Rhubarb Custard Pie

It’s rhubarb season and we have several patches growing in our gardens so why not bake a pie on a Sunday afternoon. I already had a prebaked single crust in the freezer, which made things easier. This recipe is from hummingbirdhigh.com and is apparently an adaptation of a Martha Stewart recipe. Of course, I’ve made some further changes to make it even simpler. If you want tons of preamble and baking details, check out the hummingbird high link. I was so anxious to try it I forgot to take a photo before I cut into it.

For the Pie Crust

• 1 pie crust (homemade or store bought, gluten free or otherwise)
• 1 large egg white
• 1 teaspoon water
• pinch of salt

For the Rhubarb Custard Pie Filling

• 1 pound fresh rhubarb, sliced into ½-inch chunks
• 1 ½ cups cane sugar, divided into ¼ cup and 1 ¼ cup portions (I found this a bit too sweet for my palate so next time I’d reduce it to 3/4 cup divided into 1/4 cup for rhubarb and 1/2 cup for custard)
• 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• ⅓ cup all purpose type flour
• ¼ cup heavy cream (I used whipping cream because it’s what I had but any cream should work fine)
• 2 large eggs, lightly whisked

• Pre bake the crust. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375°F.  While oven is preheating, melt butter for custard in a 4 cup measuring cup. 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 sugar.

• Once the pie is done, remove from the oven, keeping the oven on. 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. Add the remaining sugar, flour, eggs, and cream to the melted butter until combined. (I added ingredients one at a time and whisked after each to prevent lumps.) 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.