A monthly produce exchange in my neighborhood lead to making Rhubarb Cream Bars this weekend. Participants bring excess produce and herbs from our gardens, and everything gets redistributed among all the participants. In this bag this month? Rhubarb.
I reached for a farm cookbook called Farmstead Chef by Lisa Kivirist, who has been a guest on the Gardenerd Tip of the Week Podcast, and found her recipe for Rhubarb Cream bars made with ingredients I happened to have on hand. The results were delicious and dangerously good.
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, cold
- 1 tsp. oil (for greasing the pan)
- 4 eggs, beaten
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 cup flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 cups rhubarb, diced (we only had enough for 3 cups, still good!)
Method
Make the crust first: combine 2 cups flour and 3/4 cups powdered sugar, then cut in the 2 sticks of butter with a pastry cutter until the mixture looks like course sand. Press the mixture into an oiled 9×13 pan.
Bake this in a 350°F oven until the top is slightly golden, about 15 minutes.
While it’s baking…
Next Make the Custard
Mix 4 eggs, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 cup flour and 2 cups sugar (worth it!) together until creamy smooth. Then fold in the diced rhubarb (4 cups, but less is okay too).
Pour this on top of the hot crust. Bake for 40-45 minutes until there is a light brown color to the surface of the custard.
Cool completely, and then cut into bars.
Bring these to your next house party or just devour them yourself, out in the open, where everyone can see you. Make them jealous. It will work.
