Rhubarb Custard Bars

I first showcased this dessert in 2014, but I've been eating it my whole life.

This Rhubarb Custard Dessert will soon become a favorite.

Spring in the Midwest means one thing....RHUBARB.

We can't get enough of it! Many parts of the U.S. don't even know what this stuff is, or if having heard of it, have never tasted it.  

Although rhubarb is technically a vegetable, we most often use it in desserts.  It's a perennial, so once it's planted it will be there for years.  It takes a lot to kill off this plant, so be prepared for it to come back each Spring! If you are a newbie growing rhubarb, or wanting to start the plant in your yard, here are some great tips to get you started!

I personally don't have any growing in our yard, but I grew up having a patch and have many friends around here with patches so I'm never short on the stuff.

Rhubarb is also kinda a love or hate vegetable.  OR....it's a "I've never had it" vegetable.  People, give it a chance. 

GIVE IT A CHANCE.

Once cooked down and sugared up it is tangy and sweet and sometimes just a bit sour {in a good way}, but trust me when paired into desserts with buttery crusts and whipped toppings, it becomes heavenly.

Most people are familiar with it in crisps, cobblers and pies, but when I pull this dessert out of the fridge, people get really big eyes and drool starts dripping off their lips.  

This dessert has three glorious layers.  Three!  And here's the thing.  I make this just once a year.  The husband gets all giddy and then once it's gone we sit around and dream about it until the following Spring.

He likes it so much that when I mentioned giving the neighbors two pieces to try he thought that was a VERY BAD IDEA.  He would hoard the stuff all for himself if I let him.  And granted he has a point.  It has three layers.  This isn't a simple brownie boxed mix.  It takes about an hour start to finish.

But it is so worth it.

I love all three layers.  I tell myself the shortbread crust is my fave, until I hit that rhubarb custard....then until I hit that whipped creamed topping.  Put them all together and it's just the best.  The absolute best.

If you have rhubarb in your yard or you can snag some from a friend or the farmer's market, you need to make this dessert. Or better yet start growing your own!

You need to.

This Rhubarb Custard Dessert will become your favorite!  Share with your friends and let me know if you make it - I'd love to see your photos.

Rhubarb Custard Bars

Yield: 18

Author: Ally

Prep time: 20 MCook time: 55 MTotal time: 75 M

The #1 rhubarb recipe! This dessert is grand in so many ways - a wonderful shortbread crust and a tangy rhubarb custard layer topped with a creamy whipped cream cheese frosting. I make this once a year and dream about it the remaining 364 days.

Ingredients:

Crust

• 2 cups flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup unsalted butter, cold

Filling

• 2 cups sugar
• 7 T all-purpose flour
• 1 cup  whipping cream
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 5 cups finely chopped rhubarb

Topping

• 2  8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 t vanilla
• 1 cup whipping cream, whipped

Instructions:

1. In a bowl, combine the flour and sugar. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
2. Press this into a greased 9x13 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, for the filling, combine the sugar and flour in a bowl. Whisk in cream and eggs and stir in the rhubarb. Pour this over the crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until custard is set.
4. Allow the pan to completely cool.
5. For the topping, beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth and set aside.
6. In another bowl whip the whipping cream until fluffy and fold it gently into the cream cheese mixture.
7. Spread this topping over cooled custard. Cover and chill.
8. Cut into 18 bars and store in the refrigerator.

Calories
331.45

Fat (grams)
25.07

Sat. Fat (grams)
15.29

Carbs (grams)
22.98

Fiber (grams)
0.46

Net carbs
22.53

Sugar (grams)
9.90

Protein (grams)
4.43

Sodium (milligrams)
60.36

Cholesterol (grams)
100.72

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