Rhubarb Pudding Fairy Cakes with Edible Flowers
These little rhubarb pudding fairy cakes are so named because they are pudding like in texture rather than light and airy. But they’re also fairy like in terms of their size and the ephemeral and elegant nature of the edible flowers. Whatever you want to call them, they’re totally delicious.
Spring, it’s really here at last. Despite the rubbish weather we’ve been having, the hedges are alive with primroses. They’re slightly later than usual but absolutely spectacular.
Edible Flowers
Talking of spectacular flowers, I was recently given a punnet of edible ones from a local grower. The Flower Mill, based just up the road from us (in an old flour mill as it happens), grows chemical free flowers for decoration and also for eating.
It’s primarily a mail order business, so anyone in the UK can enjoy bouquets and posies of seasonal Cornish flowers. They can also order edible flowers to decorate cakes, salads or whatever else grabs their fancy. My punnet contained a collection of borage flowers, violas and different types of primulas. What fun. It’s time to play.
Rhubarb Pudding Fairy Cakes with White Chocolate
Kate has chosen fairy cakes, cupcakes and muffins for this month’s Tea Time Treats. And fairy cakes seemed just the thing to showcase the beautiful flowers I’d received. As I like to bake seasonally where I can, rhubarb was an obvious choice.
Now, I don’t know why, but for some reason we’ve been unable to grow rhubarb down at the field. It used to flourish on our old site. Luckily, my mother grows some in her garden, so it was all systems go.
Whilst the cakes were cooking, I stewed up a few stems of chopped rhubarb without sugar. I thought they’d make a beautiful pink juice for the icing. And they did.
Due to the almonds, these veered more towards the dense texture than light and spongy, but, oh, they were delicious. Rhubarb is one of those ingredients that works particularly well in cakes, giving bursts of tartness and flavour in amongst the sweetness. The rhubarb juice gave the icing a tinge of pink which I was pleased with. I used the remaining stewed rhubarb in a breakfast smoothie the following day and it was so good I’m now craving more.
As it happened, the cake cases came away from the cakes, making them look really tatty, so I removed them all together. Thank goodness for the flowers, which made these otherwise plain looking cakes into the real deal – fairy cakes of elegance and beauty. The flowers all had their own flavours and were not only good to look at but were good to eat too.
In retrospect I regret not putting some of them into ice-cube trays, but I shall remember that for another time. Cool summer drinks would surely be enhanced with a flower or two floating on the surface. I was told that the flowers can be kept for 2-3 days in the fridge, but I was surprised at just how long they lasted out of the fridge and on the cakes – it was several hours before they showed any sign of wilting.
You can check out the range of options available at The Flower Mill.
Other Rhubarb Cake Recipes You Might Like
- Matcha, chocolate & rhubarb swirl bundt cake
- Rhubarb bundt cake with a hot ginger glaze
- Rhubarb friands with white chocolate
- Remarkable rhubarb cake
- Rhubarb honey cakes (aka nonnettes)
- Rhubarb & orange chocolate cake
- Spelt rhubarb muffins with a hint of rose
- Rhubarb polenta cake
- Rhubarb & white chocolate muffins
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Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make these rhubarb pudding fairy cakes, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. Do share photos on social media too and use the hashtag #tinandthyme, so I can spot them.
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Rhubarb Pudding Fairy Cakes. PIN IT.
Rhubarb Pudding Fairy Cakes – The Recipe
Rhubarb Pudding Fairy Cakes
Ingredients
Rhubarb Cakes
- 1 stick rhubarb (about 80g) - ends removed
- 50 g white chocolate - chopped into small pieces (I used Green & Blacks)
- 75 g unsalted butter
- 90 g golden caster sugar
- 1 large egg (I used a duck egg)
- 100 g flour (half wholemeal spelt, half white spelt)
- 50 g ground almonds
- 1 scant teaspoon of baking powder
- pinch of bicarbonate of soda
- 1 tbsp yoghurt
- 1 tsp orange flower water (optional)
Rhubarb Icing
- 1 stem rhubarb (or more) - stewed in a little water, but without sugar
- 100 g icing sugar
- 1 tsp orange flower water (optional)
- edible flowers to decorate
Instructions
Rhubarb Cakes
- Finely chop the rhubarb.
- Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the egg.
- Sift in the dry ingredients and stir until just incorporated.
- Add the yoghurt and orange flower water.
- Stir in the chocolate and rhubarb.
- Spoon into 12 fairy cake cases.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 180℃ (350℉, Gas 4) for 20 minutes.
- Turn out onto a wire rack and leave to cool.
Rhubarb icing
- Sift the icing sugar into a bowl. Add the orange flower water if using and enough of the rhubarb juice (from the stewed rhubarb) to make a slightly runny icing.
- Spoon over the top of the cakes. Decorate the tops with pretty edible flowers.
Notes
Nutrition
Sharing
I am entering these rhubarb pudding fairy cakes into Tea Time Treats with Kate of What Kate Baked and Karen of Lavender and Lovage.
