• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
The Bojon Gourmet logo
  • Recipes
    • Appetizers
    • Breakfast & Brunch
    • Desserts
    • Dips & Spreads
    • Drinks
    • Main Courses
    • Salads
    • Sauces & Dressings
    • Side Dishes
    • Soups
    • Recipe Finder
    • Recipe Index
  • About
    • In the Press
    • Learn with Me
    • Work With Me
    • Portfolio
  • Cookbook
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipes
  • About
  • Cookbook
  • In the Press
  • Learn with Me
  • Work With Me
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • ×
    Home / Desserts / Pies & Tarts
    No ratings yet

    Apple Rhubarb Pandowdy

    By Alanna Taylor-Tobin on Apr 29, 2011 (updated Mar 3, 2025) / 3 Comments Jump to Recipe

    apple rhubarb pandowdy with ice cream
    Rhubarb haters: proceed with caution.

    skillet with pandowdy
    This time of year, I go a bit rhubarb crazy. Is it the rosy color and bright flavor that gets me, or merely the last 6 months of pomey deprivation scrambling my baker's brain? Perhaps a bit of both.

    chopped rhubarb
    Winter is lasting longer than usual here in California; we don't usually see much rain past February, and yet I awoke just the other morning, late April, to a hearty drizzle on the other side of the window. While this time last year, I had already indulged my rhubarb obsession twice, I didn't see any in the markets until just a few days ago.

    apples and rhubarb
    So when Jay and I headed down to Corralitos last week, the tiny town outside of Santa Cruz, for his birthday, I had one thought on my mind: rhubarb from his mom's garden. (Well, I may have been dreaming of smoked sausages and bacon, too. I'll never tell.) When we arrived, I bolted out of the car and around the back of the house, and rejoiced to see several fat, red stalks ready for picking.

    chopped apples and rhubarb
    When strawberries are still scarce and seem too precious to bake, I like to pair rhubarb with apples, which has the dual benefit of tempering rhubarb's tang with sweetness, and bolstering up its watery-when-cooked texture with a bit of heft and substance.

    apples and rhubarb cooking in a pan
    I turned to Deborah Madison's apple rhubarb pandowdy, which I'd made many years ago and vividly remembered as being The Best Dessert, Ever. I'd shared it with Jay and a friend of mine, and we had all moaned ecstatically as we ate it, then went back for seconds.

    Pandowdies are apparently made by sticking a bunch of sweetened fruit in a large baking dish, placing a sheet of pie dough over the top, baking it, then cutting and scoring the crust and partially submerging it in the juices. Pre-scoring, the dessert looks downright pretty, but after the massacre, it takes on a 'dowdy' appearance.

    baking dish with dessert in itDeborah Madison's Apple Rhubarb Pandowdy

    So I made the pandowdy again, and I don't know whether it was just my crappy pate brisee (to which I added too much water, making it tough) or my changed (re: spoiled) taste buds from 5 years of working as a professional dessert-maker (which does nothing to explain my continued botching of pie doughs),but this time the pandowdy did not seem quite like The Best Dessert Ever. It was still tasty, and it certainly all got eaten, but the spices (cinnamon, clove, allspice and nutmeg) seemed to muddy the bright flavor of the rhubarb, and the crust seemed soggy rather than caramelized. I turned to Baking Illustrated to see what kind of flavorings they used in their apple desserts (just vanilla and lemon), but I also picked up some pandowdy advice. They suggested cutting the crust flush with the pan, rather than tucking the edges under (which results in 'boiled,' as they put it, crust) and rather than submerging the crust, they simply slice it up and serve when it's done baking.

