It's high season for fresh, local rhubarb right now - the perfect time to make a rhubarb custard pie. This pie is a simple and old-fashioned combination of diced rhubarb, sour cream, and sugar with a brown-sugar streusel topping. Darn - spring eating doesn't get much better than this!
You can go directly to the printable recipe, or I'll show you how to make it step-by-step...
Here are the ingredients. A note about the rhubarb: I made the rhubarb fool at the end of March with hothouse rhubarb, which is available year-round. For this pie, I'm using field rhubarb - fresh and local (from a friend's garden). In the Seattle area, field rhubarb is available April through June. Field rhubarb is firmer and tarter than hothouse rhubarb; the stalks are also generally greener in color (hothouse rhubarb stalks can be a deep, bright, pink).
You'll also need an unbaked chilled 9" pie crust. If you're looking for an easy-to-make pie crust recipe, check out my "foolproof" pie crust roundup. For this pie, I tried the Cook's Illustrated "no-roll" pie crust. I'll have more to say about this crust in a future post, but I thought its shortbread-like texture worked well for this pie and it was definitely easy to prepare. Update: I show how to make this crust, step-by-step, here.
~ Preheat the oven to 450° F. We'll start by making the streusel topping. ~
1) Into a medium bowl, measure out 1/2 cup of flour...
...and 1/2 cup dark brown sugar.
2) Mix the flour and sugar together to combine.
3) Melt 1/4 cup unsalted butter...
...and add to the flour/sugar mixture.
5) Stir to combine and set aside.
6) Next, we are going to prepare 1 lb. of rhubarb to yield 4 cups of diced rhubarb. Begin by cutting the stalk lengthwise into quarters...
...then cut the quarters crosswise to create the dice.
7) Transfer the diced rhubarb to a large mixing bowl.
8) To the rhubarb, add 1 cup of sugar...
...and 1/3 cup flour.
9) Mix the flour/sugar with the rhubarb.
10) Add 1 cup of sour cream...
...and stir to combine.
11) Transfer the pie filling to the unbaked and chilled 9" pie crust...
...and sprinkle the struesel over the top.
~ Here's the pie ready to go into the oven. ~
Bake the pie on the lower-middle rack of the oven at 450° F. for 10 minutes. Lower the heat to 350°F. and continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes more, until the filling starts to bubble.
Baking tips:
Preventing the edge from browning too much. Check out this video that shows how to cover the pie edges with foil. Remove the foil 15 minutes before the pie finishes baking.
Spillover Clean-up. As the filling starts to bubble, there may be some spillover. For easier clean-up, place one oven rack in the very bottom position. Cut a piece of foil that's slightly larger than the pie pan and turn up the edges all around it. Place the foil on the bottom rack, under the pie. Do not line the entire rack or the bottom of the oven with foil, as this will cause uneven heat distribution in your oven.
Let the baked pie cool completely on a rack.
Serve when cooled completely - or chill before serving.
Rhubarb Custard Pie
Serves 6.
9" unbaked pie crust, chilled
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup firmly-packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
4 cups diced fresh rhubarb (about 1 lb. of rhubarb)
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 cup sour cream
Preheat the oven to 450° F.
For the topping: Mix together the 1/2 cup flour, brown sugar and melted butter. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the diced rhubarb, sugar, 1/3 cup flour, and sour cream. Transfer the pie filling to the prepared pie crust. Sprinkle the topping over the pie filling.
Bake the pie on the lower-middle rack of the oven at 450° F. for 10 minutes. Lower the heat to 350° F. and continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes more, until the filling starts to bubble.
Let cool completely before serving. Serve room temperature or chilled.
I hope you enjoyed this recipe! To view more step-by-step recipes, see the complete recipe index.
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Love this blog!! Great recipes and All are things that I can see myself making! Happy cooking!!
Posted by: Donna | May 15, 2008 at 07:32 AM
This looks and sounds amazing!! I can't wait for the local rhubarb to come.
Posted by: Kevin | May 15, 2008 at 07:09 PM
I really enjoy that picture with the rhubarb popping out in the pie. A feast for the eyes and mouth.
Posted by: Amanda | May 21, 2008 at 08:08 AM
This was amazing! I made it yesterday and am making it again for a family gathering. Thank you so much!
Posted by: Jane | June 11, 2008 at 10:29 AM
This is an EXCELLENT pie. My college-aged sons who don't even like rhubarb snarfed the whole thing down in one setting!
I added a dash of nutmeg and cinnamon to the streusel topping, but no other changes.
Thank you for the great recipe!
Posted by: Kathy | June 23, 2008 at 07:47 AM
Thanks for the recipe and great photos! My daughter and I made this pie today while we were making rhubarb jam. It has a very unapologetic rhubarb flavor, and the no-roll crust is a real winner.
I can't wait to try some more of your recipes!
Posted by: Teresa | July 31, 2008 at 05:45 PM
Using a crust from the freezer section of the market made this a fast and easy recipe! It is also dangerously delicious! Thanks for the great recipe.
Posted by: AJ | May 09, 2009 at 04:39 PM
I have a wheat allergy so I made this without a crust and used tapioca starch in the filling and barley flour and oats in the crumb topping. I also used switched out some rhubarb for 1 cup of strawberries - turned the custard pink and added a little extra sweetness. So yummy!
Posted by: Ella | May 09, 2009 at 07:29 PM
I absolutely love rhubarb. Made this recipe as written with the press-in-pan crust and it was fantastic! The topping browned and developed a caramel flavor in the oven. Thank you so much. This will be a favorite for years to come.
Posted by: Julia | May 16, 2009 at 09:39 PM
I got SO MANY compliments on this pie last year, that I'm getting ready to make it today now that rhubarb is once again in season. It is delicious, and even non-rhubarb lovers can't get enough of it!!
Just curious, have you ever added strawberries to the recipe? They're in season here as well, and I was wondering if it would work.
Thank you!
Posted by: Kathy | May 30, 2009 at 10:26 AM
Oh my goodness, this is an excellent pie. Just be sure to wait for the pie to bubble and boil or it won't set up. YUMMY and oh so healthy!
Posted by: Joan | July 12, 2009 at 06:15 PM
Hello Heidi,
I came across your wonderful recipe a few years back when I was doing a food sovereignty project (see: http://howlingduckranch.wordpress.com), and writing a book about the experience. The book is now going to be published and I wonder if I can get permission to use your recipe (with full credit to Ward Street Bistro of course!).
Sincerely,
Kristeva Dowling
Posted by: Kristeva Dowling | November 25, 2010 at 06:08 PM
Hey! I'm going to try this recipe, thanks for sharing it. My question: how could I stretch this into a bar form? Would that be a good idea?
Posted by: Julie | May 19, 2011 at 07:52 PM
I made this last weekend and it is now my family's favourite Rhubarb Pie. I has very red stalks of rhubarb and the pie filling turned out a very pretty pink colour.
Posted by: C Weister | May 31, 2011 at 11:17 AM
this rhubarb custard looks so juicy....its making my mouth watery....
Posted by: California Real Estate | May 31, 2011 at 09:44 PM
I love your step by step photo instructions! I made this last night for dinner with my parents (didn't get a chance to chill it) and it was soooo rich. :D
Thanks for an awesome & easy recipe!
https://picasaweb.google.com/Miranda.Whitman/CuriousKitchen#5613698365024074546
Posted by: Miranda | June 02, 2011 at 11:57 AM
This looks SO good!
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