Rhubarb Custard Pie

Rhubarb Custard Pie starts with a simple crumb crust that is filled with a tart and sweet rhubarb vanilla filling covered by thin layer of cheesecake custard and topped with a smooth-as-silk tangy yogurt layer. It’s spring and summertime perfection, folks.

Disclosure: I am proud to present this recipe in partnership with the American Dairy Association and Dairy Council. The recipe and opinions remain my own.

Is it a cheesecake? Or is it a fruit pie? Maybe it’s a custard pie? Yes! It is all of those!

Rhubarb Cheesecake Custard Pie is a marvel of a dessert. It manages to marry my twin dessert obsessions -fruit pie and cheesecake- in one perfectly creamy, delightfully tart, easy-on-the-eyes package.

Rhubarb Custard Pie also holds the distinction of being my husband’s favourite dessert from the first time I made it for him over 10 years ago to the present with no signs of his oath of fealty being broken any time soon. Rhubarb Custard Pie starts with a simple crumb crust that is filled with a tart and sweet rhubarb vanilla filling covered by thin layer of cheesecake custard and topped with a smooth-as-silk tangy yogurt layer. It’s summertime perfection, folks.

Rhubarb Pie Recipe

Rhubarb Custard Pie is the ultimate dessert to celebrate gorgeous spring rhubarb, fresh and full of flavour. But it is also a great dessert that features not only a cheesecake custard layer, but a sweet and tangy yogurt layer to top it all off.

Did you know New York is the top yogurt producing state in the country? Living right up the hill from a dairy farm, that should not have surprised me, but it did.

And while you may never have topped a cheesecake with a yogurt layer, I think you’ll be doing that often after trying this Rhubarb Custard Pie.

Shoot guys, if you take into account the nutritional guidelines and you slice this Rhubarb Cheesecake Custard Pie recipe into 8 generous portions, each slice of pie will give you one full serving of dairy. I call that a winning proposition.

Pie for life, man. Pie for life.

What is Rhubarb?

Rhubarb is the fleshy, edible stalk of Rheum Rhabarbarum perennial plant. The whole plant (leaves and stem) is also referred to as rhubarb.

The leaves are inedible due to tremendously high levels of oxalic acid. And while the stalks are delicious when cooked, they are usually unpalatably tart when raw.

Is Rhubarb Poisonous?

A little bit yes and mostly no. The stalks themselves are completely harmless whether cooked or raw. I mean, they’re wickedly tart when raw, but won’t hurt you.

The leaves do contain potentially hazardous levels of oxalic acid. This is not usually an issue because you’d have to eat several pounds of leaves to reach a toxic level.

If you get a little piece rhubarb leaf in the mix, you don’t have to toss it. That said, you don’t want to eat whole rhubarb leaves because doing so could make you feel ill.

Is Rhubarb a Fruit or Vegetable?

Rhubarb, botanically speaking, is a vegetable. The rhubarb stalk is actually a petiole that connects the leaf to the parent branch and not the fertilized fruit of a plant.

It’s odd, I know… but it’s a vegetable much in the same way a tomato is a fruit. The botany determines it, not the way we consume it.

 Rhubarb Custard Pie Recipe

You have a couple of options when it comes to pans for your rhubarb custard pie. I prefer to use a removable bottom tart pan (9-inches) because I love the fluted edge and the ease of removal from the pan for presentation.

I’ve also made it with standard pie plates when my removable bottom tart pan was otherwise occupied, and with springform pans. Each of them delivered a slightly different looking but equally delicious end product.

This crumb crust is easy-peasy. Don’t give into temptation to replace it with a purchased crust. You’re going to bake this homemade one off a few minutes before filling it with the goodies.

I just don’t know how a purchased crust would behave under the circumstances. If smashing the graham crackers is keeping you from making it, buy a box of graham cracker crumbs in the baking aisle of the grocery store.

No vanilla beans? No problem. You can substitute another teaspoon of vanilla extract in the rhubarb filling. I confess, I do greatly prefer vanilla beans and the little brown flecked gorgeousness they impart to a dessert. However you get the vanilla in there, though, you’ll be a happy camper.

Easy does it as you spread the yogurt layer over the cheesecake layer. Your cheesecake should be set in the center, making it less fragile. You still want to use a gentle hand to prevent tearing it up as you spread the yogurt to the edges of your pie.

When I say wait ’til that pie is cold through, I mean it. I know there are times when it’s a-okay to dig in warm, but this pie deserves your patience and will reward you richly with perfection if you do wait. Hyperbole? Oh, probably. Still, just do yourself a favour and wait.

