Strawberry Rhubarb Pie with Crumb Topping
This Strawberry Rhubarb Pie with Crumb Topping has a sweet-tart fruit filling in a deep-dish crust with buttery brown sugar crumbs
Servings: 8 - 10 servings
Equipment
Ingredients
For the crumb topping
- 1 ¼ cups flour
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- ½ cup (1 stick) melted butter (see notes)
- ½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar (see notes)
For the Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Filling
- 1 9-inch frozen, deep dish pie crust
- 3 cups sliced rhubarb (½ inch slices)
- 3 cups quartered strawberries (see note)
- ⅓ cup packed light brown sugar
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon orange juice
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
To Make the Crumb Topping
- In a medium bowl, combine your flour, brown sugar, nutmeg, and pinch of salt. Whisk to get any lumps out, then add melted butter and the apple cider vinegar. The mixture should resemble large crumbs once combined. Set aside.
How to Make the Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Filling
- Cut the rhubarb into ½ inch slices and place in large bowl. Quarter the strawberries (do not slice) and place in bowl with the rhubarb. You don't want to slice the strawberries as they will cook down to mush, so quartering the larger ones and halving the smaller ones works perfectly.
- Stir in the both sugars, cornstarch, salt, vanilla, and orange juice. Adding orange juice gives the pie filling that extra wow factor. Set the filling aside for 10 - 15 minutes and preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
- Once the oven is preheated: Grab your frozen pie crust shell and spoon in the strawberry rhubarb filling - leaving as much excess liquid behind as possible. You can throw away the excess liquid.
- Top the filling with your crumb topping, breaking it up in to large pieces as you do. Pat it down gently and then place on foil-lined baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes (at 400 degrees), then reduce the oven temp to 350 degrees and continue to bake the pie for another 25-30 minutes.
- If your crumb topping is getting to dark, simply lightly cover the pie with aluminum foil. Allow the pie to cool on a wire rack for at least 3 hours before attempting to slice. This time will allow the filling to set and won't run everywhere when you do slice into it.
- The pie can be kept at room temperature for up to 36 hours. After that, it’s best to cover it with foil and keep it refrigerated. You can also freeze the baked pie. Just wrap it up tightly with aluminum foil - double layer works best and place in freeze. It can be thawed in the fridge or at room temperature.
Notes
- Don’t worry about tasting the apple cider vinegar in the crumb topping. The small amount balances the richness of the butter and lightens the flour mixture slightly.
- Quarter larger strawberries and halve smaller ones instead of slicing them. Thin slices soften too much while baking and can become mushy.
- Let the mixed pie filling rest for 10 - 15 minutes before adding it to the crust. This gives the fruit time to release excess liquid, which should be left behind in the bowl to help prevent a watery filling.