Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
Spring- the onset of blooming trees, baseball games, and berry-filled desserts like this strawberry rhubarb pie. While the rest of the world debates whether or not to wait until Memorial day to break out their shorts and white denim, I’ll be licking my sticky fingers free of this gooey, fruity pie and soaking up every last minute of sunshine and 70 degrees these days have to offer.
This past weekend was filled with quintessential spring moments (I’m looking at you, backyard picnics!), and this stir crazy mama couldn’t be happier about it. Being cooped up indoors through the winter months is tough on morale when there’s no escaping the chaos that comes with two children under two. There’s no quick stops for sno-cones, no trips to the pool, no long walks in the stroller to survive the witching hour. Thankfully, spring shows up all sunshiny and pastel-colored to revive us from our winter comas of cold and gray. All the signs of new life are enough to make anyone hopeful for the coming months.
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
We’ve got some really fun plans lined up these next few weeks including some friend reunions, a bucket list trip (more on that later!!!), little George’s first birthday (ALREADY!?! HOW!?!), and Brett and I’s fourth anniversary. I’ve been gearing up for these days for months now and I can’t wait to share the details with all of you. To start this new season off on the right foot, I think we should dive in head first with this strawberry rhubarb pie.
A Little on Rhubarb
I can already hear some of you. “Rhubarb? What even is that? I can’t cook with rhubarb!” Yes, I hear you. I’ve been there. I know. But if you love the fruity sweetness of summer berries, then you will adore the way that these tart little rosy stalks of rhubarb round out the flavors of your favorite pies, galettes, and tarts. If you’re new to rhubarb, let’s take a look at the basics first:
- It’s a vegetable. Ha! Can you believe it? Because it is prepared more frequently in sweet dishes, most people think it is a fruit, but alas, it’s not!
- This stalky fruit (er, vegetable) looks like a cross between celery and swiss chard. With rose colored stalks and bright green ends, rhubarb is a beauty to behold. Don’t eat the leaves though! The toxins in the tops of the stalks can actually have poisonous effects.
- You probably don’t want to eat rhubarb raw. It’s incredibly tart, and best eaten after the fruity floral flavors have been cooked into existence.
- To prepare the stalks for use, trim off the leaves and any ruddy ends similar to how you would prepare celery. Wash the stalks well and use a vegetable peeler to remove any blemishes.
OK, now that you know everything there is to know about rhubarb, let’s talk pie of the strawberry rhubarb variety.
Making the Pie Dough
This strawberry rhubarb pie is one of my favorites to prepare. The filling is sweet and fragrant with just enough tart kick from the rhubarb to make each bite pop. I always use my favorite pie crust which is buttery and flaky enough to be eaten all on its own. Each bite of this pie is sweet, floral, and tart with buttery, slightly salty morsels of crust, making nearly every aspect of taste present in this pie. This is the pie that your friends will taste and say, “What is that flavor!?!” It’s unique yet familiar and 100% delicious.
You can make the crust for this strawberry rhubarb pie a few days ahead of time and store in the fridge wrapped in plastic wrap. I like keep an extra recipe of double pie crust wrapped in foil in my freezer so that if the mood strikes to have some pie, I’m already set with a crust. Keep your dough chilled prior to its time in the oven to ensure that you get the flakiest, most tender crust ever.
Sugar Modifications
If you find your strawberries are a bit tart or under-ripened, you may need to add an extra 1/4 cup of sugar. However, if your berries are juicy and ripe, I think you’ll find these proportions of sugar to fruit are perfect. In a pinch, you can use frozen berries and rhubarb, just let them thaw prior to using in the pie. If you need additional help on how to work with rhubarb, check out this post here.
If you haven’t gotten the spring fever yet, this strawberry rhubarb pie is sure to do the trick. Please give it a try and let me know what you think! I have adored reading stories and seeing photos of baking successes you’ve had from recipes on this site, so please keep ’em coming!
Y’all have a great week and enjoy this strawberry rhubarb pie! Cheers!
If you like this strawberry rhubarb pie, you may also like:
Vegan Coconut Lime Ice Cream Pie
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
This strawberry rhubarb pie has a buttery, flaky crust and a perfectly sweet and tart berry filling.
- Prep Time: 30
- Cook Time: 90
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 9
- Category: Dessert
Ingredients
- 1 double pie crust, prepared and chilled in fridge (see notes or link above)
- 1 pound of rhubarb, green part and ends trimmed, cut into ½” pieces (about 2–1/2 cups trimmed)
- 1–1/2 pounds of strawberries, hulled and halved into similar sized pieces (about 5 cups)
- 1/2 cup (100 gm) packed brown sugar
- 1/2 (100 gm) cup sugar
- 1/4 cup (30 gm) cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. I also like to place a layer of heavy duty aluminum foil on the bottom rack of my oven to prevent any bubbling pie filling from dirtying up my oven, but this is optional.
- In a large bowl, combine the rhubarb and strawberries. In a small bowl, toss together the brown sugar, the sugar, corn starch, cinnamon, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the rhubarb and strawberries and toss to combine. Set aside while you roll out your pie dough.
- On a floured surface, roll out one half of the chilled pie dough to a 12” round. Lay carefully in the bottom a deep dish pie pan and gently press into the bottom of the pan. Leave about 1” of dough extending outside the perimeter of the dish and trim off any excess.
- Spoon the rhubarb and strawberry mixture into the pie dish, discarding any exorbitant excess of juices that may have formed. Arrange the top half of pie dough on top of the filling in any manner you please. If you plan to make a lattice or any detailed pie top, work quickly so that your bottom of pie dough doesn’t get soggy with juices from the fruit. If you roll out the pie dough flat on your filling, be sure to vent the top with a couple of slits from your knife. Crimp the edges once finished.
- In a small both, whisk together the egg yolk and water and use a pastry brush to paint a thin layer of the egg wash on the top of the pie crust. Place the pie in the oven and bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees. Decrease the heat to 350 degrees and bake for an additional hour and fifteen minutes/ hour and thirty minutes, or until the middle of the pie has bubbling juices underneath and the top of the pie crust is golden brown. Allow the pie to cool on a cooling rack completely, or overnight. Cutting into the pie too soon can cause the pie to be too runny, but if this doesn’t bother you, you can cut into it as soon as it is a manageable and safe temperature. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream!
Notes
- Search “Pie Crust” in the search bar of my site, or look in the “Pie” folder archives for my favorite recipe for a double pie crust. In a pinch, you can use a store bought refrigerated crust. Pie crust can be prepared ahead of time and stored in the fridge for several days prior to use.
- If your berries are under-ripe or too tart, consider adding an additional 1/4 cup of sugar.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 9
- Calories: 340
- Sugar: 26
- Sodium: 344
- Fat: 14
- Saturated Fat: 3
- Unsaturated Fat: 10
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 51
- Protein: 4
- Cholesterol: 20
Recipe Adapted From: Epicurious
