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Rhubarb Custard Crumb Pie
pie crust
Rhubarb Custard Crumb Pie
This is my favorite rhubarb pie and my go to recipe for a great spring dessert.
This is an easy pie even though it has several steps. It is different from the usual rhubarb pie because the texture is a bit closer to a crumb cake, no wet, slimy texture and no ultra sour flavor. I think this version tastes even better than it did when I made it with wheat-based flour. This GF crust will work for any pie and the GF crumb topping is perfect for any crumb pie topper. What I am giving you is my mixture of three recipes with some small modifications over time to create one of my favorite GF pie recipes. I know it has several steps, but each one is easy, and you can use these crust and crumb recipes for other pies.
I like it because it has a great texture, and the flavor is complex but subtly rhubarby. It isn’t really soft or all that custardy but more cake-like in texture. It is a game changer of a rhubarb pie. I promise you that!
Angie’s GF Rhubarb Custard Pie
Crust:
1 c plus 1 tbsp brown rice flour mix (recipe for blend at bottom of pie recipe)
2 tbsp sweet rice flour
1 Tbsp. granulated sugar
½ tsp xanthan gum
¼ tsp salt
6 Tbsp. cold butter cut into 6 chunks
1 lg egg
2 tsp fresh orange or lemon juice
——————
Spray a 9-inch metal pie pan with cooking spray, dust with white rice flour. I must confess I forget this step a lot of the time and it doesn’t seem to matter much….
Mix dry ingredients in bowl of stand electric mixer. Add butter and mix until crumbly and resembling coarse meal. Add egg and juice. Do not leave out the juice; it is critical to the crust texture and structure! Mix until it comes together into big chunks. Shape the sticky mess into a ball with your hands. Put it on a crust sized piece of wax paper (14 x 14 inches more or less), flatten the crust ball some; put on top of it another piece of wax paper and chill it all in your fridge 15-20 minutes while you chop the rhubarb into ½ inch chunks.
And make the crumbs while the crust ball chills:
Crumb topping
Put all four ingredients in the same mixing bowl you made the bottom crust in and mix well with mixer paddle until crumbs form.
¾ c brown rice flour mix
½ c sugar
½ tsp xanthan gum
1/3 c cold butter cut into six chunks
Make the fruit Filling:
5 cups cut up fresh rhubarb – place in medium bowl
Mix with dry mix made of
2/3 – 1 c sugar (depends on how sweet you like your pie) I generally go with 2/3 cup
¼ c brown rice flour mix (see below recipe)
½ tsp nutmeg
Sprinkle cinnamon
Rolling out the bottom crust: My sister bought me one of those pie crust plastic bag thingies; has a zipper around the edge. By OXO: I love it; it works better than wax paper which can get soft and tear as you roll out the crust. King Arthur Flour sells an inexpensive one on line. I highly recommend you get the OXO version for making scratch pie crust. Or maybe improvise with a sheet of heavy duty plastic! Strong enough to work with the rolling pin and better than wax paper.
Roll out pie crust in a pie bag or between the two sheets of wax paper, try to get the thickness even, no thick middle! Peel off one side of paper and place in pie pan, centered. Remove other slice of wax paper. Crimp edges all around. Fill with dry rhubarb mix. Pour the following wet mix evenly over this mixture: Wet mix: 3 eggs (171 grams) beaten lightly with 1/3 c milk (not skim), and ¼ tsp almond extract.
Sprinkle the top of the pie with the crumb mix; use as much as you like. I like about 2/3-3/4 of the mixture. Up to your personal taste… It sinks into the rhubarb and wet mixture to create an almost cake like texture and the crumb crust adds lots of sweetness and eye appeal.
Bake on the bottom shelf in a preheated 375-degree oven for 55-60 minutes until bubbly and the crust is light brown. Cool at least 2 to 4 hours before serving at room temperature.
Brown Rice Flour Mix (same as King Arthur’s Basic GF Blend) [Not Measure for Measure or baking mix]
2 c brown rice flour
2/3 c potato starch
1/3 c tapioca flour
This post was originally published in the late spring of 2013. I revised it somewhat since then. I have made this pie many times in past years to rave reviews. One of my friends had it for dessert at my house and said it was the best pie she had ever eaten, gluten free or not! Spring is rhubarb season. Go forth and make pie!
