Gluten Free Rhubarb and Custard Cake

Back to all recipes.
Rhubarb and custard is a match made in heaven, through some gluten free cake into that and you have a gorgeous cake for a spring day when British rhubarb is at it's prime, The cake has an amazing custard flavour, topped with a layer of rhubarb and finished with proper thick custard!

This recipe is...

  • Preparation Time: 20 Mins
  • Cooking Time: 1 Hour 20 Mins
  • This recipe makes 10 slices

This recipe contains:

  • Dairy
  • Egg

Last updated 8th August 2025

Added 8th May 2019

Recipe by Alison Wheatley

Gluten Free Rhubarb and Custard Cake

Ingredients

<Strong>Custard
2.5tbsp custard powder
250ml milk
50g caster sugar

Cake
1tbsp sugar
2 sticks rhubarb
200g margarine
140g caster sugar
160g gluten free self raising flour
50g custard powder
2 large eggs

Method

  1. To make the custard, place custard powder in a jug, add a tablespoon of the milk or so to the powder and mix.

  2. Add the rest of the milk and sugar to a saucepan and heat over a medium heat until warm but not boiling, stirring all the time.

  3. Pour the milk into the custard powder paste and stir continuously so it doesn't go lumpy, return to the saucepan and place back on a medium heat, still continuously stirring, the mix with thicken, this will take 5-10 minutes. Keep stirring otherwise it will go lumpy. Once thick, remove from the heat and pour into a jug or bowl, cover with cling film and allow to go cold.

  4. Grease and line a 8 inch cake tin, sprinkle 1tbsp sugar over the bottom of the tin, cut the rhubarb into pieces that will go all the way across the tin and lay them in the bottom.

  5. Place all the other ingredients for the cake in a bowl and with an electric whisk, whisk until you get a nice smooth cake batter.

  6. Pour the cake batter over the rhubarb, place the cake in an oven preheated to gas mark 4/180c and bake for 1 hour.

  7. Once cooked through (a skewer pushed into the middle should come out clean) remove from the oven and leave in the tin for 10 mins before turning out.

  8. Turn out onto a cake rack and allow to go cold, what was the bottom in the tin is now going to be the top.

  9. Once both the cake and custard are cold, spread the custard over the top of the cake.

Nutritional Information (Per slice)

Cals
293
Carbs
36g
Fibre
1g
Fat
16g
Sugar
23g
Protein
3g
Alison Peters
Alison Peters has been Coeliac since June 2014 and launched Coeliac Sanctuary in August of that year, and since then has aimed to provide a one stop shop for Coeliacs, from blogs, to recipes, eating out guide and online shop.

Your Comments

Hi. Do you have a rough weight for the rhubarb? I have rhubarb growing and the sticks vary greatly in width and length. Thanks.
Ruth Anderson27th September 2023
Alison @ Coeliac Sanctuary6th October 2023
Not sure what weight was used, but the sticks were fairly small, a little thicker than celery and probably a tiny bit longer!
Morning the cake sounds delicious. The rhubarb sticks you use are they precooked or partial cooked before using
Diane14th April 2023
Alison @ Coeliac Sanctuary16th April 2023
Hi, no just put in as they are, with it being an hour cook time, they soften nicely as the cake cooks :)
I just want to check that you put custard powder into the cake mix as well as making the custard with it?
Rosie11th April 2023
Alison @ Coeliac Sanctuary13th April 2023
Yep :)
Just checking - you put extra custard powder into the cake mix as well as making the custard with it?
Rose Corrigan11th April 2023
Alison @ Coeliac Sanctuary13th April 2023
Yep :)
Hi there. I’d like to make a 4inch version of this cake. Is it ok to just half the ingredients? Thanks in advance! Dominique
Dominique Fester10th August 2022
Alison @ Coeliac Sanctuary11th August 2022
Hi, yes should work out just fine :)

Submit Comment

Want to leave a comment on this blog? Feel free to join the discussion!

Note, your email address will never be displayed with your comment, it is only required to alert you when your comment has been approved or if the Coeliac Sanctuary team reply to your comment.

Coeliac Sanctuary

Coeliac Sanctuary, more than a gluten free blog, find gluten free, coeliac safe places to eat, gluten free recipes, blogs, reviews, buy coeliac travel cards and more!

Subscribe to our newsletter

Enter your email address below to get our newsletter sent straight to your inbox!

Copyright © 2014 - 2025 Coeliac Sanctuary.