Get the Recipe: Quick and Easy Rhubarb Custard Pie
This fast and easy rhubarb custard pie recipe balances out the tart, tangy rhubarb fruit with a sweet cream custard filling and buttery pie crust.
Ingredients
For the Pie Crust
- 1 frozen store-bought pie crust in a pie plate
- 1 large egg white
- 1 teaspoon water
- pinch of kosher salt
For the Rhubarb Custard Pie Filling
- 1 pound (or 454 grams) fresh rhubarb, sliced into ½-inch chunks
- 1 ½ cups (10.5 ounces or 298 grams) granulated sugar, divided into ¼ cup (1.75 ounces or 50 grams) and 1 ¼ cup (8.75 ounces or 248 grams) portions (see baker's notes)
- ⅓ cup (1.5 ounces or 43 grams) all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs
- 4 Tablespoons (2 ounces or 57 grams) unsalted butter, melted
- ¼ cup (2 ounces or 57 grams) heavy cream
Instructions
For the Rhubarb Custard Pie
- First, pre bake the crust. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and place the frozen crust in the center of the pan. Cover the crust with foil, making sure the crimped edges are completely covered and there are no gaps between the foil and the crust. Fill with pie weights and spread them out so they are more concentrated around the edges of the crust.
- Pre bake the crust. Bake for 25 minutes. While the crust is in the oven, make the egg wash for the pie crust: in a small bowl, whisk together the egg, water, and salt. Prep the rhubarb for the filling by placing it in a medium bowl and tossing it in ¼ cup (1.75 ounces or 50 grams) granulated sugar.
- Once the pie is done, remove the sheet pan from the oven, keeping the oven on. Carefully lift out the pie weights and the foil. Use a pastry brush to coat the bottom and sides of the pie crust (but not the crimped border) with a thin layer of egg wash. Bake, uncovered, for an additional 5 minutes. Cool on a wire rack while you make the custard filling.
- Once the crust is cool, make the custard filling. Whisk together the remaining 1 ¼ cup (8.75 ounces or 248 grams) sugar, flour, eggs, butter and cream until combined. Pour the filling into the prepared crust and scatter the rhubarb evenly on top, discarding any liquid at the bottom of the bowl.
- Bake the assembled rhubarb custard pie. Bake for 60 to 65 minutes, or until the edges of the filling are set but the center still wobbles slightly. Cool on a wire rack.
- Serve and store. Serve warm or at room temperature. The pie can be stored at room temperature until ready to serve. After that, cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
Notes
- Rhubarb custard filling recipe adapted from Martha Stewart
- If 1 ½ hours of Bake Time sounds like too much time to sit around and wait, you can split the recipe up over a few days! On Day 1, pre bake the pie crust according to the recipe. Instead of filling it, let it cool completely to room temperature. Store overnight on the counter under a cake dome or a large bowl upside down. On Day 2, follow the instructions for making the rhubarb custard pie filling and baking the assembled pie. What’s the point of doing this? Breaking the recipe down this way allows you to fit it more easily into your schedule. That means no sitting around for hours at a time to wait for something to finish baking! Cool, right? If this sort of time-saving cooking technique appeals to you, I highly encourage you to check out my cookbook, Weeknight Baking. I break down common time-intensive recipes in this way!
- Rhubarb is listed in the recipe by weight, not volume or size. Why? It’s risky not to include exact measures for fruit in baking recipes. Too little fruit and your baked good could potentially turn out dry and flavorless, while too much will cause your baked good to collapse in the center. This is especially important for recipes where the fruit is baked into the batter like banana bread. That being said, there’s more leeway with this rhubarb custard pie recipe. If you are more comfortable with using cup measures, note that this rhubarb custard pie recipes needs about 4 cups of rhubarb sliced into ½-inch chunks.
- Note that you’ll need to divide the sugar into two quantities: ¼ cup and 1 ¼ cup portions. The first ¼ cup is used to prep the rhubarb, while the remaining 1 ¼ cup is used to make the custard filling.
- When done, the rhubarb custard pie filling will be golden brown around the edges, but light in the center. Check the pie 45 minutes into its Bake Time. If the center is browning too quickly, cover with a loose piece of aluminum foil.
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