Fresh Strawberry Pie
Have any leftover strawberries from your last fruit picking? Use those fresh strawberries to make a homemade strawberry pie! Sweet strawberry filling in a flakey butter pie crust topped with a light and airy whipped cream... This strawberry pie recipe is perfect for a hot summer's day or a 4th of July party!
Equipment
- pie plate (optional)
- stand mixer and/or hand mixer
- hand masher
- sauce pan
- spatula or spreader
- 1 cup measuring cup
- small bowl
Ingredients
- 1 9-inch pie shell (store bought or homemade pie crust)
- 3 oz. cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 2 Tbsp. powdered sugar
- 2 quarts fresh strawberries (the smaller the better), divided
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 Tbsp. cornstarch
Whipped Cream Topping
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- ¼ cup sugar
Instructions
- Rinse the strawberries and set aside.
- Set out the cream cheese to soften.
- Cook the pie crust according to the package, or make your own. Fork the crust before you put it into the oven to keep it from bubbling. Once it's cooked, set it aside to cool completely.
- While the pie crust is cooking, mash the biggest strawberries until you have 1 cup. Set aside.
- Place cornstarch and sugar in a medium saucepan and mix well.
- Add the 1 cup of mashed strawberries and cornstarch and sugar mix.
- Heat gently on medium heat until sauce thickens. Stir continually. Set it aside to cool down.
- In a small bowl, mix together the softened cream cheese and powdered sugar until creamy.
- Carefully spread the cream cheese mixture on the bottom of the cooled pie crust.
- Cut the tops off of the smallest strawberries and place them next to each other, "face down" in the cream cheese mixture on the bottom of the pie crust.
- Pour the cooled strawberry sauce over the whole strawberries in the pie.
- Top strawberry pie with whipped cream. Chill for about an hour and serve cold.
Make Your Own Whipped Cream
- Pour 1 cup of heavy whipping cream in bowl or stand mixer. Beat until fluffy.
- Add ¼ cup of sugar and continue beating slightly. Do not over beat or it will turn to butter.
Notes
- You will only use about a quart of strawberries, but I buy two quarts in case some are bad and have to be thrown out.
- Use the smallest strawberries in the bunch for the whole strawberries that you place on the cream cheese mixture. And you want to cut the tops off of those strawberries, and place them top down in the cream cheese mixture. If you cut them any more than that, the pie will be mushy.
- Use the larger strawberries in the bunch for making the strawberry sauce.
- Sometimes I will stick the strawberry sauce in the fridge or freezer for about 15 minutes to get it to cool down faster.
- You can use frozen whipped topping instead of making your own whipped cream, but I prefer homemade whipped cream.
- I use a hand mixer to mix the cream cheese and powdered sugar together. And I use my stand mixer for the whipped cream.
- Don't over beat the whipped cream, or it will turn into butter.
- You can make the strawberry pie a day ahead, but the longer you wait from the time you make it, the softer the pie crust will become. I like to serve it within 24 hours of making it!