Fourth of July cream pie

As Americans get ready to celebrate their independence on July 4, Food gives those celebrating the spectacular event a taste of home with these scrumptious, easy-to-make dishes.

A basic strawberry-rhubarb pie is a delightful and iconic part of summer, but why let it rest at that?

This summer, we decided to crank it up and take this pie to a whole new level. We started by ditching the usual cooked strawberries in favour of fresh raspberries. The raspberries get arranged over a simple but deliciously tart-sweet rhubarb compote. And we didn't stop there. We layered all of that over a vanilla pudding, giving us the best of two worlds - fruit pie and cream pie.

For ease, the components can be prepared ahead of time, then assembled closer to serving. Just don't assemble more than eight hours before, otherwise your crust will get soggy. And no matter when you assemble it, don't hesitate to top everything with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream as you serve it.

Raspberry-rhubarb cream pie with oatmeal crust

Start to finish: three hours (one hour active)

Servings: 10

INGREDIENTS

For the crust:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

11/2 cups rolled oats

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

For the vanilla cream filling:

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/2 cup granulated sugar

4 eggs

2 cups milk

1tbsp vanilla bean paste

2tbsp butter

For the fruit topping:

2 cups chopped fresh rhubarb

1/2 cup granulated sugar

zest and juice of 1 orange

Pinch of salt

2 cups fresh raspberries

METhOD

1. Heat the oven to 375?F.

2. To make the crust, in a food processor pulse together the flour, oats, brown sugar and salt. Drizzle in the melted butter and pulse to make moistened crumbs. Transfer the mixture to a nine-inch pie pan and press the crumbs across the bottom and up the sides. Bake for 20 minutes, or until lightly browned.

3. Meanwhile, make the cream filling. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the cornstarch and sugar. Add the eggs and whisk until frothy and no trace of egg or lumps remains. Add the milk and whisk once more to combine. Cook over medium heat, stirring and scraping the bottom and sides of the pan constantly, until the mixture comes up to a boil and thickens, five to seven minutes. Stir in the vanilla bean paste and butter.

4. Once the crust and filling are both cooked, pour the cream filling into the crust. Press a piece of plastic wrap directly on to the surface of the cream and refrigerate for two hours, or until cold.

5. Next, make the rhubarb filling. In a small saucepan over medium, combine the rhubarb, sugar, orange zest and juice, and salt. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring frequently, for 20 minutes, or until the rhubarb is broken down and slightly thickened. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

5. When all the parts of the pie have cooled, spread the rhubarb filling over the surface of the cream filling. Arrange fresh raspberries across the surface of the pie. Serve immediately or chill for up to eight hours.

-Alison Ladman