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Rhubarb Custard Pie

Prepare the Rhubarb Filling:

Whisk the sugar and cornstarch together in a 2 quart saucepan until the cornstarch is evenly distributed throughout the sugar. Add the rhubarb and orange juice and toss gently until everything is evenly combined and there are no dry pockets of the sugar mixture.

Place the pan over medium heat, stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves and forms a syrup. Continue cooking and stirring until it reaches boiling and becomes quite thick. Cover the pan and set aside.

Prepare the Crumb Crust:

Toss together all of the ingredients for the crumb crust. Press evenly across the bottom and up the sides of a standard pie plate or a removable bottom 9-inch tart pan. Set the pie plate or tart pan on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 8 minutes.

Prepare the Cheesecake Custard Layer:

While the crumb crust bakes, add the cream cheese, eggs, vanilla, and 2 tablespoons of sugar to the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Process until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed.

If you do not have a food processor, you can use a blender, stand mixer, or mixing bowl with a hand mixer to blend the ingredients together.

Prepare the Yogurt Layer:

Whisk or use a fork to blend together the yogurt and sugar. Set aside.

To Make the Rhubarb Cheesecake Custard Pie:

Fish the vanilla bean halves from the rhubarb filling. Gently spread the rhubarb filling over the bottom of the crumb crust.

Pour the cheesecake filling over the rhubarb filling and carefully transfer the pan to the oven. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the cheesecake layer appears to be set in the center.

Take the pie from the oven and gently spread the yogurt filling evenly over the top. Return the pie to the oven and bake 10 minutes longer.

Remove the pan from the oven, cool for 30 minutes on a cooling rack, then transfer to the refrigerator and chill for at least 6 hours, or until the pie is cold all the way through. This pie is wonderful made in advance, holding up well for 3 days.

Looking to pair strawberry with it’s best friend rhubarb? Check out these fresh ideas for more delicious spring recipes.

Strawberry Basil Vodka

Brown Sugar Strawberry and Cream Mini Tarts

Strawberry Balsamic Thyme Freezer Jam

Rhubarb Custard Pie – Cheesecake Style

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Rebecca Lindamood

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Rhubarb Custard Pie starts with a simple crumb crust that is filled with a tart and sweet rhubarb vanilla filling covered by thin layer of cheesecake and topped with a smooth-as-silk tangy yogurt layer. It's spring and summer perfection, folks.

Ingredients

  

For the Rhubarb Filling:

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon orange juice
• 4 cups diced rhubarb about 1 pound, give or take a stalk
• 1/2 of a vanilla bean split again in half lengthwise, seeds scraped

For the Crumb Crust:

• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/4 cups fine graham cracker crumbs

For the Cheesecake Custard Layer:

• 1 package cream cheese 8 ounces, regular or 1/3 less fat, softened to room temperature
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons sugar

For the Yogurt Layer:

• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons sugar

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350°F.

Prepare the Rhubarb Filling:

• Whisk the sugar and cornstarch together in a 2 quart saucepan until the cornstarch is evenly distributed throughout the sugar. Add the rhubarb and orange juice and toss gently until everything is evenly combined and there are no dry pockets of the sugar mixture. Place the pan over medium heat, stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves and forms a syrup. Continue cooking and stirring until it reaches boiling and becomes quite thick. Cover the pan and set aside.

Prepare the Crumb Crust:

• Toss together all of the ingredients for the crumb crust. Press evenly across the bottom and up the sides of a standard pie plate or a removable bottom 9-inch tart pan. Set the pie plate or tart pan on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 8 minutes.

Prepare the Cheesecake Custard Layer:

• While the crumb crust bakes, add the cream cheese, eggs, vanilla, and 2 tablespoons of sugar to the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Process until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. If you do not have a food processor, you can use a blender, stand mixer, or mixing bowl with a hand mixer to blend the ingredients together.

Prepare the Yogurt Layer:

• Whisk or use a fork to blend together the yogurt and sugar. Set aside.

To Make the Rhubarb Cheesecake Custard Pie:

• Fish the vanilla bean halves from the rhubarb filling. Gently spread the rhubarb filling over the bottom of the crumb crust. Pour the cheesecake filling over the rhubarb filling and carefully transfer the pan to the oven. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the cheesecake layer appears to be set in the center. Take the pie from the oven and gently spread the yogurt filling evenly over the top. Return the pie to the oven and bake 10 minutes longer. Remove the pan from the oven, cool for 30 minutes on a cooling rack, then transfer to the refrigerator and chill for at least 6 hours, or until the pie is cold all the way through. This pie is wonderful made in advance, holding up well for 3 days.

Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.

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This post was originally published June 11, 2015 and was updated for clarity in May, 2021.