Rhubarb Custard Pie

Prepping for Thanksgiving tomorrow, I just pulled my pie out of the oven.  Kids are loving the smell of the house.  A while back, I said I'd have to share my recipe for Rhubarb Custard Pie (here's my recipe for Rhubarb Cake).  It's a favorite in this family.  We have abundant rhubarb that grows in the garden every summer.  So abundant that I'll happily give it away to those that ask.  Or don't ask, I'll push it on people.  I'm a rhubarb pusher.  Or something.

Anyway...

The sugar in the custard filling cuts the bitterness of the rhubarb.  I am not a fan of straight rhubarb, but love this pie.  I freeze rhubarb in the warmer months in quantities for making pies.  I have definitely taken pie on camping trips, too.  My MIL gave me her recipe and now I share it with you.

What you need:

Pie Filling:

• 4 cups chopped rhubarb
• 3 eggs
• 3 Tbsp milk
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup flour
• 3/4 tsp nutmeg

Pie Crust:

• Haha!!  I just use the refrigerated Pillsbury crust!  I used to make my own with Crisco, but I'm good with the stuff from the store.

What to do:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  In a mixing bowl, stir together the eggs, milk, sugar, flour, and nutmeg.  Add the rhubarb and mix together.  Take a refrigerated pie crust and line your pie pan.  Pour rhubarb filling into the lined pie pan.  Take 2nd pie crust and cut into 3/4" strips.  Lay strips similarly spaced on your filled pie crust in one direction, then lay the remaining strips in a perpendicular direction.  Fold lower crust over the pastry strips and press firmly to seal.  You will want to put some foil over the edge of your crust to prevent burning.  Bake pie at 425 degrees for 20 minutes, then lower the oven temp to 375 degrees and bake for an additional 40 minutes.

Fresh Rhubarb Cake

Just like zucchini, we get a TON of rhubarb every year.  We have 2 very large rhubarb plants in the backyard.  So big that I'm always happy to give it away.  To mix up the routine of all that Zucchini Bread that I make and freeze and take on camping trips, my SIL shared this Rhubarb Cake recipe with me.

Cake ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 Tbs lemon juice
• 1 cup milk
• 2 cups coarsely chopped fresh rhubarb

Topping ingredients

• 1/2 cup pecans
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

What to do:

• To prepare cake, preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a 9 x 13 inch pan.  Cream butter until light.  Add brown sugar; continue to cream until mixture is well blended and fluffy.  Beat egg and vanilla into the creamed mixture until blended.  In a separate bowl sift the flour, salt, and soda.  In another bowl combine the lemon juice and milk; add it alternately with the flour mixture to the creamed mixture, beginning and ending with the flour.  Gently fold the chopped rhubarb into the batter, stirring just enough to distribute evenly.  Pour batter into prepared pan, spreading evenly.
• To prepare topping, mix topping ingredients and sprinkle evenly over the batter.  Bake cake for 45 to 50 minutes.  Cool the cake in the pan for at least 30 minutes.  Cut into squares to serve.  Serves 12.

 Now that I'm thinking about it, I'll have to share my recipe for rhubarb custard pie soon, too [adds to mental list of future posts].