It’s rhubarb season in Iowa and rhubarb pie is one of my most favorite ways to use our homegrown stalks. My mom’s amazing rhubarb pie recipe is still my very favorite, but I was inspired by a rhubarb custard pie that a sweet co-worker of my husband’s gifted us from a little Amish bakery near her farm. It was so delicious that I decided to try and recreate the recipe myself, and ended up with this tart and creamy Old Fashioned Rhubarb Custard Pie.
How to Make Old Fashioned Rhubarb Custard Pie
This pie is ridiculously simple to make for how big the pay-out is. I mean…rhubarb, a pie crust, and 6 pantry/ fridge staples for the filling are literally all you need to create this gorgeous beauty of a pie. You can even use a store-bought pie crust if you want. The rhubarb custard filling is the star of the show anyway.
Here’s how easy this pie is to make… Are you ready?
- Put some rhubarb in the shell of an unbaked pie crust.
- Mix together the cream, eggs, sugar, vanilla, flour, and salt.
- Pour it over the rhubarb. Bake.
That’s it. I know, right?
And the best part? It’s sooooo good.
Here are some things you might be wondering:
Can I use frozen rhubarb in my old fashioned rhubarb custard pie?
Yes! If you can’t use all your fresh rhubarb while it’s in season, be sure to harvest, chop and freeze for later use. Then you can make this pie well after rhubarb season is over.
If you are using frozen, be sure to thaw and drain the excess liquid from the rhubarb, and toss it with a tablespoon or two of flour to offset the extra moisture before placing it in your unbaked pie crust.
How should I store my rhubarb custard pie?
Because this pie has egg custard in it, you should definitely store it in the fridge. The pie is great served warm, or at room temp after cooled, but within a couple of hours of it coming out of the oven, it should be placed in the fridge. Great news though, this Old Fashioned Rhubarb Custard Pie is excellent served cold, too. In fact, that might be my favorite way to eat it.
Can I customize the recipe to my liking or dietary requirements?
Sure! This recipe is fairly forgiving. If you prefer a more tart pie, dial back on the amount of sugar to 1 cup (or even 3/4 of a cup if you want it really tart!)
The recipe calls for heavy whipping cream, but you could certainly save some fat and calories by using half & half instead, or even whole milk. You do need some fat in the milk to produce a creamy custard, so I wouldn’t use skim or 2% milk.
Want a little more spice? Add a bit of cinnamon or nutmeg! That would be great.
The Amish pie we had was made very similarly to my custard pie, but it included a meringue topping, which was delish! I went simple with my version, but adding the meringue pushes this pie over the top, so feel free to add that if you want.
Old Fashioned Rhubarb Custard Pie
Ingredients
- 3 cups rhubarb cut into medium pieces
- 1 pie crust unbaked
- 1¼ cups granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs beaten
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 3 TBSP flour
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400°.
- Placed chopped rhubarb inside the unbaked pie shell.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, sugar, vanilla, flour, and salt until smooth. Pour the mixture over the rhubarb.
- Bake for 10 minutes at 400°, then reduce the oven temp to 350° and bake an additional 40 minutes until the custard is mostly set. If it jiggles a bit in the middle, don't worry–it will set up as it cools.
- This pie can be served warm, but will hold its shape better if allowed to cool. It should be stored in the fridge, and is equally delicious eaten cold.
Notes
Nutrition
Happy Rhubarb Season Friends!
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Love this recipe, my mother-in-law first made this for me 52 years ago. We do put a top crust on, and coat with a light coating of cream and sugar.
This pie was so delicious and so easy! My rhubarb peeps loved it! Will definitely be making this again, probably tonight!
I’m so glad to hear it was a hit with your people! Thanks so much for stopping back to let me know. 🙂 We have to take advantage of rhubarb season while we can!
Niky, your recipe for Rhubarb Custard Pie looks so incredibly delicious!! Anyway, I realized I didn’t get back over last week to say that I had featured your post, but I usually get all the Pinterest shares done right away (would have been for Share Your Style #302). <3
Hope your pie was wonderful!
Barb 🙂
When it’s rhubarb season i do my happy dance!
Your custard rhubarb pie looks yummy. I just love the old fashioned treats like this. Thanks for sharing it at the FWF link party.
Love Rhubarb!!! And rhubarb and custard pie sounds perfectly delicious. A summer ‘must have’ xxx
Thanks, Kate! Rhubarb means spring is truly here!
My rhubarb is finally coming up!! This pie looks delicious! Thanks for sharing at the What’s for Dinner party!! Have a great week.