beat butter and sugar in a small bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Beat in egg. Stir in sifted flour and custard powder. Spoon mixture into pan holes, spreading to cover the base; there will only be a small amount of mixture. Top with cinnamon custard (about 3 teaspoons per hole), spreading carefully over cake mixture. Alternate pear and rhubarb slices upright on top of custard; sprinkle with pomegranate seeds.
- 5Bake cakes for 25 minutes or until a cake springs back when pressed lightly with finger.
- 6Meanwhile, stir reserved pomegranate juice and extra sugar in a small saucepan over low heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil; boil for 5 minutes or until thick and syrupy.
- 7Stand cakes in pan for 5 minutes before lifting out onto plates. Brush top of warm cakes with warm syrup; serve cakes warm.