Sweet strawberries mixed with tart rhubarb and sugar make this strawberry rhubarb lattice pie a wonderful addition to your late spring and early summer baking list. The flavor combinations of sweet, sour, and tart come together in a well-balanced pie that bursts with the taste of fresh spring fruits.
I’m definitely late to the party when it comes to the flavors of strawberries and rhubarb. Personally, I never thought I would care for the taste of rhubarb, but I was wrong. After making several rhubarb desserts this year, like this strawberry rhubarb pie and my strawberry rhubarb streusel muffins, I’m a convert. Cooking down rhubarb with sugar creates a flavor that’s still slightly tart, like cranberries, but is a winner in the flavor department.
The first time I tried making this pie, I liked it, but my taste testers found it too sour. With only a few minor tweaks, they found the next version leaps and bounds better. The trick I found that made it so much better was to reserve some sugar until right before baking the pie.
Because sliced strawberries and rhubarb release a lot of liquid when cooked, some recipes, including mine, call for tossing them with the other ingredients and letting them sit for a while. When you transfer the mixture to the pie, you leave behind most of that liquid, so your pie doesn’t end up a soggy puddle. It works, but you’re also leaving behind a lot of flavor and sweetener. The fix ended up being to simply toss everything with some reserved sugar before adding the filling to the dough.
Jump to:
🥘 Ingredients
You really don’t need a lot of ingredients to make a strawberry rhubarb lattice pie, and a few of the ingredients I list here are optional. I’ll explain below.
Double Pie Crust – You’ll need two pie crusts here. You could make your own, like my all-butter pie crust, or buy them. If you’re buying pie crusts, be sure to get the refrigerated version with two shells.
Rhubarb – Look for fresh and red rhubarb if you can, but if it’s a bit green that’s fine. You’ll want about a pound for the pie, so get about 1 ¼ pounds to account for trimming. Cut it like you would celery, into about a ½ inch slice.
Strawberries – A 1-pound container should be fine here, use more if you’d like though. Slice the strawberries but not too thinly as they’ll break down when cooked.
Sugar – Use a combination of white and brown sugar. I like to use ⅓ a cup of each and reserve a second ⅓ cup of white sugar for a total of 1 cup of sugar.
Tapioca Starch – If you have trouble finding it or just want to use corn starch, that’s fine as well. I prefer tapioca starch for fruit pies because it tends to leave a less cloudy look than corn starch does.
Orange – I use both the zest and juice in this pie. The sourness helps reinforce the flavor of the rhubarb, but this is optional. You could also use a lemon instead, or nothing.
Vanilla – Use just a bit of vanilla extract to help balance out the flavors in the pie. Optional, but I find it adds just the right flavor.
Butter – Just a small amount of butter needed. Cut into small pieces added to the top of the pie filling right before covering and baking. This is optional as well but adds just a bit of flavor and fat to the filling.
🥬 What is Rhubarb?
Without getting overly scientific, rhubarb is a vegetable that has been around for quite a while. Even though it is a vegetable, it is typically used in the culinary world as a fruit would be. Because it is so tart, it is typically cooked down with a decent amount of sugar and sometimes mixed with other, sweeter fruits.
Rhubarb usually looks like a crimson stalk of celery, but larger and flatter. Unlike celery, it is usually sold in single pieces with the leaves removed. If you do buy it with the leaves intact, be sure to remove them before usage, as rhubarb leaves are toxic. The leaves contain a high level of oxalic acid, and while a lethal amount would require eating literally pounds of leaves, even mild consumption can cause kidney stone formation.
While rhubarb is grown around the world and can be found almost any time of the year, it is typically harvested in late spring and early summer, especially in the US. That’s why you’ll typically see a lot more recipes for its use pop up around April and May.
🔪 How to Make
If using homemade pie dough, start by rolling out your dough. Leave one dough in the fridge while rolling out the base into a 12-13-inch circle for a 9” pie pan. Lay the dough into the pie pan and gently push it into the base and sides, trimming off the overhang longer than an inch. Place the pie into the refrigerator to chill until ready.
