These healthy rhubarb and custard muffins are moist and delicious, packed with fresh seasonal rhubarb and a lovely vanilla custard filling. The classic flavours of rhubarb and custard, baked inside a healthy oatmeal muffin. What's not to love??
The first batch of these healthy rhubarb and custard muffins was a bit of a happy accident. I had some leftover homemade custard and decided to try baking it into the middle of a muffin. Yummy! The result is a delicious combination.
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Why try healthy rhubarb and custard muffins?
- They are totally delicious, with bursts of tangy rhubarb and creamy vanilla custard.
- The muffins are gluten free, if you use certified oats. And you can easily make these dairy-free rhubarb muffins by using dairy-free milk. (I prefer oat milk which I use in this dairy-free custard recipe.)
- Healthy rhubarb and custard muffins are low in refined sugar, and high in fibre. Sweetened with apple and a little honey, they are a filling, healthy tea-time treat.
- Easy to make. There's no need to precook the rhubarb as small chunks will cook through in the oven in the time that the muffins take to bake. Both the muffin batter and custard are very simple and easy to make.
Ingredients
Rhubarb. I used fresh rhubarb which is available in the spring and summer, but you could also use frozen rhubarb if it's out of season. That way you can enjoy rhubarb and custard muffins all year around;)
Apples. Apple provides extra sweetness in these healthy rhubarb muffins but doesn't dominate the flavour. I used medium sized apples, so if yours apples are large, maybe eat half of one whilst you are prepping the recipe! You can use any variety of dessert apple.
Oats. You could use either porridge oats or instant oats for this recipe, as they'll be processed into flour. Oats are a healthy wholegrain, and are high in fibre. They are nutritious, and a good source of a number of vitamins and minerals.
Using oats rather than processed refined flour makes these healthy muffins more nutritious. If you want gluten free muffins, make sure you use certified oats that have been processed separately to other gluten containing grains.
I also use oats in this healthy apple muffin recipe.
There's also some baking powder in the recipe to provide a bit of rise.
Olive oil. These healthy rhubarb and custard muffins are low in saturated fat, but some olive oil provides extra moistness. Any kind of unflavoured olive oil is fine.
Honey. You could also use maple syrup if you prefer.
Vanilla extract. As vanilla is such an important flavour in custard, I've added vanilla to the muffin mixture as well and the custard.
Custard ingredients
Cornflour thickens the custard, and keeps it stable. Cornflour is gluten free, and also known as cornstarch in some countries.
You'll also need milk which can be fat free, full fat, dairy or non dairy. Just a couple of teaspoons of sugar will provide enough sweetness. You could use another sweetener such as honey or stevia if you prefer.
The small amount of custard for this recipe will just use one egg yolk. If you are making double, you could use a whole egg instead of a yolk. You could also make double the custard and serve the muffins as dessert with an extra spoonful of leftover custard. Yum:)
How to make rhubarb and custard muffins
Start by making the custard so that it can cool whilst you make the muffin mixture. Put the milk, cornflour, sugar, egg yolk and ½ teaspoon vanilla extract in a cold pan and mix well.
Place the pan on a medium heat and bring the mix to a simmer, whisking constantly. The custard will thicken. Simmer for a minute, then turn off the heat and leave to cool.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees (160 fan).
Rinse the rhubarb and cut into 1cm pieces. If the stalks are large, slice them lengthwise down the middle before slicing them. Set aside.
Tip the oats into a food processor or large blender and blitz well. The oats will become fine and powdery. Core and roughly chop the apple (there's no need to peel it.) Add to the processor and blitz until finely chopped.
Add the baking powder, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, honey, oil, and eggs and blitz until the muffins are well mixed. Stir the chopped rhubarb into the mixture.
Line a muffin tin with muffin cases and spoon a rounded tablespoon of the mixture into each hole. Roughly level out the mixture. Add a generous teaspoon of custard to the centre of each muffin.
Top with the remaining mixture. Try to be gentle so that the custard stays in the centre, and is encased by the muffin mixture.
Bake at 180 degrees for 20 minutes until golden. Cool on a wire rack.
Expert tips
- If you don't have a food processor or blender to make the muffins, you'll need oat flour rather than whole oats. Prepare the custard and rhubarb as above. Finely grate the apple, then add to a bowl with all the other muffins ingredients. Stir well to mix, and follow the rest of the recipe.
- If you're in a hurry, you could use a ready-made custard rather than making the custard from scratch. It may sink into the muffins more however as it'll be a little runnier. Ready-made custard will also have more sugar than this homemade custard.
Serving and storage
Tempting as it may be, make sure that these healthy rhubarb and custard muffins have cooled before you tuck in so that you don't burn your mouth on the custard. They are particularly nice fresh from the oven, but you can store them for 2 or 3 days in an airtight container.
Healthy rhubarb and custard muffins are ideal for a springtime brunch, tea or as dessert.
FAQs
No, it doesn't. The custard is quite thick, which helps. And if you think about it, you can make a baked custard which holds its shape. Rhubarb and custard muffins are surprisingly un-messy to eat:)
Yes, healthy rhubarb and custard muffins freeze well. I do find it harder to remove them from the paper cases when they have been frozen, however. You could use waxed paper cases if you are planning to freeze them.
Just use the rhubarb as it is, there's no need to defrost it. But if the pieces are quite large, you will need to cut them up, so you could leave them to soften while you get on with making the custard.
Other healthy rhubarb recipes you might enjoy
Make the most of the short rhubarb season with these other healthy recipes. They are all low in sugar and gluten free. If you love rhubarb and custard, then this delicious rhubarb fool and rhubarb custard tart are both definitely worth baking!
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Recipe
Healthy Rhubarb and Custard Muffins
Equipment
- Food processor ideally, can make by hand also
- Muffin tin
- Muffin cases
- saucepan
- whisk
Ingredients
- 150 g rhubarb fresh or frozen
- 2 dessert apples
- 200 g porridge or instant oats use GF certified if needed
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2½ tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
Custard
- 1 egg yolk if making double can use 1 whole egg
- 200 ml milk whole milk or skimmed, dairy or non dairy
- 2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornflour
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
Custard
- Add the cold milk, cornflour, sugar, ½ teaspoon vanilla and egg yolk to a cold pan. Whisk well to mix.
- Place over a medium heat. Stir constantly and bring to a simmer. Simmer for a minute, and remove from the heat. Set aside to cool.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees (160 fan)
Rhubarb muffins
- If the rhubarb stems are large, cut them in half lengthwise. Then cut into 1cm pieces.
- Add the oats to the bowl of a food processor and blitz until powdery.
- Cut the apples from the core, and chop roughly. Add to the oats and blitz again until very finely chopped.
- Add the baking powder, 1 teaspoon vanilla, oil, honey and 2 eggs and blitz until thoroughly mixed.
- Stir in the rhubarb by hand.
- Line the muffin tin with 6 paper cases. Spoon a rounded tablespoon of muffin mixture into each case and level out.
- Add a heaped teaspoon of custard to the centre of each muffin.
- Top with the remaining muffin mixture and gently smooth the mixture over the custard. The custard should be fully covered.
- Bake at 180 degrees for 20 minutes until golden and set. Cool on a wire rack.
Notes
Nutrition
Please note nutritional information is for guidance only
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