Everything’s coming up rhubarb

April 22, 2026 by
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The moment that really marks the end of winter for me is when I see the tightly curled leaves of rhubarb poking up through the brown debris of last year’s plant. That moment happened last week, and it caught me off guard this year. I missed the earliest signs and only noticed when the plants were about 6 inches tall, but seeing that sure sign of spring lifted my spirits. Naturally, it snowed two days later. That didn’t phase me as I knew that any snow showers were fleeting since the rhubarb was here. Now I’m planning what to make with the fresh, pink stalks.

I have a treasured family custard pie recipe that will be on the menu but I always look for something new to make as well. Last year that was the Rhubarb and cardamom tart from Sabzi by Yasmin Khan which garnered positive reviews from my friends. This year I’m eyeing the Rhubarb and custard [petits gâteaux] from Pâtisserie Made Simple by Maxine Scheckter, one of last year’s standout books. Another is one I tagged last year but never got around to making, Rhubarb cake from Dessert Person by Claire Saffitz (pictured above).

Since the first time I wrote about rhubarb on the EYB blog 12 years ago (!), the number of rhubarb recipes available online (including ckbk recipes) in the EYB Library has more than doubled. Currently there are over 2,600 online rhubarb recipes, including nearly 825 savory rhubarb recipes. If we don’t limit ourselves to online recipes, there are a whopping 12,200 recipes in total. Looks like I’m not the only rhubarb lover. Do you have any new rhubarb recipes tagged with the “I want to cook this” bookmark?

Category: Food Online

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5 Comments

  • Indio32  on  April 23, 2026

    Oddly my local independent greengrocers grocer had a whole pile of fresh rhubarb yesterday so I bought 6 stems as it wasn’t packed in single use plastic and was less than half the price the supermarkets are charging. I usually just poach it and have in on strained yoghurt but your post has got me thinking of being a bit more adventurous with it!

  • innerharbors  on  April 23, 2026

    After a series of transplant errors over the last few years, my rhubarb is looking better than ever and might finally be ready to use. I am excited to try a couple of the rhubarb recipes I’ve got bookmarked.

  • whitewoods  on  April 24, 2026

    There’s not a lot of experience with rhubarb in my family. However, my mother loved to make rhubarb fluff for the holidays, and it was always delicious even though hers sometimes came out more soupy than fluffy. I don’t have her original recipe, but I did add a couple of recipes for that dessert to the EYB database that I found online. Sometime in my early twenties I bought a small cookbook devoted entirely to rhubarb with intentions of experimenting. But I still have the book and never did make a single recipe from it. It’s not indexed yet on EYB, but perhaps I’ll get around to it eventually.

  • Jane  on  April 25, 2026

    My local library cookbook club had as our theme this week ‘Asparagus & Rhubarb’ and I could not find rhubarb anywhere locally on the Massachusetts north shore. Luckily I had a stash in my freezer from last year and I made Rhubarb and elderflower cake from The Joyful Home Cook by Rosie Birkett. It was really good – it’s added to my repeat list.

    I love rhubarb and use it all the time for desserts during its season, and freeze a bag or two. Another favorite is Nigella’s Rhubarb cornmeal cake which is served with a fantastic Muscat mascarpone cream.

  • vermonter  on  April 30, 2026

    Darcie, is your treasured family custard pie one with rhubarb in it? If so, would you post the recipe? Thanks! Vermonter

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