Cut the rhubarb and strawberries into roughly ½” pieces as pictured above.
Place the sliced strawberries and rhubarb into a large, non-reactive bowl. Add both sugars (reserving ⅓ cup of white sugar), orange juice and zest, vanilla extract, and salt. Gently mix until fully combined, then add the tapioca starch, mix again, and let sit for about 20 minutes.
Move the oven rack to the bottom third level and preheat to 425°F / 220°C. Line a baking sheet with foil and place in oven while it heats.
While heating, roll out the other pie dough to the same size. If using a lattice top, cut the pie dough into roughly 1-inch strips (a pizza cutter works well here). Remove the pie dish from the refrigerator, mix the rest of the sugar into the pie filling, and then fill the pie dish. Scoop the filling out of the bowl without getting too much of the juice at the bottom. Cut the butter into chunks and dot the top of the filling with the pieces.
Place about 5 strips of pie dough across the top of the pie, about a ½ inch or so apart and parallel to each other. Gently pull back strips 1, 3, and 5 and place a new strip perpendicular to and on top of strips 2 and 4. Lay strips 1, 3, and 5 back down and then pull back strips 2 and 4. Lay another strip on top of them and perpendicular, then lay strips 2 and 4 back down. Repeat this process until you make it across the pie. Tuck the overhanging pieces under the bottom pie crust and pinch to seal.
In a small bowl, mix an egg with some milk. With a pastry brush, brush the top of the pie dough with the egg and milk mixture. Optionally, add some sugar to the top of the pie dough, like demerara or turbinado.
Place the pie dish onto the baking sheet in the oven. Bake for 15 minutes and then lower the temperature to 375°F / 190°C. Add a pie shield now if desired. Continue baking for another 40-50 minutes. The pie is done when the crust is browned, and the fruit filling starts to boil over the crust.
Allow the pie to fully cool and set, at least 2-3 hours. The longer it sits out to set, the less runny it will be when you slice into it. Serve warm or at room temperature, ideally with a scoop of ice cream or some whipped cream.
📖 Variations
Top Crust – If you want to skip the lattice topping, you can also just cover the pie with the other crust instead. Use the egg and milk wash and top with sugar but be sure to cut enough slits for steam to escape. Make at least 5 2-inch-long cuts around the pie.
Optionally, ditch the top crust and use a crumble topping like the one in this cranberry pear crumble pie.
Fruits – Strawberry and rhubarb is a classic pairing, but you could use different berries also. Try it with blackberries, raspberries, or blueberries instead for a different flavor.
💭 Frequently Asked Questions
No, it can be used raw. Tossing with sugar beforehand will draw out moisture, and the long baking time will cook it down plenty.
A few things can go wrong here. Not cooking it long enough or letting it cool long enough will lead to a runny pie when you cut it. Allow the pie to cool and set for at least 3-4 hours as the fruit filling needs time to set before cutting into it.
Tossing with sugar and allowing the filling to sit for a while will draw moisture out of the strawberries and rhubarb that would otherwise come out during baking and overfill the pie with moisture. Finally, adding enough tapioca or corn starch will help thicken the filling as it cooks and then sets.
Most fruit pies are considered safe to cover and leave at room temperature for up to two days. Alternatively, you can cover and refrigerate for 4-5 days.
While fresh is almost always best, yes, you can use frozen. I do recommend thawing both at room temperature for at least 30 minutes to an hour before using, because they will release a lot of water that would otherwise get released while baking.
🍽 Equipment
A lot of the equipment used in making this strawberry rhubarb lattice pie are regular kitchen items. I’ll mention a few standouts here that I recommend though.
Non-Reactive Bowl – Whenever you cut fruits or vegetables for use in a recipe, I prefer to use a non-reactive bowl to keep those ingredients in. Basically, this means anything besides a metal mixing bowl. I prefer to use glass mixing bowls, but even a serving bowl or plastic mixing bowl is fine as well.
