The Best Fresh Strawberry Pie with Strawberry Cream!

You’ve got to try the best fresh strawberry pie with a strawberry cream base this strawberry season! It’s made with a crispy blind baked pie crust, fresh strawberries, glaze, and a strawberry cream base that balances it all out! Makes 2 pies.

Fresh Strawberry Pie

It’s strawberry season as I write, we’ve got strawberries in the garden doing so well, and you can buy a large box of strawberries at the local grocery store for under $2 each!

So what do we do with all this in-season strawberry goodness? Preserve it, yes. Enjoy fresh strawberries, strawberry short cake, make a strawberry angel food cake, and strawberry refreshers, yes! Plus every year I make this fresh strawberry pie… This is a yearly tradition our family enjoys every strawberry season, and one I highly recommend!

Ingredients

You can use a graham cracker cust, but this egg and vinegar pie crust is really easy to make and super crusty, crispy, and flaky when you serve it! You can also mix up this pie crust, and put the dough in the fridge for an easy rollout later! This recipe makes 2-3 pie crusts depending on how thin your roll them.

• 1 1/2 cup Cold Butter
• 3 cups unbleached flour
• 1 large egg
• 5 tablespoons of very cold water
• 1 tablespoon of white vinegar
• 1 tsp salt

For the strawberry-cream base, and filling you will need:

• 2 cups Strawberry Yogurt. If you want the cream in the pie to be pink use a pink strawberry yogurt. 😉
• 2 – 8 oz packages of cream cheese, at room temperature. I like to use the Neufchâtel 1/3 less fat cream cheese for this.
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar, or 1/2 cup fine round Erythritol for a sugar-free version.
• 2 pounds of fresh strawberries, washed and sliced.
• 1 cup strawberry freezer jam for the glaze. This is optional, this pie is delicious withjust the fresh sliced strawberries on top… But it does add more strawberry flavor to the pie. I use this instead of store-bought glaze!

How to Make the Perfect Flaky Pie Crust (Step-by-Step)

This recipe makes 2 to 3 pie crusts depending on how thin you roll them. Since this is a fresh strawberry pie, we will fully bake the crust before filling it.

1. Cut the Butter Into the Flour
   In a large mixing bowl, combine your flour and salt. Add the cold, cubed butter. Use a pastry cutter (or two knives) to work the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles a coarse meal with pea-sized crumbs. Leaving some visible bits of butter is the secret to a super flaky homemade pie crust!
2. Mix the Liquid Ingredients
   In a separate small bowl, beat 1 large egg with a fork. Whisk in 5 tablespoons of very cold water and 1 tablespoon of white vinegar. The acid in white vinegar relaxes the gluten in the flour, ensuring your crust stays incredibly tender and crisp, instead of tough. 😉
3. Form the Dough
   Pour the cold egg mixture directly into your flour-butter blend. Mix gently with a fork or spatula just until the ingredients are incorporated and a cohesive dough forms. Avoid overmixing, which can make the crust tough.
4. Chill the Dough
   Divide the pie dough into 2 or 3 even pieces. Roll each piece into a smooth ball and place each one into a gallon-sized zip-top bag. Place the dough balls in the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes (or in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour) to rest and thoroughly chill the butter.
5. Roll Out the Crust
   Remove one chilled dough ball from the freezer and take it out of the bag. On a well-floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll out the dough, starting from the center and working your way outward. Roll the dough to about 1/4-inch thickness and ensure it is roughly 11 inches in diameter (about 2 inches wider than your 9-inch pie pan).
   If the dough gets sticky, simply sprinkle a little extra flour on top or onto your rolling pin.
6. Transfer to the Pie Pan
   Gently roll the dough loosely around your rolling pin, lift it up, and transfer it over your pie pan. Unroll it carefully, allowing it to settle into place without pulling or stretching it. Go around the rim, pinching and crimping the edges to create a beautiful, clean finish.
7. Dock and Blind Bake the Crust
   Because this is a no-bake strawberry pie filling, we need to completely blind bake the crust:

• Dock the dough: Poke the bottom and sides of the crust all over with a fork. This lets steam escape and prevents air bubbles from forming.
• Bake: Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (205°C) for approximately 20 minutes, or until the entire crust is a beautiful golden brown.
• Cool: Remove from the oven and let the pie crust cool completely on a wire rack before adding your strawberry cream base and fresh fruit.

Repeat the process with the second crust and the remaining filling to assemble your second pie.

My Tips & Tricks

If the dough gets sticky, sprinkle flour on your dough and a rolling pin.

If dough sticks to your countertop, use a metal spatula to gently scrape it off. Then flip it over and finish rolling it out to about 1/4 inch thick (and a larger diameter than your pie pan!)

With a spatula, lift the dough carefully from the surface of the counter into the pie pan. Gently press the dough against the corner of the pan. Go around the pie pan pinching and tucking the dough to make a clean edge.

Make the Strawberry Cream Base & Fresh Strawberry Pie Filling

In a large mixing bowl combine the room temp cream cheese, 2 cups strawberry yogurt, and 1/3 cup powdered sugar (or 1/2 cup fine ground Erythritol) and blend on high till smooth!

Wash and slice your fresh strawberries, and place them in a large mixing bowl.

Add 1 cup strawberry freezer jam for the glaze, if using, and gently stir to coat all strawberries!

How To Make Fresh Strawberry Pie

Pour your smooth strawberry cream base into cool pie shells, 1/2 inch to 1 inch thick.

Top each pie with 1/2 the fresh strawberries and glaze.

Chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour, so the strawberry cream base can thicken.

You can serve this topped with fresh whipped cream or just enjoy it!

Grow Your Own Strawberries!

Try as they may, store-bought strawberries will never match the quality and FLAVOR of homegrown strawberries! Store-bought strawberries were picked a bit green and didn’t get time on the vine to fully ripen and develop their flavor! But, you can harvest strawberries at their peak ripeness, full of flavor, by learning how to grow strawberries at home… It’s EASY!

I wanna know what YOU think… Please review the recipe card!