Strawberry Rhubarb Pie with Urfa Pepper in a Chocolate Coffee Marbled Crust

A long name, but totally worth it!

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie is just a classic.  And one of our favourites.  I think it is in the top three of all the pies that I make, as far as Jim is concerned.  With good reason.  The balance of tart and sweet, the perfect jammy texture.  So bright and fresh, it feels like Springtime all year round when I bake this pie.

There is the classic Strawberry Rhubarb Pie on the blog.  It is the no fail recipe I’ve been making for decades.  A bit of mint, a bit of rhubarb bitters to add some depth, it is a winner wherever I bring it.  And of course, these days, I love combining rhubarb with all sorts of other fruits, like in my Cherry Rhubarb Pie, or Bumble Berry Cobbler.

For National Pi Day a couple of weeks back (yes, the day dedicated to Pie because it is March the 14th, get it, 3.14, for all you math geeks!!) I tried a spin on my recipe.  I wanted to do something fresh with the pastry.  I usually add in fresh chopped herbs or spices.  This time I decided to add something ground instead.  I settled on chocolate and coffee.  And since my dough would now have a deeper,  rather smokey  flavour from the cocoa powder and espresso grounds, I decided to reflect it in the filling.

Have you guys worked with Urfa Biber or Urfa Pepper yet?  I use it in recipes quite often.  Even though it is a flaked black pepper of sorts, it works wonderfully in sweet recipes.  This is because it is has a smokey, raisin-like quality.  It comes from Turkey.  Even the texture is amazing- a very soft, flakey feel.  Adding it to pie fillings is a favourite way I use it.  It works great with cherries (see my Cherry Rhubarb Pie from above)  And I decided that with the pastry being flavoured with a chocolate and coffee smokey undertone, this would work perfectly.  It gives a warm spicy flavour to the finished filling.  We loved the end result.

How to make a marbled pastry.  This will help you add flavour and a lovely hue to your pastry, without it becoming overwhelming, and without having to colour the entire dough from the beginning.  This method is more for a subtle hint, since I didn’t want to add any extra sugar to the pastry dough to make up for the decidedly unsweet nature of unsweetened cocoa powder and coffee.

You will start off making my everyday The Perfect Pie Crust recipe. This is enough for a double crusted 9 inch pie.  Once it is ready to roll out is when you will pull out the cocoa powder and coffee.  You will need a small sieve to act as a sifter.

Usually you would add only flour to the counter or bench or marble that you roll your pastry out on.  This time around, you will add a good amount of the cocoa powder and/or ground espresso to the bench along with a bit of the flour.  (disclaimer: I have used finely ground regular coffee as well, with wonderful results) As you roll out the dough, the powder and grinds will work themselves into the dough.  If you turn it over you will see how it starts to get pressed into the nooks and crannies of the dough.

You can also sift them both onto the top of the dough.  Do so in diagonal lines, to create the look of marble.  As you roll the pin over it, they will get pushed into the dough.  You are in total control as to how much you will use.  Be dramatic or be subtle, that’s the fun of this method.  The more you add in specific spots, the more this will remain evident even after it bakes up.   If you are creating a lattice or flower cuts etc, every time you gather the dough up and re-roll it, the colours will change.  Add extra cocoa to spots for some all brown cut outs to contrast with the lighter coffee hued trim.  The sky is the limit in this case.  There is no wrong way to do it.  And you really can’t add too much.  I count on having about 2 tbsp of each on hand.  I may use it all, or some.  I may use one more than the other, depending on my mood.

As I mentioned, this is more of a subtle effect visually, depending on how much you add.  If you really want the colour and flavour of chocolate or coffee to stand out, you may want to try the following method:

To colour and flavour your pastry,  add three tbsp of cocoa powder (or espresso powder) to the dry ingredients of my No Fail Pie Pastry recipe. Increase the sugar by 1 tbsp.  This will give your crust a decided walnut hue.  And an amazing flavour!!  Coffee crust or chocolate crust, they would be amazing with so many different fillings!

This recipe is more about having fun than it is about making the perfect pie.  Playing with dough should be something creative, like when we were kids with our Play-Doh!  

In the end, I have made this pie version twice now.  And it get’s inhaled, which is all that we really want, right?!  Seeing smiles on the faces of those we feed. 🙂

Love Jen

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Strawberry Rhubarb Pie with Urfa Biber in a Chocolate Coffee Marbled Crust

A no fail classic Strawberry Rhubarb Pie gets some spice added to it with Turkish urfa pepper and some allspice.  The crust get flavoured and coloured thanks to cocoa and espresso powders to create a fun marbled pattern.  The flavours add a decided warmth and depth to this classic pie.

