Making a Pithivier! A What? A Pithivier.

A week ago, I had never even heard of a Pithivier. And now, I’ve made one!!!!!! Yay! It’s a round pie like pastry. Made of puff pastry with filling in the middle. It seems to be traditionally decorated with a scalloped edge and spiraling lines on the top.

Turns out its not that hard to make as long as you have the following things:

Yup…I used pot lids. One was a little over 7″ and the other approximately 8″

• Puff pastry dough
• Frangipane or an almond based pastry filling such as that used in Bear Claws. Here is a link to a recipe similar to the one I used.You won’t need that much. I made about half that much and still had some left over. Also, if you don’t want crunchy bits, omit the almond slivers.
• Fruit (I used apricots) – optional
• An egg
• And, some way of cutting out a 7″ circle and an 8″ circle (I had to get creative with this one )

If you’ve got all that you can proceed

There are some Pithivier recipes online from some popular and reliable sources, a couple from the food network, another from food.com. However, many of them are lacking in the photography department, and the wording can be confusing. These photographs demonstrate how I went about assembling my Pithivier and I hope they help. Now, I wouldn’t exactly consider this a recipe. But if you do, let’s say it’s adapted from the Art and Soul of Baking by Cindy Muschet.

Cut the fruit:

Flour your surface, roll out the dough, cut your circles:

Prepare your baking sheet, add your fillings, cover fillings:

dab/ rub a little water along the edge on the bottom circle to help seal them together.

Scallop the edge, Egg wash the top, use a knife to make a steam vent and decorate:

Bake until dark golden brown:

I chickened out and removed it from the oven a bit soon. I only left it in about 30 minutes, letting it get to a medium golden brown rather than a dark golden brown. But, I was worried that the edges would burn, they seemed browner than the rest. Not to mention, I had to take the thermometer out when I put the Pithiveir in….and I was worried the temperature may have creeped up without my knowledge. The Magic Chef has been known to do that. I thought it tasted just lovely. It didn’t seem underdone. Just a little less golden than some Pithiviers I’ve seen.

The best part about writing this post is that I’m not even sure how to pronounce Pithivier. And, It doesn’t really matter.