9” Pie Dish – Usually when I make pies, I prefer glass, like this 9” Glass Pie Dish from Oxo. Another good option is this 9” Ceramic Pie Dish from Emile Henry. When choosing a pie dish, look for one that can withstand large temperature changes, or thermal shock. These dishes are made with borosilicate glass instead of soda-lime glass.
❄️ Storage or Making Ahead
This strawberry rhubarb lattice pie, like most fruit pies, can be covered and stored at room temperature for up to two days. Alternatively, you can store the pie in the refrigerator for 4-5 days instead.
For longer term storage, the baked pie also freezes well. Allow it to cool completely, then wrap the entire pie in plastic wrap and store for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then allow to come up to room temperature before serving.
If you wish to make this pie ahead of time, you can make it a day ahead and just let it sit, covered, at room temperature until you wish to serve it. This gives it plenty of time to fully set also. You could also make the filling up to the point you would fill the pie and freeze that for up to 3 months as well.
📋 Recipe
Strawberry Rhubarb Lattice Pie
Ingredients
- 1 Double pie crust
- 1 ¼ pounds rhubarb, trimmed and cut into ½” pieces
- 1 pound strawberries, stems removed and sliced
- ⅔ cup white granulated sugar, divided
- ⅓ cup brown sugar, packed
- 3 tablespoons tapioca starch
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 2 teaspoons orange juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon milk
- Sugar for topping, such as demerara or turbinado
Directions
- If using homemade pie dough, start by rolling out your dough. Leave one dough in the fridge while rolling out the base into a 12-13-inch circle for a 9” pie pan. Lay the dough into the pie pan and gently push it into the base and sides, trimming off the overhang longer than an inch. Place the pie into the refrigerator to chill until ready.
- Place the sliced strawberries and rhubarb into a large, non-reactive bowl. Add ⅓ cup white granulated sugar (reserving another ⅓ cup), ⅓ cup brown sugar, 2 teaspoons orange juice, 1 teaspoon orange zest, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Gently mix until fully combined, then add 3 tablespoons of tapioca starch, mix again, and let sit for about 20 minutes.
- Move the oven rack to the bottom third level and preheat to 425°F / 220°C. Line a baking sheet with foil and place into oven while it heats.
- While heating, roll out the other pie dough to the same size. If using a lattice top, cut the pie dough into roughly 1-inch strips (a pizza cutter works well here). Remove the pie dish from the refrigerator, mix the rest of the sugar into the pie filling, and then fill the pie dish. Scoop the filling out of the bowl without getting too much of the juice at the bottom. Cut the 3 tablespoons of butter into chunks and dot the top of the filling with the pieces.
- Place about 5 strips of pie dough across the top of the pie, about a ½ inch or so apart and parallel to each other. Gently pull back strips 1, 3, and 5 and place a new strip perpendicular to and on top of strips 2 and 4. Lay strips 1, 3, and 5 back down and then pull back strips 2 and 4. Lay another strip on top of them and perpendicular, then lay strips 2 and 4 back down. Repeat this process until you make it across the pie. Tuck the overhanging pieces under the bottom pie crust and pinch to seal.
- In a small bowl, mix the egg with about a tablespoon of milk. With a pastry brush, brush the top of the pie dough with the egg and milk mixture. Optionally, add some sugar to the top of the pie dough, like demerara or turbinado.
- Place the pie dish onto the baking sheet in the oven. Bake for 15 minutes and then lower the temperature to 375°F / 190°C. Add a pie shield now if desired. Continue baking for another 40-50 minutes. The pie is done when the crust is browned, and the fruit filling starts to boil over the crust.
- Allow the pie to fully cool and set, at least 2-3 hours. The longer it sits out to set, the less runny it should be when you slice into it. Serve warm or at room temperature, ideally with a scoop of ice cream or some whipped cream.
Comments
No Comments