    Unsure of whether this would constitute a genuine pandowdy, I asked Martha, and she gave yet another method of cutting up the dough into squares and laying them over the top of the fruit. I wagered that the windows left between the tiles of dough would allow the steam of the fruit to escape, keeping the crust crisp and the fruit from being overly wet.

    top crust being laid onto pandowdy
    I mashed all three recipes together, and this time when I ate a bowlful of pandowdy, topped with honey yogurt ice cream, I did moan and think it The Best Dessert Ever*.

    pandowdy before cooking
    Unfortunately, you probably oughtn't trust a New Englander like Martha to define a classic, Southern dessert. Because when you do, look what happens:

    apple rhubarb pandowdy in a skillet
    It really isn't dowdy at all.

    apple rhubarb pandowdy in a pan
    pandowdy being spooned onto a plate
    But faced with a crisp crust, gently sweetened fruit, and a puddle of tangy ice cream melting into vanilla-flecked juices, I'm not one to quibble over authenticity.

    pandowdy with ice cream in a plate
    *The dessert in your mouth is The Best Dessert Ever. (Ancient Bojon proverb)

    spoon in a bowl of apple rhubarb pandowdy

    For more rhubarb recipes:

    • Rhubarb Streusel Coffeecake
    • Apple Rhubarb Crisp
    • Strawberry Rhubarb Rose Galettes {gluten-free}

    *Bojon appétit! For more Bojon Gourmet in your life, follow along on Instagram,  Facebook, or Pinterest, purchase my gluten-free cookbook Alternative Baker, or subscribe to receive new posts via email. And if you make this apple rhubarb pandowdy recipe, I’d love to know. Leave a comment and rating below, and tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet  and  #bojongourmet.*

    No ratings yet

    Apple Rhubarb Pandowdy

    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Is there any better combo than apple and rhubarb?
    Alanna Taylor-Tobin
    Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 40 minutes minutes
    Chilling time: 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes
    Total: 1 hour hour
    Servings: 8 servings.

    Ingredients

    Crust:

    • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
    • 1/4 cup spelt flour
    • 1/4 teaspoon sugar
    • 1/4 teaspoon salt
    • 6 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, in 1/4" dice (3 ounces / 3/4 stick)
    • 1 - 2 tablespoons ice water

    For brushing the crust:

    • 1 tablespoon cream or milk
    • 1 tablespoon sugar (such as turbinado)

    Filling:

    • 4 large apples (see headnote), peeled, cut off the core, and sliced 1/2" thick (1 1/2 pounds)
    • 1 1/4 pounds rhubarb (about 5 medium-large stalks), halved lengthwise if fatter than 1", sliced 1/2" thick
    • 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
    • seeds of 1 vanilla bean (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)
    • 2 tablespoons flour
    • 1/2 teaspoon salt
    • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
    • 1 tablespoon butter, in 1/4" dice
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    Prepare the crust:

    • In a large bowl, combine the flours, sugar and salt. Scatter the butter chunks over the top and work with your fingertips until the mixture looks like cornmeal, with some pea-sized butter bits remaining. Dribble 1 tablespoon of the ice water over the top, tossing the mixture with your fingers as you go, until the dough holds together when you squeeze it. Add more water if necessary, drop by drop, until this happens.
    • Turn this crumbly dough out onto the counter, and fraisage it: place about 1/4 of the dough under the heel of your hand and drag it across the counter away from you, smearing the dough across the counter. Scrape the dough up with a metal bench scraper and place it back in the bowl. Repeat with the remaining dough. (Fraisage-ing the dough helps to make it extra flaky by creating thin sheets of butter within the dough, almost like puff pastry, which make it rise into many layers when it bakes.)
    • Gather the fraisaged dough into a ball, flatten into a 1/2" thick disc and wrap in plastic. Chill at least 1 hour, until firm, and up to 3 days.
    • Remove the dough from the fridge, and roll out on a lightly floured surface to an 11" circle, a scant 1/8" thick. (If it has been chilled for longer than 1 hour, let the dough soften at room temp until malleable and you can roll it without it cracking a whole lot.) Trim away the ragged edges if you like, and cut the dough into 2-3" squares. Stack the squares on a plate, cover, and chill until firm, at least 20 minutes, while you prepare the filling.

    Make the filling, and assemble and bake the pandowdy:

    • Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375ºF.
    • Combine the sliced apples and rhubarb in a very large bowl. Place the brown sugar on top of the fruit, then rub the vanilla seeds into the sugar to distribute and un-clump them a bit. Sprinkle the flour, salt and lemon juice over the top, and toss everything together to combine well.
    • Dump the fruit mixture into a 10" oven-proof skillet (or other baking vessel - see headnote). Dot with the diced butter. Lay the dough squares over the top, covering as much of the surface as you can but leaving some small windows for steam to escape; it's fine if they overlap a bit. Brush the dough with the milk or cream, and sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon of sugar.
    • Bake the pandowdy until the crust is golden and the filling bubbles thickly. Let cool at least 15 minutes to thicken the juices a bit. Serve warm.
    • The pandowdy is best the day it is baked, but can be kept for up to 4 days in the fridge and reheated in a 350º oven for 15 minutes or so until warm to crisp up the crust.

    Notes

     
    I used Pink Ladies for the apples here, which have a good balance of sweet to tart, and hold their shape a bit. Any semi-firm baking apple with work, such as Fujis, Pink Pearls and Mutsus, just to name a few, or use two each Granny Smith and McIntosh.
    A 10" skillet gives the ideal crust-to-fruit ratio and makes for a handsome presentation, but you could probably get away with a 9" skillet or a two-quart-capacity baking dish.
    Serve this, as I did, with ice cream such as Honey Yogurt. Dreamy Vanilla would do, too.
    Nutritional values are based on one of eight servings.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 267kcalCarbohydrates: 41gProtein: 2gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 28mgSodium: 240mgPotassium: 328mgFiber: 4gSugar: 25gVitamin A: 455IUVitamin C: 10.6mgCalcium: 80mgIron: 1mg
    Making this? I'd love to see!Tag your snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet!

    Apple Rhubarb Pandowdy

    Makes about 8 servings

    I used Pink Ladies for the apples here, which have a good balance of sweet to tart, and hold their shape a bit. Any semi-firm baking apple with work, such as Fujis, Pink Pearls and Mutsus, just to name a few, or use two each Granny Smith and McIntosh.

    A 10" skillet gives the ideal crust-to-fruit ratio and makes for a handsome presentation, but you could probably get away with a 9" skillet or a two-quart-capacity baking dish.

    Serve this, as I did, with ice cream such as Honey Yogurt. Dreamy Vanillawould do, too.

    Crust:

    1/2 cup all-purpose flour
    1/4 cup spelt flour
    1/4 teaspoon sugar
    1/4 teaspoon salt
    6 tablespoons (3 ounces / 3/4 stick) cold, unsalted butter, in 1/4" dice
    1 - 2 tablespoons ice water

    For brushing the crust:
    1 tablespoon cream or milk
    1 tablespoon sugar (such as turbinado)

    Filling:
    4 large apples (see headnote) (1 1/2 pounds), peeled, cut off the core, and sliced 1/2" thick
    1 1/4 pounds rhubarb (about 5 medium-large stalks), halved lengthwise if fatter than 1", sliced 1/2" thick
    1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
    seeds of 1 vanilla bean (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)
    2 tablespoons flour
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    1 tablespoon lemon juice
    1 tablespoon butter, in 1/4" dice

    Prepare the crust:
    In a large bowl, combine the flours, sugar and salt. Scatter the butter chunks over the top and work with your fingertips until the mixture looks like cornmeal, with some pea-sized butter bits remaining. Dribble 1 tablespoon of the ice water over the top, tossing the mixture with your fingers as you go, until the dough holds together when you squeeze it. Add more water if necessary, drop by drop, until this happens.

    Turn this crumbly dough out onto the counter, and fraisage it: place about 1/4 of the dough under the heel of your hand and drag it across the counter away from you, smearing the dough across the counter. Scrape the dough up with a metal bench scraper and place it back in the bowl. Repeat with the remaining dough. (Fraisage-ing the dough helps to make it extra flaky by creating thin sheets of butter within the dough, almost like puff pastry, which make it rise into many layers when it bakes.)

    Gather the fraisaged dough into a ball, flatten into a 1/2" thick disc and wrap in plastic. Chill at least 1 hour, until firm, and up to 3 days.

    Remove the dough from the fridge, and roll out on a lightly floured surface to an 11" circle, a scant 1/8" thick. (If it has been chilled for longer than 1 hour, let the dough soften at room temp until malleable and you can roll it without it cracking a whole lot.) Trim away the ragged edges if you like, and cut the dough into 2-3" squares. Stack the squares on a plate, cover, and chill until firm, at least 20 minutes, while you prepare the filling.

    Make the filling, and assemble and bake the pandowdy:
    Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375ºF.

    Combine the sliced apples and rhubarb in a very large bowl. Place the brown sugar on top of the fruit, then rub the vanilla seeds into the sugar to distribute and un-clump them a bit. Sprinkle the flour, salt and lemon juice over the top, and toss everything together to combine well.

    Dump the fruit mixture into a 10" oven-proof skillet (or other baking vessel - see headnote). Dot with the diced butter. Lay the dough squares over the top, covering as much of the surface as you can but leaving some small windows for steam to escape; it's fine if they overlap a bit. Brush the dough with the milk or cream, and sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon of sugar.

    Bake the pandowdy until the crust is golden and the filling bubbles thickly. Let cool at least 15 minutes to thicken the juices a bit. Serve warm.

    The pandowdy is best the day it is baked, but can be kept for up to 4 days in the fridge and reheated in a 350º oven for 15 minutes or so until warm to crisp up the crust.

    apple rhubarb pandowdy

    You might also like...

    SpringSummerAppleRhubarb
    « 30-Minute Honey Yogurt Ice Cream
    Herbed Spinach and Goat Cheese Calzone »

    Get new recipes by email

    Please wait...

    Thanks for subscribing!

    the cover of the award-winning cookbook, Alternative Baker

    Hungry for more?

    Alternative Baker celebrates the unique tastes and textures of 14 gluten-free flours, from buckwheat flour to almond flour to sorghum and coconut! This cookbook will fill your kitchen with sweet treats that burst with flavor every month of the year.

    Learn more and find out where to buy →

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      Leave a Comment & Rate this Recipe Cancel reply

      I love reading your comments, reviews, and questions! If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider giving it a star rating when you post a comment. These help people discover my recipes online. Thank you for your support and for being part of The Bojon Gourmet community!

      xo, Alanna

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Rate this recipe after you've made it:




    1. Shannon says

      April 29, 2011 at 4:50 pm

      I love rhubarb desserts! At the house I grew up in (in central Maine) we had a HUGE garden and rhubarb grew like weeds. One of my chores was picking it... I can't tell you how many pies and desserts we ate with it. My brother and I would just chew on the stalks sometimes too and my mom would give it away to neighbors (all you can pick!) Beautiful pandowdy!

      Reply
    2. Barton says

      May 02, 2011 at 6:01 am

      Love rhubarb, interested in non dessert uses after i had it pickled with pork belly, ever used it other than sweet? Love the name, cool post cheers

      Reply
    3. alanna says

      May 02, 2011 at 5:04 pm

      Shannon - I've heard tales of people chomping on raw rhubarb, but never believed the stories. Wow. I'm envious of your childhood rhubarb weed garden, though!

      Barton - I've never tried rhubarb in a savory application, but was just looking at a rhubarb chutney recipe on MarthaStewart.com. Pickled, with pork belly, sounds great!

      Reply

    Primary Sidebar

    Welcome

    I'm Alanna, a recovering pastry chef and award-winning cookbook author. I love sharing well-tested, from-scratch recipes for your favorite desserts and sweet treats made (undetectably) gluten-free with alternative flours. Because everyone deserves to eat good food. Bojon appétit! About →

    Get new recipes by email

    Please wait...

    Thanks for subscribing!

    My cookbook, Alternative Baker, contains 100+ recipes featuring corn, oat, chestnut, almond, buckwheat, sorghum, and other gluten-free flours. Find out where to get your copy! →

    Fresh From the Blog

    • Gooey Almond Flour Plum Cake (Gluten-Free)
    • Gluten-Free Rhubarb Muffins with Almond Flour Streusel
    • Fresh Strawberry Rhubarb Pie in a Tender Gluten-Free Crust
    • Moist Gluten-Free Zucchini Bread with Almond Flour

    Reader-Favorite Gluten-Free Recipes

    • Thick & Chewy Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
    • Super Moist Chocolate Cake with Coconut Flour
    • Gluten-Free Olive Oil Cake with Lemon & Almond Flour
    • Soft & Chewy Almond Flour Oatmeal Cookies

    Gluten-Free Baking Basics

    • Beginner’s Guide: Baking with Gluten-Free Flours
    • Tender & Flaky Gluten-Free Pie Crust
    • Gluten-Free Tart Crust with Almond Flour
    • 5-Minute Mascarpone Whipped Cream

    Footer

    🍑Must-make summer dessert: #glutenfree peach co 🍑Must-make summer dessert: #glutenfree peach cobbler with *floofy* almond flour biscuits. Don’t forget the ice cream! 😋

Comment “recipe please” and I’ll DM it to you. 

I make this with @bobsredmill almond, cassava, and tapioca flours, @miyokoscreamery dairy-free butter, @foragerproject cashew yogurt, topped with @greengirlbakeshop coconut milk ice cream. 

It’s paleo-friendly and dairy-free too. Because everybody deserves to eat good food!

#peachdessert #peachcobbler #glutenfreebaking #summerdesserts 

https://bojongourmet.com/vegan-paleo-peach-cobbler-gluten-free/
    This favorite springtime recipe made the cover of This favorite springtime recipe made the cover of my cookbook Alternative Baker so it has a special place in my heart … and stomach because I ate so much of it! 

It starts with a flaky gluten-free crust made with sweet rice, oat, and millet flours filled with loads of fresh strawberries and rhubarb. 

The cut-out top crust is fun to make and prettier than a traditional lattice IMHO. 

I just shared the recipe on TBG. Comment “recipe please” and I’ll send it to you. 

Bojon appétit my sweets! 👩🏻‍🍳

#glutenfreepie #glutenfreebaking #strawberryrhubarb #rhubarbrecipes 

https://bojongourmet.com/gluten-free-strawberry-rhubarb-pie/
    Just popped the recipe for these GF rhubarb streus Just popped the recipe for these GF rhubarb streusel muffins on TBG. Comment "recipe please" and I'll DM it to you! 

This one's dedicated to my amazing husband Jay, a.k.a. chief bottle-washer at TBG and best cat dad ever. 😻

Jay did not have a sweet tooth when we first started dating and he also didn't want any cats. Fast-forward a couple of decades and he hoards rhubarb muffins and falls asleep with two fuzzy fourteen-pounders purring on his lap each night. 

It's no wonder he didn't want to let these muffins go. They're moist and tender, loaded with jammy rhubarb, and topped with spice-kissed brown sugar streusel. A blend of almond, oat (or sorghum), and sweet rice flours makes them tender and sneakily gluten-free. 

As for why Zeppo and Hank choose him instead of the die-hard cat lady with the soft lap – that's one of life's great mysteries. 

Bojon appétit, my sweets!

#glutenfreemuffins #rhubarbrecipes #glutenfreebaking #almondflourrecipes #rhubarbmuffins 

https://bojongourmet.com/gluten-free-rhubarb-muffins/
    I’m always on the hunt for bold, creamy plant-ba I’m always on the hunt for bold, creamy plant-based cheeses so I did a happy dance when I spotted @miyokoscreamery Jalapeño Plant Milk Cheese Spread at my local Nugget Market! #ad 

It’s the perfect match for these extra-crunchy cassava flour crackers—naturally dairy-free, gluten-free, and full of toasty seeds. The combo? Snacking magic.

I’m seriously impressed with the flavor and texture of this spread—spicy, creamy, and totally scoopable. Highly recommend picking some up at Nugget Market and giving this duo a try! 

Want the cracker recipe? Comment “recipe please” and I’ll send it your way.

#dairyfree #miyokoscreamery #sponsored #cassavaflour #glutenfreebaking

https://bojongourmet.com/paleo-crackers-cassava-flour-grain-free/
    Sunday forecast: 100% chance of pancakes! 🥞☀️

These buckwheat pancakes are everything I want on a slow morning: tender, floofy, and full of deep, toasty flavor from dark buckwheat flour (I love using @arrowheadmills which is certified #glutenfree).

They're easy to whip up with a few pantry staples:
🌾 dark buckwheat flour
🍚 sweet rice flour
🥄 baking powder & baking soda
🧂 salt
🥚 egg
🥛 Greek yogurt + milk (or plant milk)
🍁 maple syrup
🧈 butter

Crisp edges, moist middles, serious cozy vibes. 

✨ Comment "recipe please" and I'll send you the full recipe!

#buckwheatpancakes #glutenfreepancakes #glutenfreebreakfast #glutenfreebrunch #buckwheatflour

https://bojongourmet.com/buckwheat-pancakes/
    I just scored a bunch of rhubarb from my mother-in I just scored a bunch of rhubarb from my mother-in-law's garden, so I knew it was time to share this gluten-free strawberry rhubarb crisp!

The sturdy crumble topping uses a unique mixing method: a beaten egg gets rubbed with the dry ingredients, sprinkled over the fruit, and drizzled with a stick of melted butter. Made gluten-free with sweet rice and oat flours, the texture ends up similar to a crisp-chewy oatmeal cookie.

The crunchy topping soaks up the juices from crimson strawberry rhubarb compote and the whole thing tastes like spring in a bowl. Sweet-tart deliciousness.

Comment "recipe please" and it will be DMed to you via magic. 

Bojon appétit, my sweets! 

#strawberryrhubarb #glutenfreebaking #oatflour 

https://bojongourmet.com/gluten-free-strawberry-rhubarb-crumble/

    Navigation

    • Recipe Finder
    • Cookbook
    • About
    • In the Press

    Get new posts in your inbox

    Please wait...

    Thanks for signing up!

    More Bojon

    • Learn with Me
    • Work With Me
    • Portfolio

    Gluten-Free Cookies & Bars

    • Gluten-free chocolate chip cookies
    • Gluten-free oatmeal cookies
    • Tahini chocolate chip cookies
    • Almond flour oatmeal cookies
    • Gluten-free matcha cookies
    • Gluten-free ginger molasses cookies
    • Gluten-free lemon bars

    Gluten-Free Cakes & Toppings

    • Coconut flour chocolate cake
    • Gluten-free sponge cake
    • Gluten-free lemon olive oil cake
    • Cream cheese frosting
    • Peanut butter frosting
    • Mascarpone whipped cream
    • Vegan chocolate ganache

    Almond Flour Recipes

    • Almond flour apple crisp
    • Gluten-free snickerdoodles
    • Gluten-free biscuits
    • Paleo crepes
    • Almond flour tart crust
    • Gluten-free scones
    • Almond flour chocolate cake

    Editorial and Comment Policies.

    This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use. To find out more, see our Privacy Policy.

    Copyright © 2025 The Bojon Gourmet.

    Rate This Recipe

    Your vote:




    A rating is required
    A name is required
    An email is required