Course Dessert

Prep Time 1 hour

Cook Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Resting time 4 hours

Total Time 2 hours 10 minutes

Servings 8

Ingredients

1 double crust Marble Pie Pastry recipe:

• 2 cup AP flour
• 3 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/3 cup unsalted butter chilled and cubed
• 1/3 cup shortening chilled and cubed
• 1 large egg
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup ice water
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 2 tbsp espresso powder or finely ground regular coffee

Strawberry Rhubarb Filling

• 2 1/2 cups trimmed and sliced strawberries
• 3 cups chopped rhubarb
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 tbsp arrowroot or corn starch
• 1 tsp urfa pepper can be replaced with fresh cracked pepper but start with 1/2 tsp as it usually has a sharper taste
• 3/4 tsp allspice
• 2 tbsp ground almonds
• egg wash egg mixed with a dash of water
• 1 tbsp raw or demerara sugar

Instructions

Marble Pastry

1. Combine flour, sugar and salt. I use a food processor, feel free to do this by hand, using a large bowl and a whisk.
2. Add the cubed butter and shortening and pulse only until blended to a rough, crumbly texture. It should only take 2 or 3 pulses. You still want to see large pieces of butter (the size of marbles). Or use a pastry blender or knife to achieve this. Try not to overwork with your hands though- their warmth will warm up the butter too much.
3. Whisk the egg, lemon juice and ice water in a small bowl.
4. Add to flour mixture and pulse just till the dough comes together into a rough ball. Don't worry about grabbing every little bit from the sides, you can add this to the ball you turn out onto the counter by hand. Ideally you should still see pieces of butter.

5. Shape the ball into two disks and wrap. Chill at least 30 minutes- 1 hour, or freeze till needed. If using the top disk for decor, say a lattice or cut outs, you can make this one a touch smaller. If you want it to entirely cover the pie, then the disks can be of equal size.

6. Take out one disk (the larger, since it is for the bottom) and let return to room temperature. Don't roll a disk that is still cool, it will crack along the edges. Place it on a floured counter. At this point have both the cocoa and espresso powder ready in two small bowls with a small sieve.

7. Sift some cocoa powder (at least 2 tsp on to the counter as well)

8. Flouring your rolling pin, roll the disk out. Decrease pressure as you reach the edges. After each roll, spin the dough 1/4 turn.

9. Lift the dough to see how the cocoa is blending into the disk, you should see it imprinted into the dough.  Add more if you want.

10. Sift some of the cocoa powder and the espresso powder on top of the dough as it starts getting a bit larger. Do so randomly, either in diagonal patterns or in spots. It shouldn't look too even.  This is not about symmetry.  Have fun!

11. Roll to 2-3 inches larger than the pie plate you are using (should be around 1/8" thick.)
12. Either roll the disk up around the rolling pin and release it over the pie plate; or dust with flour and fold it in half and then in half again loosely and lay across the pie plate and then open it up. (In either case make sure that the dough is floured enough so that it won't stick together)
13. Allow the pastry to fall down the sides of the pie plate, so that there are no gaps between the dough and the pie plate. This will ensure that the dough will not pull up from the base, or shrink during baking. Trim it, allowing enough of an edge to work with the type of crimp you wish to use.
14. Place the prepared pie shell back into the fridge to chill for about 20 minutes.

Filling.

1. When ready to make the filling for the pie, take the pie plate out of the fridge. Also remove the smaller disk of pastry.
2. Preheat the oven to 425F. Place one rack in the bottom third of the oven, and the other in the middle.

3. Combine the strawberries and rhubarb in a large bowl.

4. Combine the sugar, starch, flour, pepper and allspice in a small bowl and mix well.
5. Pour this over the fruit and stir to combine well. Let it sit for about 10 minutes to release any juices from the fruit.
6. Pour the ground almonds over the bottom of the pie crust. Spread them out in a nice layer.

7. Add the fruit over the almonds. Spread out evenly. 

8. Take the smaller disk of pastry and roll out. Add the cocoa and espresso powders as described above. If you are re-rolling to create more cut outs, you can keep adding which ever powder you want in more spots for a more dramatic effect. Decorate the pie as you want.
9. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
10. When ready to bake, place the pie on a baking sheet and brush the entire top with the egg wash. Then sprinkle the top with the finishing sugar.
11. Bake in the lower third for 30 minutes.
12. Reduce the temperature to 375F and move the baking sheet and pie to the middle rack. Continue baking for another 30 minutes or so, until the juices are bubbling and the crust is golden brown. (if you find that the edges are getting browned before the pie is done, place a pie guard or tinfoil over the edged and continue baking)
13. Let the pie cool at least 4 hours to set the filling and juices.

Recipe Notes

You can totally use frozen rhubarb here if you can't access fresh any longer. Just don't thaw the rhubarb, but add extra thickener.