Here’s what I did with my second batch of rhubarb- turns out I had a half-pie portion of sour cherries in the freezer from last summer, and decided it was time to put it to use.  The PPB makes this as a lattice pie, but I ended up making it as I do many pies, a blind-baked shell, fruit cooked on the stovetop, and pastry cut-outs on top.  Aside from method, I didn’t make any changes to the recipe.  This was a delicious pie- my family liked it better than the strawberry-rhubarb, but I liked the strawberry-rhubarb just a little bit better (strawberries are my favorite).

I was very happy with the crust this time- cream cheese flaky crust- it really is the best, I think it will be a long time before I try a different one.  It’s delicious, even if you get a bite with just crust.

Cherries & rhubarb….... sounds like a delicious combination. And your crust is gorgeous!

Rhubarb is finally available here and I’m still deciding the fate of the batch I just picked up…...after seeing your pies, I think that’s what it’s going to have to be

That looks scrumptious, Julie.  Ditto on the pastry…very nice, indeed!  Your pastries are making me very impatient for my rhubarb to grow!

Scrumptious, indeed!  That close-up of the crust—it is gorgeously flaky!!!!  And the cutout leaf is so flaky it looks like puff pastery!!!!

What a beautiful pie!

Julie, if you make this in advance, what do you do?  Keep the crust at room temp, rewarm the filling and pour into the crust?

Thanks, Sophia, Sherrie and Anne!

I’m still curious about the rhubarb custard cream pie, but can’t make another pie just yet…

Anne, I think the way to make pies in advance is either to freeze an assembled but unbaked fruit pie, or else to mix the pastry dough the day before (which I always do) and then do the rest on bake day.  For instance, if this pie was made in the lattice version, it could be filled and the lattice top added, then wrapped well and frozen.  On bake day, Rose recommends baking from frozen, adding (I think) about 10 minutes to the cooking time.  The few times I’ve done this, it has resulted in the filling bubbling over at the sides, as there is a longer time for the edges to bubble before the frozen center is done.  Some fruits can be prepared in advance- the cherries for this I pitted and froze with sugar (according to PPB directions) last July.  And the blackberry pie is made with frozen berries.  A blind baked, moisture-proofed and unfilled crust might be able to sit out on the counter for a day, but it might soften in higher humidity conditions.  I did this with a blind baked crust at Thanksgiving (when our weather is drier), but still baked the pie morning of the meal.

Thanks, Julie!  I was wondering if a crust-separate-from-pie could be easily made in advance, but it appears to have pitfalls!!

Basically, I think the crust could probably be blind baked a day ahead if care is taken to keep it from taking on too much humidity or moisture, but I’m not sure about the fruit being re-warmed- some starches do well with that, and some don’t, and I’m not sure about cornstarch.  I’ll try to look it up or give it a test run.

Beautiful pie Julie!  I’m still a tiny bit afraid of Rhubarb…but it looks beautiful!

Thanks, Bill

I must say that I don’t much care for rhubarb eaten raw, but I’m glad I didn’t let that stop me from trying a pie or two.  This pie is probably the best choice if you want to try it in a way that won’t scream “rhubarb”- there’s plenty of cherry flavor.