Fresh sweet strawberries meet tart bright rhubarb! This pie is a delightful balance of sweet and sour. The crust is buttery and crisp. The crumble on top has a blend of nutmeg and cardamom to enhance those fruity flavors and give the pie some additional texture!
I decided to make this pie for my mom and mom-in-law for Mother’s Day. They grew up in the mid-west, where rhubarb grew like weeds all over. Rhubarb covered their backyards! The crimson red stalks would be about 4 feet tall and be literally everywhere. So when they wanted a sweet treat, they would simply go outside, chop off a branch of rhubarb, and dip it in sugar. Needless to say, my mom and mom-in-law are rhubarb obsessed.
I love to connect flavors to feelings. That is really what started to make me love cooking. I love how if we eat something growing up and then have it later in life, it strikes a feeling of nostalgia or childhood. So it was special to create this pie for them and develop a recipe that I hope to keep making in my family for generations.
Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble Pie
Equipment
- 10 inch pie pan
Ingredients
Pie Crust
- 1 stick unsalted butter in ¼ inch cubes and chilled
- 1 ⅛ cup all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 5 tablespoons ice water
- Egg wash for brushing the crust
- Demerara sugar for sprinklinh the crust
Pie Filling
- 1 ¼ pounds rhubarb diced
- 1 pound strawberries quartered
- 2 lemons zest and juice
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 5 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Pie Crumble
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 1 stick unsalted butter in ¼ inch cubes and chilled
- 1 tablespoon vanilla paste
- ½ teaspoon cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Instructions
Prepare the pie crust:
- Add the butter, flour, and salt into a food processor. Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse sand. This can also be done using your fingers in a large bowl by pinching the butter into the flour until it forms pea-sized clumps.
- Then add the cold water one tablespoon at a time into the mixture until it forms a dough and pulls away from the sides.
- Dump the mixture onto a work surface and lightly knead until the dough is thoroughly combined. Then form into a ball and flatten into a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least one hour.
Prepare the pie filling:
- In a large bowl, add the rhubarb, strawberries, lemon zest, lemon juice, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, cornstarch, vanilla extract, and salt and stir to combine.
Prepare the pie crumble topping:
- Add the flour, sugar, butter, cardamom, and nutmeg into a food processor. Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse sand. This can also be done using your fingers in a large bowl by pinching the butter into the flour until it forms pea-sized lumps. Then add the vanilla paste and combine it into the crumbs.
Make the pie:
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Lightly flour a work surface. Roll out the pie dough to be 2 inches larger than the diameter of the pie pan. Carefully transfer the pie crust to the pie pan and flute the edges.
- Then add the pie filling and top with the crumble mixture. Brush the edges of the pie crust with egg wash and sprinkle sugar on demerara sugar.
- Bake for 60 minutes until the crumble is golden brown. Let cool for at least an hour before eating.
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