Shoo Fly Pie (Shoe Fly Pie at my house!)
This sweet pie is a Pennsylvania Dutch tradition. It is quick to go together, needs neither refrigeration, nor a long chilling down before consuming it, pleases most everyone and best of all it can be made in any season; no fruit needed. It wasn’t too hard to change from my old recipe to a gluten free version. I recommend it for celiacs who miss that old time flavor of shoe fly pie. Note: some folk say shoo fly pie but my recipe used the spelling you see in this post. I believe either is appropriate.
I know folks who shy away from gluten free baking thinking it is too complicated. Well, a couple years ago I featured pies and this is the easiest pie around so I dedicate this to a few friends who have been too scared to bake gf. You can do this one! If you want, buy a ready made uncooked crust but I swear that with a stand mixer this is the easiest and best gf crust around.
This shoe fly pie recipe is a blending of the filling I have used for years, (my sister Margie gave me the recipe a long time ago) and the pie crust and crumb recipes from Annalise Robert’s cookbook, Gluten-Free Baking Classics. Her cookbook is a fabulous resource and I can’t recommend it enough to anyone trying to bake gluten free for a family member.
My shoe fly pie is considered a “wet bottom” pie; not too crumbish. If you want it drier use ½ cup molasses and ½ cup water. I love it soft and moist so my version always is a wet bottom shoe fly pie.
Angie’s Shoe Fly Pie
Crust:
1 c plus 2 tbsp brown rice flour mix (at bottom of recipe)
2 tbsp sweet rice flour
1 Tbps. granulated sugar
½ tsp xanthan gum
¼ tsp salt
6 Tbps. cold butter cut into 6 chunks
1 lg egg
2 tsp fresh orange or lemon juice
Spray 9 inch metal pie pan with cooking spray.
Mix dry ingredients in bowl of stand electric mixer. Add butter and mix until crumbly and resembling coarse meal. Add egg and juice. Mix until it comes together into big chunks. Shape into a ball with your hands. Put it on a crust sized piece of parchment or wax paper (14 x 14 inches more or less), flatten the crust ball some; put on top of it another piece of parchment or wax paper and chill it all in your fridge 15-20 minutes. Make the crumb topping while it chills.
Crumb topping
Put all four ingredients in the same mixing bowl you made the bottom crust in and mix well with mixer paddle until crumbs form. You will only use 1 ½ cups of the crumbs; put it in a jar and store it in the fridge until your next pie; it keeps well for several weeks.
¾ c brown rice flour mix
½ c granulated sugar
½ tsp xanthan gum
1/3 c cold butter cut into six chunks
Next, roll out pie crust between the two sheets of parchment or wax paper; try to get the thickness even, no thick middle! Peel off one side of paper and place in pie pan, centered. Remove other slice of wax paper. Crimp edges all around. Then make filling and pour half into the crust, careful not to splash it out.
Filling:
2/3 cup molasses, I used Grandma’s
¾ cup boiling water
½ tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
Mix the ingredients in a medium mixing bowl with a spoon until blended. It will foam up a bit as the baking soda mixes with the molasses! Gently pour half of the molasses mixture into the raw pie shell.
Then pour half the crumb topping (1 1/4 to 1½ cup total) evenly over this mixture. Add the rest of the molasses liquid and sprinkle the rest of the crumbs on top.
Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes Cool at least ½-1 hour before serving or let cool to room temperature.
Note: I used to bake pies in my bottom heat pizza oven and it gaveme a great browned crust. No longer have that oven so I put the wire rack as close to the bottom as possible and it really helps the bottom of my pie to brown. One other option: if your oven isn’t bottom heat you might want to pre-bake a gf crust 10 minutes before filling.
Brown Rice Flour Mix (King Arthur’s basic gf blend)
2 c brown rice flour
2/3 c potato starch
1/3 c tapioca flour
** This blog post first appeared in March of 2016, revised slightly in 2023 to clarify the directions. Enjoy!
Rhubarb Custard Crumb Pie
This is my favorite rhubarb pie and my go to recipe for a great spring dessert.
