The best rhubarb custard pie
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Rhubarb pies are spring favorites at our house, and I’ve made a lot of them in my life.
Rhubarb grows freely (and free!) in the yard. Yes, it is the perfect complement to strawberries, and they ripen here at the same time.
But I bought a rhubarb custard pie once at a farm stand and never looked back!
In my opinion, this is the best rhubarb pie ever! Even rhubarb haters love this!
Find Your Easy tips for making this rhubarb custard pie
Try to pick younger, smaller rhubarb stalks. Look for pink ones that are an inch or less across, but the pencil-thin ones are too small. Pull out the stalk or cut near the bottom but do not use the whitest, toughest part near the bottom.
Pulling is best because the plant can recover a little more quickly, but cutting is fine. Don’t cut more than 2/3 of the stalks so it continues to grow and is healthy enough to come back next spring.
If it’s stringy when you slice the rhubarb, don’t be afraid to strip a few strings off and discard them.
Rhubarb leaves contain a high amount of oxalic acid and should never be eaten. Cut them off and discard them. It’s fine to put them in the compost pile.
Using a crust shield will help prevent the crust from browning too much. But, many bakers have success by simply brushing the crust with water.
I like this pie slightly warm or at room temperature. The flavors are more prominent than when it’s very cold (in my opinion).
Because this is custard, be sure to store the pie in the refrigerator.
Rhubarb custard pie
Equipment
- Rolling Pin
- pie plate
- pastry cutter or standing mixer
Ingredients
Pie crust
- 2 C flour
- ⅔ C butter or shortening
- ½ tsp salt
- 4 tbsp water (or more)
Filling
- 3 C rhubarb, cleaned and thinly sliced
- 1 ¾ C sugar
- ½ C flour
- 1 C milk
- ½ tsp grated nutmeg
Instructions
Pie crust
- MIx dry ingredients.
- Cut butter into small pieces and add to dry ingredients. Mix in with pastry blender or standing mixer until the butter is the size of small peas.
- Add water a couple of tablespoons at a time, mixing into the other ingredients. You may need more than 4 tbsp of water. Once the dough forms a ball with your hands, cover with plastic wrap, flatten slightly, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Once the dough has chilled, split into 2 pieces. Lightly flour a board and roll the dough to fit your pie plate. The other piece can be used to make a second pie or wrapped well and frozen.
Filling
- Put the sliced rhubarb in the bottom of the pie plate.
- Combine and beat, sugar, eggs, flour, and milk. Pour over rhubarb. Grate or sprinkle nutmeg over the top.
- Bake at 400° for 20. Reduce heat to 350° and bake another 40-50 minutes until the custard is set. The baking time will depend on the size and depth of the pie plate. Custard is done when a clean knife dipped into the middle of the pie comes out clean.
Notes
Did you try this? What did you think? Looking for a strawberry rhubarb pie recipe? Try this! And these other family-favorite recipes.
What’s your favorite rhubarb recipe? Let me know, or drop a link below, and I’ll try to add it to the site so everyone can sample it.