As edible flowers abound, I am also entering these little cakes into Herbs on Saturday with Karen of Lavender and Lovage. It just so happens that this month’s prize is Cooking with Edible Flowers.
The rhubarb cakes would go down a treat I reckon for a St George spring fete. So I’m also entering them into Calendar Cakes with Dolly Bakes and Laura Loves Cakes.
As I’ve made everything from scratch as usual, I’m sending these off to Made with Love Mondays with Javelin Warrior.
And finally, because rhubarb is in season and I haven’t submitted anything for ages, I’m entering these into Simple & in Season with Ren of Fabulicious Food.
Susan Lindquist
27th April 2013 at 5:20 pmI love seeing edible posies are gussied up on cakes and in salads! Your fairy cakes are just magical!
Torviewtoronto
27th April 2013 at 7:14 pmthese are yummy
celia
27th April 2013 at 10:33 pmSooo pretty!! They’d make a perfect afternoon tea party treat! I don’t know whether I’d eat the flowers or pick them off and try to string them into a daisy chain! 😀
Rebecca Subbiah
28th April 2013 at 3:52 amthese cakes are adorable
Stacy
28th April 2013 at 4:05 amThose fairy cakes with real flowers are stunning! I love a bit of tart rhubarb so I am sure they taste as good as they look.
Susie @ Fold in the Flour
28th April 2013 at 10:53 amThe flowers look really pretty, and set off the fairy cakes really well. 🙂
Victoria Lee
28th April 2013 at 11:44 amWow these are so pretty! I don’t know if I would have the heart to eat them! And one recipe into five challenges, that has to be some sort of record!?!
The Caked Crusader
28th April 2013 at 5:03 pmI’ve never quite got my head around eating flowers but they look so pretty – these are fairy cakes that actual fairies would eat!
Jen Price
28th April 2013 at 5:06 pmSo so pretty! Almost seems a shame to eat them but then that would be a waste of good cake!
Caroline
28th April 2013 at 5:34 pmWhat delicious flavours and those flowers are just so pretty! I’ve never eaten flowers I don’t think and these are so pretty that I’m not sure if I’d be able to! Isn’t it odd how some recipe seem to come away from the cases and some don’t – there never seems to be any logic to it, but taking them out is a great solution.
Javelin Warrior
28th April 2013 at 7:23 pmThese are so cute, Choclette, and I love the use of rhubarb with white chocolate in the cupcakes… I just picked up this season’s first rhubarb on Friday and can’t wait to start using it… Love the edible flowers – a wonderful and whimsical decoration! Thanks so much for sharing…
Laura Loves Cakes
28th April 2013 at 6:37 pmThis is a brilliant coincidence…I was wondering just this morning about where to get edible flowers from and you have now answered my question! Your flavour combination in these fairy cakes sounds lovely and they look so pretty too. Thanks for entering them into this month’s Calendar Cakes 🙂
claire wilkinson
28th April 2013 at 8:22 pmmmmm looks fab
Alida
29th April 2013 at 8:33 amWhat a celebration of spring here Choclette! I really love the colours, they look beautiful these fairy cakes. I am intrigued by edible flowers . I have seen many salads made with flowers too. I want to give it a go!
Kath
29th April 2013 at 9:34 amWhat beautiful flowers, a real taste of spring. I do love borage flowers, I grew it for the first time last year and made use of them in drinks and salads and I am really hoping they have self seeded. I can’t see any sign yet though. I did try the leaves but really? I am not sure why they suggest that you should eat them, even when tiny the hairs are too much for me. My rhubarb is ready and it is crying out to be eaten. I must oblige today.
Hannah
29th April 2013 at 3:02 pmStunning little cakes, they really sing spring!
Kate@whatkatebaked
29th April 2013 at 7:12 pmSuch pretty, perfect little Fairy Cakes! Too beautiful to eat…then again, rhubarb, rose and white chocolate? Ah, go on then! Thank you for entering them into TTT!
underthebluegumtree
30th April 2013 at 12:03 pmSo pretty and a gorgeous sounding flavour combo 🙂
Karen S Booth
30th April 2013 at 8:52 pmQuite simply the most BEAUTIFUL cakes I have seen, and as you know, I LOVE cooking with flowers, so this is my kind of cake! Stunning entry thanks, and thanks for being such a wonderful supporter of Herbs on Saturday and Tea Time Treats! Karen
laura@howtocookgoodfood
1st May 2013 at 11:58 amHow lovely to be able to decorate these fairy cakes with edible flowers. I think they look so spring like and rhubarb does go so well with white chocolate. The sourness is balanced by the sweet of the chocolate. I do like your icing too, so much more delicate than a mouth full of buttercream!
vohnmcg.com
3rd May 2013 at 11:08 pmThese are so AMAZINGLY PRETTY and I bet tasty too! Congratulations on winning an edible flower book on Herbs on Saturday. You certainly deserved it with these little works of art. Vohn x
Louise Hutchings
21st May 2013 at 7:52 amLovely, pretty cakes, I love Rhubarb and always looking for new recipes 🙂