This is an easy pie even though it has several steps. It is different from the usual rhubarb pie because the texture is a bit closer to a crumb cake, no wet, slimy texture and no ultra sour flavor. I think this version tastes even better than it did when I made it with wheat-based flour. This GF crust will work for any pie and the GF crumb topping is perfect for any crumb pie topper. What I am giving you is my mixture of three recipes with some small modifications over time to create one of my favorite GF pie recipes. I know it has several steps, but each one is easy, and you can use these crust and crumb recipes for other pies.
I like it because it has a great texture, and the flavor is complex but subtly rhubarby. It isn’t really soft or all that custardy but more cake-like in texture. It is a game changer of a rhubarb pie. I promise you that!
Angie’s GF Rhubarb Custard Pie
Crust:
1 c plus 1 tbsp brown rice flour mix (recipe for blend at bottom of pie recipe)
2 tbsp sweet rice flour
1 Tbsp. granulated sugar
½ tsp xanthan gum
¼ tsp salt
6 Tbsp. cold butter cut into 6 chunks
1 lg egg
2 tsp fresh orange or lemon juice
——————
Spray a 9-inch metal pie pan with cooking spray, dust with white rice flour. I must confess I forget this step a lot of the time and it doesn’t seem to matter much….
Mix dry ingredients in bowl of stand electric mixer. Add butter and mix until crumbly and resembling coarse meal. Add egg and juice. Do not leave out the juice; it is critical to the crust texture and structure! Mix until it comes together into big chunks. Shape the sticky mess into a ball with your hands. Put it on a crust sized piece of wax paper (14 x 14 inches more or less), flatten the crust ball some; put on top of it another piece of wax paper and chill it all in your fridge 15-20 minutes while you chop the rhubarb into ½ inch chunks.
And make the crumbs while the crust ball chills:
Crumb topping
Put all four ingredients in the same mixing bowl you made the bottom crust in and mix well with mixer paddle until crumbs form.
¾ c brown rice flour mix
½ c sugar
½ tsp xanthan gum
1/3 c cold butter cut into six chunks
Make the fruit Filling:
5 cups cut up fresh rhubarb – place in medium bowl
Mix with dry mix made of
2/3 – 1 c sugar (depends on how sweet you like your pie) I go with 2/3 cup
¼ c brown rice flour mix (see below recipe)
½ tsp nutmeg
Sprinkle cinnamon
Rolling out the bottom crust: My sister bought me one of those pie crust plastic bag thingies; has a zipper around the edge. By OXO: I love it; it works better than wax paper which can get soft and tear as you roll out the crust. King Arthur Flour sells an inexpensive one on line. I highly recommend you get the OXO version for making scratch pie crust. Or maybe improvise with a sheet of heavy duty plastic! Strong enough to work with the rolling pin and better than wax paper.
Roll out pie crust in a pie bag or between the two sheets of wax paper, try to get the thickness even, no thick middle! Peel off one side of paper and place in pie pan, centered. Remove other slice of wax paper. Crimp edges all around. Fill with dry rhubarb mix. Pour the following wet mix evenly over this mixture: Wet mix: 3 eggs (171 grams) beaten lightly with 1/3 c milk (not skim), and ¼ tsp almond extract.
Sprinkle the top of the pie with the crumb mix; use as much as you like. I like about 2/3-3/4 of the mixture. Up to your personal taste… It sinks into the rhubarb and wet mixture to create an almost cake like texture and the crumb crust adds lots of sweetness and eye appeal.
Bake on the bottom shelf in a preheated 375-degree oven for 55-60 minutes until bubbly and the crust is light brown. Cool at least 2 to 4 hours before serving at room temperature.
Brown Rice Flour Mix (same as King Arthur’s Basic GF Blend) [Not Measure for Measure or baking mix]
2 c brown rice flour
2/3 c potato starch
1/3 c tapioca flour
This post was originally published in the late spring of 2013. I revised it somewhat since then. I have made this pie many times in past years to rave reviews. One of my friends had it for dessert at my house and said it was the best pie she had ever eaten, gluten free or not! Spring is rhubarb season. Go forth and make pie!
