Anna Summer is on the way! Bring on all the berries! I love this time of year. Fresh berries are popping up everywhere and that means its finally tart and pie season! This sweet refreshing summertime strawberry hibiscus pie is the perfect addition to any evening or party. I love the rich, reddish purple shade you get when brewing hibiscus tea. Hibiscus is tart, fruity, sweet and lends a beautiful flavor to the strawberries. You will be sure to impress with your homemade hibiscus jello, toasted almond brown butter crust, and ruby red strawberry jewels. All you need to add is soft, pillowy clouds of homemade whipped cream and voila! You will get the best taste of summer in a bite!
Hibiscus Tea Jello
I used to make my strawberry pie with store-bought strawberry jello. While that also tastes delicious, I have some family that is allergic to food coloring. Instead of using artificial coloring, I found that brewing tea not only looked gorgeous, it also tasted amazing! I like to add flavors in wherever I can. While the hibiscus is subtle, it’s slight tartness adds a refreshing spin on a sugary classic. If you don’t have hibiscus tea, any berry tea will do! The Republic of Tea Hibiscus Tea is my favorite tea to both drink and cook with.
Let’s Talk Berries
Strawberries, raspberries, marionberries, blackberries, and even blueberries work in this delightful summertime dessert. the jello pairs perfectly with any berry, and the crisp, toasty, brown butter crust adds the best type of crunch!
The Perfect Crumbly Crust for Berries
While I have always loved pies and tarts, as a kid, I saw pie crust or tart shells as a dish as opposed to delicious. Pie filling was all I cared about. I often bypassed the soggy, sodden, floppy crust in favor of the bright, tart, and sweet berries. However, I have since learned that the crust is a key element to pies and tarts. Crust needs to stand up to the juicy berries, but it also needs to shine on its own. It needs to join the party instead of sitting all socially awkward, bland, and boring off to the side. Thankfully, I have two perfect ingredients for any berry tart that gives crust a shot at being the life of the party again! Brown butter and toasted nuts!
Brown Butter
If I can make anything taste better, its because of browned butter. The caramel roasted notes add so much flavor, and I’m all about packing as much flavor I can! Instead of normal butter, brown your butter first! It will change your baking life!
Toast Those Nuts!
Again! I’m all about adding in flavor wherever possible! Toasting your almonds before you add them to your crust gives this crust more dimension and texture. It’s really worth it, I promise! Brown butter and toasted nuts cut down on the sweet crust and gives it a delightful crunch.
A side note on nuts: If you don’t like (or can’t have almonds) toasted pistachios work great too! Experiment with different kinds of nuts. As long as they are toasted and ground, they should add a lovely taste and crunch to your pies.
Summertime Hosting
This is a really fun, fancy looking dessert that is quite simple to make! I love making this treat after I’ve gone berry picking. There’s nothing better than freshly picked sun-ripened strawberries. Because nobody wants to be stuck in a kitchen all day, it requires a minimal amount of cooking because of the press in the pie crust and because it spotlights fresh fruit. I hope you enjoy this recipe! Happy summertime!
Strawberry Hibiscus Pie
Ingredients
Hibiscus Jello
- 2 hibiscus tea sachets
- 3 cups water
- 5 Tbsp honey
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 3 Tbsp Knox gelatin
Brown Butter Almond Crust
- 1/4 cup almond slivers
- 1 1/4 cup flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp cardamom
- 1/8 tsp cinnamon
- 7 Tbsp unsalted butter
Filing
- 2 1/2 lb strawberries Other summer berries also work great!
Instructions
Brown Butter Crust
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Toast the almond slivers til golden brown. Once toasted, grind the almonds til finely ground.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, spices, and salt. Pour in the ground almonds. Set aside.
- In a small saucepan melt the unsalted butter over medium low heat. Gently swirl the butter in the pan to evenly melt the butter. As the butter melts it will start to foam. Watch it carefully so it doesn't burn! As soon as you see the butter turning a light golden color, remove the pan from the stove. Swirl the butter gently in the pan to cool down. It will smell delightfully nutty and the milk solids at the bottom will be a beautiful golden brown.
- Add the browned butter to the flour mixture. Mix thoroughly to combine.
- Cut out a round of parchment paper to fit the bottom of a 9 1/2 inch tart pan. The parchment paper will keep the dough from sticking to the pan after it's baked. (Please note: If you use a normal pie plate, you don't need to add the parchment to the bottom of your pie plate.)
- Press the mixture evenly into the bottom and sides of the tart pan or pie plate.
- Bake the crust for about 20-25 minutes until lightly golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack.
Hibiscus Jello
- Bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Remove from heat and add the tea sachets. Brew the hibiscus tea for at least 10 minutes. You do want it to be strong. Let the tea cool to room temperature.
- In a small saucepan combine the honey, sugar, and lemon juice together.
- Pour 1/4 cup of the brewed tea into a small bowl. Sprinkle the knox gelatin over the top. Whisk to combine. Let the gelatin bloom about 5 minutes.
- Add the rest of the tea to the saucepan with the honey and sugar mixture. Bring the tea and sugar to a simmer. It's going to be a beautiful purple color!
- Once simmering, add the bloomed gelatin to the pot and whisk to combine. Let the gelatin melt until its fully combined. Remove from the heat and let it cool to room temperature.
Tart Assembly
- Clean and stem the strawberries. Fold strawberries into the cooled hibiscus jello mixture and pour into the tart shell. (Please note: If you are using a pie pan, you will use the whole mixture. If you use a shallow pan like a tart pan, you may have extra filling and fruit. That's ok! Save it in a bowl for snacking or make some mini tarts!)
- Chill in the fridge and let it set completely about 3 hours or overnight before serving.
- If you baked your pie in a tart pan, remove tart from the tart pan, peel off the parchment paper and arrange on a serving dish. If you used a pie plate, just bring it to the table, top with loads of fluffy whipped cream and enjoy summertime in a bite!
