Rhubarb Custard Bars

By draingal

Ingredients

• FILLING:
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup cold butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 7 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 3 large eggs, beaten
• 5 cups finely chopped fresh or frozen rhubarb, thawed and drained
• TOPPING:
• 6 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped

Details

Servings 36
Preparation time 25mins
Cooking time 75mins
Adapted from tasteofhome.com

Preparation

Step 1

In a bowl, combine the flour and sugar; cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press into a greased 13x9-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, for filling, combine sugar and flour in a bowl. Whisk in cream and eggs. Stir in the rhubarb. Pour over crust. Bake at 350° until custard is set, 40-45 minutes. Cool.

For topping, beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth; fold in whipped cream. Spread over top. Cover and chill. Cut into bars. Store in the refrigerator.
Yield: 3 dozen.

Tips:
Heavy whipping cream gives custard fillings a luscious, decadent texture, but half-and-half cream or whole milk can be substituted with nice results.

This is a potluck hero: It makes a mountain of bars. If you're cooking for a smaller crew, however, just halve the recipe and use a 9- or 8-inch-square baking dish.

If you prefer your bars on the tart side, bump up the rhubarb to 6 or 6 1/2 cups or reduce the sugar in the filling to 1 1/2 cups.