Caramel Rhubarb Pie

 My grandma is crazy about pies. She has made them for all our family occasions since I was little, often bringing over three or four for a big dinner like Thanksgiving or someone's birthday. For that reason, the rest of us haven't really had to make pies ourselves very often, but we have some excellent recipes from her. Lately my mom has been finally learning how to make pie from my grandma, and she has fell in love with this caramel rhubarb pie that has been one of my grandma's favourite rhubarb pies for years. 

Rhubarb is a summer treat, but I do believe it is better late than never to share a recipe. And American Thanksgiving is this week, so people should be thinking of pies. My mom and I made this recipe this summer when I first arrived home, and it was absolutely delicious.

A note about my grandma's pie recipes. The fruit is not measured by cups but rather measured in the pie plate itself. So it just takes a careful eye as you are pouring the fruit into the pie plate. Also, I do not include the pie crust recipe or instructions here, and that can be a little tricky to do if you haven't made pie before. So please choose a good recipe for the pie crust recipe and follow their instructions for rolling out the dough and fitting it in to the plate. Good luck and enjoy!

Caramel Rhubarb Pie 

Makes 1 pie in a deep pie dish

Ingredients:

• Pie crust for one pie - bottom and top (we use the recipe from Tenderflake lard)
• 2-4 cups fresh or frozen rhubarb - Measure this in the pie plate. 3/4 of the pie plate full
• 2 tbsp flour
• 2 tbsp white sugar
  
  For the custard:
• 2 cups light brown sugar
• 4 tbsp flour
• 2 eggs
• 4 tbsp whipping cream or half-and-half
• 4 tbsp butter, melted
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F
2. Line a large pie pan with crust (make as per your own recipe or the tenderflake recipe). Do not prebake the crust at all. If you wish, you can chill the crust for 1 hr at this point, but it is not necessary.
3. Stir together 2 tbsp flour and 2 tbsp white sugar, and sprinkle it in the bottom of the pie crust
4. Pour in your fresh or frozen rhubarb - enough to fill up the pie plate 3/4 full
5. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the custard ingredients (brown sugar, remaining flour, eggs, cream, melted butter, salt and vanilla). 
6. Pour the custard mixture evenly over the rhubarb
7. Roll out another sheet of pie crust dough, and carefully lift it onto the pie
8. Trim the pie crust, and crimp the edges. Cut a few slits in the top of the pie crust to let the steam escape in the oven
9. Bake the pie at 350 degrees until the crust is lightly browned and and the filling is bubbling - about 1 h 15 min to 1.5 hrs.
10. Let cool slightly before serving. Serve warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream