A gorgeous, French-style vegan pithivier with seasonal strawberries and rhubarb!
This vegan strawberry rhubarb pithivier is easy as pie to make, and it tastes and looks amazing. A puff pastry crust is layered with a creamy, sweet almond frangipane and seasonal rhubarb strawberry filling. All of it is covered in more puff pastry and baked in an oven until golden all over. If you love rhubarb and elegant pies with crisp, flaky crusts, this one is for you!
I bring you a new rhubarb recipe every spring, and in past years I've shared with you this vegan rhubarb ginger upside down cake, vegan strawberry rhubarb cheesecake, vegan rhubarb crisp, vegan rhubarb galette, vegan rhubarb pie, and so many more recipes made with these beautiful red stalks that I love with a passion.
Today I have for you a seasonal and delicious vegan strawberry rhubarb pithivier, where the golden, flaky pastry encloses a creamy almond frangipane and a jam-like strawberry rhubarb filling.
What's a pithivier?
A pithivier ("pithiviers" in French and pronounced piti-v-yay in your best French accent) is a French style enclosed pie. A disc of puff pastry is layered with a sweet or savory filling or often multiple fillings, another disc of puff pastry is placed atop it forming a dome, and the two puff pastry layers are crimped to seal. The top crust is then scored in a spiral design that gives a pithivier its characteristic look.
Because I was working here with a rhubarb strawberry filling that was viscous and not fully solid I decided to bake my pithivier in a pie pan instead of on a baking sheet. This works very well at holding the filling in although you do lose the characteristic domed shape. But I think it still looks quite pretty.
Why you will love this vegan pithivier
- It has amazing textures and the flavors. The crispy, golden, flaky crust encloses the soft, gooey frangipane and the flavorful strawberry rhubarb filling. The textures play together beautifully, as do the flavors of the sweet, creamy frangipane and the slightly tart berry rhubarb filling.
- This is the best time of year to eat rhubarb. Eating seasonal is great for your body, and although this is not exactly health food, how can you deny yourself such a wonderful, timely treat?
- It is actually quite easy to make this pie. You do need to make the two fillings--the frangipane and the strawberry rhubarb filling--separately, but they come together really fast. The puff pastry comes out of a packet. It can't get any easier.
- If you have kids they'll love it, and so will the adults. No one can resist a good pie. Make this one and it will very likely go down as one of the best you made or ate.
Spotlight on rhubarb
Rhubarb, the stalk that's a vegetable but treated as a fruit, is a great addition to sweet and savory dishes. It is also amazingly healthy, with the deep red color coming from anthocyanins--antioxidants that you can also find in other purple and red veggies and that have strong anti-cancer, anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory and heart supporting properties.
Rhubarb is also loaded with fiber and with vitamins and minerals, including calcium, vitamins A, C and K, potassium, folate and magnesium. Rhubarb has a shoulder-shrugging tart flavor and if you eat it by itself you might wonder how it would work in a dessert. But when baked with sugar rhubarb mellows into a wonderful, indescribably delicious and even addictive flavor. Bakers often pair rhubarb with other fruit, with strawberries being the most common pairing, and the flavors work very well together indeed.
Although I've seen rhubarb in supermarkets as late as fall and even in winter, the best time to eat it is in spring, when this veggie/fruit is seasonal. You can easily find rhubarb at farmers' markets and supermarkets and if you've never baked with it before you just might want to pick up a few stalks next time you see them.
Keep in mind that the outer layer might sometimes be stringy and will just peel off, leaving you with a green rather than red stalk. But that makes no difference to the taste.
Ingredients for vegan strawberry rhubarb pithivier
For puff pastry crust
- 2 sheets puff pastry (1 pound). Many brands of storebought puff pastry are accidentally vegan, including Pepperidge Farm, which I used. Read the labels as some brands do use butter.
- For coating puff pastry: 1 teaspoon nondairy milk + 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
For almond frangipane
- 1 cup almond flour
- 2 tablespoon cornstarch
- ¼ cup nondairy milk. I used almond milk but any nondairy milk is fine.
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
For strawberry rhubarb filling
- 1 pound rhubarb stalks. About 4-5 stalks.
- ½ pound strawberries
- ¾ cup sugar. You might need more or less depending on the sweetness of the rhubarb and strawberries.
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
How to make vegan strawberry rhubarb pithivier
Make the almond frangipane
- Place all ingredients for the filling-- almond flour, cornstarch, sugar, melted or softened vegan butter, almond extract and nondairy milk in a food processor or in a bowl.
- Mix until a thick but smooth frangipane forms.
Make the strawberry rhubarb filling
- Place the strawberries, rhubarb, sugar, cornstarch and salt in a heavy saucepan.
- Cook over medium heat until the strawberries and rhubarb begin to express lots of juice.
- Continue to cook 4-5 minutes more until the mixture begins to thicken.
- Lower the heat and continue cooking for another 5-8 minutes or until the mixture is jammy and very thick and the rhubarb is very soft. You don't want any discernible liquid in the filling. Don't walk away when cooking the filling as it can burn easily.
- Stir in the vanilla and butter and turn off the heat rightaway. Let the mixture cool.
Assemble and bake the strawberry rhubarb pithivier
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit/205 degrees Celsius.
- Roll out the puff pastry sheets -- one 11 inches square and the other 10 inches. Flour the surface lightly if you need to in order to prevent the puff pastry from sticking.
- Cut out discs in the puff pastry sheets using a 9-inch pie plate as a template. The first disc, which will be the bottom crust, should be about an inch wider than the pie plate. The second disc, the top crust, should be the same diameter as the pie plate.
- Fit the larger puff pastry inside the pie plate and over the edges.
- Scoop out the frangipane filling into pie plate. Use a knife or offset spatula to spread it evenly across the bottom of the crust.
- Pour the cooled strawberry rhubarb filling over the frangipane and smooth into an even layer.
- Fit the second puff pastry disc over the top of the pie plate and crimp the edges of the top and bottom crust together to create a tight seal.
- Use a sharp knife to make a hole in the top of the crust to let the steam escape. Then, moving from the top of the crust to the bottom, score the crust in curved lines. The cuts should be superficial--don't cut through the pastry.
- Mix a teaspoon of oil and a teaspoon of nondairy milk in a small bowl. Brush it on top of the crust. This is optional--it helps give the crust a nice color.
- Place the pithivier pie plate on a baking sheet in the preheated oven. Bake 40-45 minutes until the puff pastry is golden and the juices are bubbling.
- Optionally, about five minutes before baking ends, remove pithivier from the oven and dust some powdered sugar on top. Return to the oven for five minutes.
- Cool the pithivier at room temperature for 4-5 hours until completely cool.
- Slice and eat.
Make ahead and storage instructions
- Make ahead: Make the almond frangipane and strawberry rhubarb filling up to three days ahead and refrigerate. You can also make them a few weeks ahead and freeze. Thaw before using. Assemble the pithivier before baking.
- Refrigerate: The pithivier and/or leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to three days.
- Freeze: For longer storage wrap the pie in freezer wrap or store slices in an airtight, freezer-safe container. Freeze for up to three months.
- Reheating: Thaw the frozen pie in the refrigerator overnight. Reheat in preheated 350 degree oven until heated through. You might need to cover the crust with aluminum foil to prevent it from burning.
Frequently asked questions
You certainly can. Use a pound and a half of rhubarb.
Strawberries and rhubarb are a classic combination. But that said raspberries would work very nicely with the rhubarb, I think, as would blackberries and blueberries.
Absolutely. You can buy storebought or use my homemade whole wheat puff pastry recipe -- it also has half the fat of regular puff pastry. You can skip the vegan butter in the filling and the frangipane and use more non dairy milk in the frangipane instead.
More recipes you might like
Vegan Strawberry Rhubarb Pithivier
Equipment
- Heavy bottomed saucepan
- 9-inch pie plate
Ingredients
For puff pastry crust
- 2 sheets puff pastry (1 pound)
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon nondairy milk
For almond frangipane
- 1 cup almond flour
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- ¼ cup nondairy milk
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
For strawberry rhubarb filling
- 1 pound rhubarb (cut in small cubes. Remove any stringy parts.)
- ½ pound strawberries (hulled, cut into small cubes)
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Make the frangipane
- Place all ingredients for the filling-- almond flour, cornstarch, sugar, melted or softened vegan butter, almond extract and nondairy milk in a food processor or in a bowl.
- Mix until a thick but smooth frangipane forms.
Make the strawberry rhubarb filling
- Place the strawberries, rhubarb, sugar, cornstarch and salt in a heavy saucepan.
- Cook over medium heat until the strawberries and rhubarb begin to express lots of juice.
- Continue to cook 4-5 minutes more until the mixture begins to thicken.
- Lower the heat and continue cooking for another 5-8 minutes or until the mixture is jammy and very thick and the rhubarb is very soft. You don't want any discernible liquid in the filling. Don't walk away when cooking the filling as it can burn easily.
- Stir in the vanilla and butter and turn off the heat rightaway. Let the mixture cool.
Assemble and bake the pithivier
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit/205 degrees Celsius.
- Roll out the puff pastry sheets -- one 11 inches square and the other 10 inches. Flour the surface lightly if you need to in order to prevent the puff pastry from sticking as you roll.
- Cut out discs in the puff pastry sheets using a 9-inch pie plate as a template. The first disc, which will be the bottom crust, should be about an inch wider than the pie plate. The second disc, the top crust, should be the same diameter as the pie plate.
- Fit the larger puff pastry disc inside the pie plate and over the edges.
- Scoop out the frangipane filling into pie plate. Use a knife or offset spatula to spread it evenly across the bottom of the crust.
- Pour the cooled strawberry rhubarb filling over the frangipane and smooth into an even layer.
- Fit the remaining puff pastry disc over the top of the pie plate and crimp the edges of the top and bottom crust together to create a tight seal.
- Use a sharp knife to make a hole in the top of the crust to let the steam escape. Then, moving from the top of the crust to the bottom, score the crust in curved lines. The cuts should be superficial--don't cut through the pastry.
- Mix a teaspoon of oil and a teaspoon of nondairy milk in a small bowl. Brush it on top of the crust. This is optional--it helps give the crust a nice color.
- Place the pithivier pie plate on a baking sheet in the preheated oven. Bake 40-45 minutes until the puff pastry is golden and the juices are bubbling. Optionally, about five minutes before baking ends, remove pithivier from the oven and dust some powdered sugar on top. Return to the oven for five minutes.
- Cool the pithivier at room temperature for 4-5 hours until completely cool. Slice and eat.
Recipe notes
- Make ahead: Make the almond frangipane and strawberry rhubarb filling up to three days ahead and refrigerate. You can also make them a few weeks ahead and freeze. Thaw before using. Assemble the pithivier before baking.
- Refrigerate: The pithivier and/or leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to three days.
- Freeze: For longer storage wrap the pie in freezer wrap or store slices in an airtight, freezer-safe container. Freeze for up to three months.
- Reheating: Thaw the frozen pie in the refrigerator overnight. Reheat in preheated 350 degree oven until heated through. You might need to cover the crust with aluminum foil to prevent it from burning.
- You can use only rhubarb to make this recipe. In that case use a pound and a half of rhubarb.
- Strawberries and rhubarb are a classic combination. But raspberries would also work very nicely with the rhubarb, as would blackberries and blueberries.
- To make this recipe healthier you can use a whole wheat puff pastry -- my homemade version has half the fat of regular puff pastry. You can also skip the vegan butter in the filling and the frangipane and use more non dairy milk in the frangipane instead.
Carla
Just got rhubarb at the farmers' market and can't wait to make this! I'll report back. Thanks for the recipe.
Carla
Made this and it was SO amazing. Absolutely love it. I didn't get the puff pastry top design exactly right but it is very forgiving and I got lots of praise anyway from my family, lol. Loved the strawberry rhubarb combo. Thanks for sharing.