Strawberry Rhubarb Custard Crumb Pie – Long Name – Yummy Pie
This is a variation on my favorite rhubarb custard pie which is my go-to recipe for a great spring dessert. I added strawberries to please my guy who isn’t a huge rhubarb fan. The strawberries add their special flavor and he really enjoyed this pie this past weekend. So did I! Our new favorite pie…
This is an easy pie even though it has several steps. It is different from the usual rhubarb pie because the texture is a bit closer to a crumb cake, no wet (aka slimy texture) and no ultra-sour flavor. I think this new strawberried version is great for those who doubt the power of rhubarb! This GF crust will work for any pie with a traditional dough and the GF crumb topping is a great choice for any crumb pie topper. This is my mixture of three recipes with some modifications which come together to create one of my favorite GF pie recipes. I know it has several steps but each one is easy and you can use these crust and crumb techniques for other pies.
I like it because it has a great texture and the flavor is complex but subtly rhubarby. It isn’t really soft or all that custardy (if I didn’t say the word custard you would never know) but has a more cake-like texture. It is a game changer of a pie. I promise you that!
Angie’s GF Strawberry Rhubarb Custard Pie
Crust:
1 c plus 1 tbsp brown rice flour mix (recipe for blend at bottom of pie recipe)
2 tbsp sweet rice flour
1 Tbsp. granulated sugar
½ tsp xanthan gum
¼ tsp salt
6 Tbsp. cold butter cut into 6 chunks
1 lg egg
2 tsp fresh orange or lemon juice
——————
Spray a 9 inch metal pie pan with cooking spray, dust with white rice flour. I must confess I forget this step a lot of the time and it doesn’t seem to matter much….
Mix dry ingredients in bowl of stand electric mixer. Add butter and mix until crumbly and resembling coarse meal. Add egg and juice. Do not leave out the juice; it is critical to the crust texture and structure! Mix until it comes together into big chunks. Shape the sticky mess into a ball with your hands. Put it on a crust sized piece of wax paper (14 x 14 inches more or less), flatten the crust ball some; put on top of it another piece of wax paper and chill it all in your fridge 15-20 minutes while you chop the rhubarb into ½ inch chunks.
My sister Karen bought me one of those pie crust plastic bag thingies; has a zipper around the edge. By OXO: I love it; it works better than wax paper which can get soft and tear as you roll out the crust. King Arthur Flour sells an inexpensive one on line. I highly recommend you get the OXO version for making scratch pie crust. Or maybe improvise with a sheet of heavy duty plastic! Strong enough to work with the rolling pin and better than wax paper.
Filling:
4-5 cups cut up fresh rhubarb – place in medium bowl
1 1/2-2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
Mix with dry mix made of
2/3 – 1 c sugar (depends on how sweet you like your pie) I go with 2/3 cup
¼ c brown rice flour mix (see below recipe)
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Sprinkle cinnamon
Roll out pie crust in a pie bag or between the two sheets of wax paper, try to get the thickness even, no thick middle! Peel off one side of paper and place in pie pan, centered. Remove other slice of wax paper. Crimp edges all around. Fill with dry rhubarb mix. Pour the following wet mix evenly over this mixture:
Liquid mix: 3 large eggs beaten lightly with 1/3 c milk (not skim), and ¼ tsp almond extract.
Crumb topping
Put all four ingredients in the same mixing bowl you made the bottom crust in and mix well with mixer paddle until crumbs form.
¾ c brown rice flour mix
½ c sugar
½ tsp xanthan gum
1/3 c cold butter cut into six chunks
Sprinkle the top of the pie with the crumb mix; use as much as you like. I like about 2/3 of the mixture. Up to your personal taste… It sinks into the rhubarb and wet mixture to create an almost cake like texture and the crumb crust adds lots of sweetness and eye appeal.
Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 55-60 minutes until bubbly and the crust is light brown. Cool at least 3 to 4 hours before serving at room temperature.
Brown Rice Flour Mix (same as King Arthur’s Basic GF Blend)
2 c brown rice flour
2/3 c potato starch
1/3 c tapioca flour
My World Without Wheat 