Recipe for shortcrust pastry with rhubarb and custard meringue
Rhubarb season is the perfect time to reach for tried and true homemade baked goods. Rhubarb cake with meringue topping is a unique combination of a shortcrust base, a slightly tart rhubarb layer, and a delicate, fluffy meringue-custard topping. It’s a dessert that delights with its taste and ease of preparation – perfect for everyday and for gatherings with loved ones. Be sure to try this recipe and see how delicious rhubarb cake with meringue topping can be!
Why bake this rhubarb cake with custard meringue topping?
Every time March ends, I start looking for rhubarb in stores to bake the first rhubarb cake of the year. This time, I opted for a classic combined with a delicate meringue-custard topping. So we have a light shortcrust base, which also forms the top layer, along with diced tart rhubarb and a delicately sweet, fluffy custard meringue with vanilla pudding. The whole makes for an incredibly tasty cake that also looks excellent. Such a cake will be perfect for a weekend dessert, for something sweet for a garden party and barbecue, but also for special occasions such as Holy Communion. So be sure to save this recipe, because it might come in handy more than once during rhubarb season!
What ingredients are needed to make rhubarb and meringue cake?
To bake such a rhubarb cake with meringue at home, you will need a few basic ingredients – all are very easily available in any store. Below is a condensed list of products I used and possible substitutes.
- rhubarb – I had about 550 g of rhubarb, you can of course use a little more, I don’t recommend less, it won’t cover the bottom of the cake – however, if you have less, you can combine it with other fruits so that the layer is thicker and covers the entire surface – for example, you can combine rhubarb with apple pieces
- butter – I used extra butter 83%, you can ultimately use mixed butter or vegetable butter
- pudding – I used sugar-free vanilla pudding, you can also use cream pudding, if you have pudding with sugar, you can use it, but then you can add less sugar to the egg whites – 40-50 g less, unless you like sweeter cakes, then you can use 200 g of sugar and pudding with sugar
- sugar – I used powdered sugar for the egg whites, but you can also use regular granulated sugar – 200 g of granulated sugar is 1 cup!
Can rhubarb be replaced with other fruits?
Yes, if you don’t have rhubarb, or don’t like it, you can make this cake with other fruits. Apples, pears, peaches, raspberries or currants would work great here. However, it is worth remembering that rhubarb gives the cake a characteristic, slightly tart note. So it’s worth using slightly tart fruits here – alone or in combination with sweeter fruits.
How to achieve the perfect cake?
You can prepare this cake in two ways. You can, like me, use softer butter – this way the dough will mix quickly and will be more pliable. You can immediately line the mold nicely with such dough. Then you put the mold with the dough in the fridge so that the dough cools down well.
You can also use cold butter cut into small pieces – it’s best to combine the ingredients by chopping them – e.g., with a knife or a food processor. This way, you don’t heat the dough too much. Line the mold with this cold dough, and then you don’t need to chill the dough additionally in the fridge; you can bake it right away. This method will be better if you have less time to prepare the cake.
Can shortcrust pastry be prepared a day in advance?
Yes, you can prepare shortcrust pastry in advance and store it in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can also freeze the dough and use it when needed.
How to store rhubarb cake with meringue topping?
After baking and cooling, the cake is best stored in the refrigerator – covered. It can safely stay in the refrigerator for 3-5 days, or even longer. The cake can also be kept at room temperature during the day – for the night, I recommend putting it in the refrigerator to keep it fresh longer.
How many calories does rhubarb cake with custard meringue topping have?
In the table below the recipe, I provided the calorie count for 100 g of cake made with my products. If you divide the cake into 24 roughly similar pieces, one of them will have about 216 kcal (carbohydrates – 22.7 g, protein – 2.7 g, fats – 13 g). So that’s quite a pleasant value for such a shortcrust cake with meringue :)
I hope this rhubarb cake with meringue topping steals your heart just like it did mine! It’s the perfect bake for rhubarb season – simple, yet impressive.
If you try the recipe, be sure to let me know in the comments how it turned out and if your loved ones enjoyed it. I would also be very happy if you share the recipe further or save it for later – let as many people as possible discover how delicious rhubarb cake with meringue topping can be!
P.S. I also invite you to my Instagram, where you will also find my recipes in an easy-to-save format. I also highly recommend my app where you will find this and my other recipes.
Recommended rhubarb cake recipes
Be sure to also try my other recipes for delicious homemade rhubarb cakes and other sweet baked goods. Here I recommend three such recipes, and many more on the blog.
