Tuesday, June 6, 2023

Rhubarb Sour Cream Custard Pie -- #recipe by @LeslieBudewitz

LESLIE BUDEWITZ:  I posted a picture of this pie on Facebook and Instagram a week or two ago and got so many comments and requests for the recipe that I had to type it up and share it, even though I shared a rhubarb recipe just last week, for Rhubarb Almond Muffins.

Tis the season.

My late mother made wonderful pies, including a Rhubarb Custard Pie that I included in the recipe section of Treble at the Jam Fest, the 4th Food Lovers’ Village mystery. Author and baker extraordinaire Kim Davis McMahan made it on her blog, Cinnamon & Sugar and a Little Bit of Murder, with illustrated instructions. 

But you can never have too many pie recipes, right? This one is denser, with half the amount of rhubarb, made dense and rich with sour cream. The streusel top is light and crunchy. I will confess the pie crust is not my most attractive; I’d baked it from frozen, a first attempt, and the crimping disappeared in the par-baking. Oh, well. I’m partial to the Williams Sonoma butter crust; use whatever you prefer. 

My source, Country Living Magazine, cautions that if you use frozen rhubarb, thaw and drain it well in a colander, to avoid extra liquid that could thin and curdle the custard. 

And yes, it makes excellent breakfast. 


CONGRATULATIONS to our Vicki Delany, whose 50th book, Death Knells and Wedding Bells (written as Eva Gates), launches today! She’s throwing a party on Facebook all day today – some of us are guests – so pop over and join the fun!


Rhubarb Sour Cream Custard Pie (adapted from Country Living)

one 9" pie crust

For the filling: 

3/4 cup sugar

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup sour cream, at room temperature

1/3 cup heavy cream, at room temperature

4 large egg yolks, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

2 cups fresh rhubarb, chopped, or 3-3/4 cups frozen chopped rhubarb, thawed


For the streusel topping:

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1-1/2 tablespoons light brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon kosher salt

2 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut in small pieces

Heat oven to 375. Place a baking sheet on the middle rack. Line 9" pie plate with the crust and crimp the edges. Prick bottom and sides with a fork. Line with foil or parchment paper, pressing firmly to the edges, and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Place pie plate on baking sheet and bake 20 minutes. Remove weights and foil. Bake under edges are light golden brown and bottom of crust appears dry, about 5 minutes. Remove from oven; cool on a wire rack.



Make the filling. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, and salt. Add the sour cream, heavy cream, egg yolks, vanilla extract, and lemon zest, and stir to combine. 

Make the streusel. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar, nutmeg, and salt. Add the butter and mix with your fingers until the mixture is fully combined and the texture of coarse sand. Cover and chill at least 30 minutes. 



Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Reserve 1/4 cup rhubarb. Spread the remaining rhubarb in the bottom of the crust. Pour the custard over the rhubarb, and top with the reserved rhubarb. 



Bake 25 minutes. Remove pie from oven. Cover with streusel. Shield edges with strips of foil or a silicon pie shield. Bake until filling is fully set but center is still jiggly, 25-30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.



Makes 8 servings. Refrigerate leftovers. Enjoy any time of day.

Got a favorite rhubarb treat? Pies, crisps, and jam are always a hit. (A jar of jam plays a key role in Treble at the Jam Fest!) I'm eager to try this Rhubarb Cordial from David Lebovitz, whose book Drinking French is a hit in our house!



BETWEEN A WOK AND A DEAD PLACE: A Spice Shop Mystery (July 2023, Seventh St. Books)


From the cover: 
It's the Lunar New Year, and fortunes are about to change. 
 
Pepper Reece, owner of the Spice Shop in Seattle's Pike Place Market, loves a good festival, especially one serving up tasty treats. So what could be more fun than a food walk in the city's Chinatown–International District, celebrating the Year of the Rabbit?
 
But when her friend Roxanne stumbles across a man's body in the Gold Rush, a long-closed residential hotel, questions leap out. Who was he? What was he doing in the dust-encrusted herbal pharmacy in the hotel's basement? Why was the pharmacy closed up—and why are the owners so reluctant to talk? 
 
With each new discovery, Pepper find herself asking new questions and facing more brick walls. 
 
Then questions arise about Roxanne and her relationship to Pepper's boyfriend Nate, away fishing in Alaska. Between her worries and her struggle to hire staff at the Spice Shop, Pepper has her hands and her heart full. Still, she can't resist the lure of the Gold Rush and its tangled history of secrets and lies stretching back nearly a century. 
 
But the killer is on her tail, driven by hidden demons and desires. As Pepper begins to expose the long-concealed truth, a bigger question emerges: Can she uncover the secrets of the Gold Rush Hotel without being pushed from the wok into the fire?


Leslie Budewitz is the author of the Spice Shop Mysteries set in Seattle's Pike Place Market, and the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries, set in NW Montana. As Alicia Beckman, she writes moody, standalone suspense, most recently Blind Faith. She is the winner of Agatha Awards in three categories: Best Nonfiction (2011), Best First Novel (2013), and Best Short Story (2018). Between a Wok and a Dead Place, the 7th Spice Shop mystery, will appear in July 2023. 


A past president of Sisters in Crime and national board member of Mystery Writers of America, Leslie lives in northwest Montana with her husband, a musician and doctor of natural medicine, and their cat, an avid bird-watcher.

Swing by Leslie's website and join the mailing list for her seasonal newsletter. And join her on Facebook where she shares book news and giveaways from her writer friends, and talks about food, mysteries, and the things that inspire her.

13 comments:

  1. Thanks, Leslie. This looks SO good! I have rhubarb in the garden to cut, so we might have yet another recipe using it here Friday.

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  2. Thank you for the recipe! Sounds yummy and I'm sure I'll be trying it soon.
    2clowns at arkansas dot net

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  3. Pie for breakfast? Yes, please. Thank you for the recipe. aprilbluetx at yahoo dot com

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  4. Oh, Leslie...this is seriously delicious-looking!!! We have so much rhubarb, and looking to use some and freeze some. We are making your muffin recipe from a couple of days ago. Yesterday we saw a British cooking show that featured a savory rhubarb recipe, and today you give us this beauty! I will definitely try your recipe...I love pies and crumbles! Thank you, Leslie. luis at ole dot travel

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    1. Luis, my pleasure -- and a savory rhubarb recipe?! Mmm!

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  5. Like last week's muffins, I can imagine this with raspbarries in place of the rhubard.

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    1. Yes, although the lighter version from Treble -- link in the post -- might work better for berries, because they are softer and might not hold up as well to the sturdier texture the sour cream in this recipe gives. If you try one with berries, let me know how it is!

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    2. Sadly I dont have enough eaters could keep me from 1-eating it all or 2-throwing stuff out

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  6. Leslie - such tasty childhood memories of your mom’s rhubarb pie. To this day, if someone asked me what my fav pie was, I would reply the one my neighbor made with the rhubarb that grew in our yard. Not sure I want to tempt fate and mess with the memory by actually making it myself, but thank you for sharing. Shout out to Dahlia Lane.

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  7. Mary, my childhood neighbor? Whose mother said her pie crusts always turned out like Idaho? Oh, do reach out to me directly -- I'd love to be back in touch!

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