Pi Day – Jennifer’s Favorite Fresh Strawberry Pie
I love pie! So when I saw Kitchen Parade’s challenge to make pie for Pi Day, I put it on the calendar so I wouldn’t forget. Once it was on the calendar, everyone in the family was excited for Pi Day. I got several reminders that “Friday is Pi Day.” I’ve been trying to eat healthier, which means the family eats healthier too. But, judging by their response to Pi Day, I suppose I should make pie more often!
Jennifer loves strawberry pie. She usually asks me to make it for Thanksgiving when strawberries are expensive and usually not great tasting. So when I saw all the beautiful strawberries at the market, I knew strawberry pie was a great choice for Pi Day. I’ve tried other recipes for fresh strawberry pie, but this one is great because instead of using junket, you use crushed strawberries in the filing, which gives it a much better flavor.
I use to be intimidated making pies until I watched Martha Stewart roll out a pie crust between sheets of plastic wrap. The rolling pin doesn’t stick to the crust and after it’s rolled out you just take the top sheet of plastic wrap off, flip it over into the pie tin, fit it in the tin and peel the top layer off.
Jennifer’s Favorite Fresh Strawberry Pie
Ingredients:
Perfect Pie Crust
- 2 1/2 c. flour
- 1 t. salt
- 1/4 c. unsalted butter, chilled
- 2/3 c. shortening, chilled (You get the flakiness from the shortening and the great taste from the butter)
- 5 to 6 T. ice water
Fresh Strawberry Filling
- 3 pints strawberries
- 2/3 c. sugar
- 4 T. cornstarch
- 1 T. lemon juice
- 1 T. butter
Directions:
Combined flour and salt in a bowl. Cut butter into small cubes. Cut butter and shortening into flour mixture until it resembles very coarse meal. Gradually add water 1 Tablespoon at a time mixing with a fork. Divide in half, form into two round disks, and wrap in plastic. Chill for 30 minutes. Bake unfilled pie crust 15 – 20 min. at 450º.
Crush 1 pint of berries, add enough water to make 2 cups. Combined sugar and cornstarch, then add to strawberries. Cook in saucepan over medium heat until thickened. Add lemon juice and butter. Cool. Add remaining pints of strawberries to sauce and place in a baked pie shell (you can leave the strawberries whole, but I prefer them chopped into bite size pieces). Serve with whipped cream
Here are my tips for perfect pies:
-Fat and water should be ice cold before mixing. If you are making the dough in a food processor you can even freeze the fat before using it. (I rarely use a food processor because I think it processes the fat to small.)
-Measure flour carefully; never scoop the flour with the measuring cup. Add ice water gradually, mix quickly with a fork and try to gather the dough into a disk. If it crumbles and won’t hold together, add more water, a little at a time.
-Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before rolling it out. It will be easier to handle, less likely to shrink and bake up flakier.
-Roll the dough out between two sheets of plastic wrap. (I usually use two on the bottom and two on top–straighten the plastic when necessary.) Roll the dough from the center out using even firm rolls. Turn the dough as you work, about an eighth of a turn for each roll will help to keep it round. (Putting the bottom plastic wrap on a Silpat helps keep it from moving.)
-Peel off the top sheet of plastic and pick up the bottom sheet of plastic/dough and flip it over into your pie plate. Peel the bottom sheet of plastic off after you dough is fitted into the pie plate.
-Don’t stretch the dough when fitting it in the pie plate or it will shrink back as it bakes. Press it gently against the sides and bottom to insure that no air is trapped between the dough and pan to form blisters.
-Once the dough has been rolled out and transferred to the pie plate let it chill in the refrigerator for another 30 minutes before filling or baking.
–Use a hot oven. High heat explodes solid fat particles (you chill dough to harden the fat). The explosions create steam which lightens and crisps the pastry. At lower oven temperatures, the fat just softens and melts; no explosion, no crisping steam.
-Brush the bottom and sides of the unbaked pie crust with lightly beaten egg white. This will help to brown the crust.
-For a browned bottom crust use dark metal or heatproof glass pans. Shiny pans deflect heat away from the pie so the crust doesn’t brown and crisp well. If using shiny or thin pans, place on a cookie sheet.
-When baking a double crust pie, be sure that the top crust has holes cut or poked in it so that steam can escape with baking.
–Crust repairs. It happens to everyone, even professionals. It’s no big deal and patching is easy. Roll a scrap of dough a little larger than the damaged area. Trim the edges, dampen them lightly with water, and place the patch, damp-side-down, over the break. Seal by pressing the edges of the patch gently with your fingers.
Oops! cornstarch!
Just saw your pie recipe and it is very similar to my late mother in-law’s fresh berry pie which also works wonderfully with raspberries and blueberries. She always added a few drops of red food coloring into the carstarch mixture as it was cooking to give it a deep red glossy color. Old pie recipes are the best. its what we remember from our childhoods.
Hi Jan – I’ll have to try it with berries. I know I’d love it. I sometimes add a drop or two of food coloring too if the berries look pink instead of red. Good tip. Thanks!
Barbara – not only do your recipes always sound absolutely yummy, but your execution of them is always so beautiful! I am ready to dig into this one.
Thanks for sharing (hmn, so we have a few pie days in the US … np, love pie 🙂
We make the same pie…but I do leave the strawberries whole. I modified mine over the years to include a layered of sweetened mascarpone or cream cheese on top of the crust; in the event you have any left over, it sure help avoid a mushy bottom crust. I know…seldom happens but now, I just love the addition of that sweetened cream cheesey element!
I would love a mascarpone layer with this pie. If the berries aren’t too big I’ll leave them whole too, but usually I end up getting the ones at Sam’s which are way more than a mouthful.
I love strawberries… well done with the pie!
I used to think I made good pie crust, but now I think I can make it even better.
CookingKing – good luck with the pie crust. I have low humidity here in Utah. Just be sure and work quickly, keep everything as cold as possible and just add the water a little at a time, I imagine less would be better in your case. Let me know how it goes!
I might try your crust hints and attempt to make my own non store bought crust. Living in Texas, the heat is extreme and in the summer when I feel like making pies the most its extremely hard to keep the butter from from softening while working the crust. I can't promise I'll succeed but its worth another try.
Oh… a nice sweet pie – the best of both worlds. It looks great!
Thanks for the nice comments. It was a big hit with my family.
Mmmm,Strawberry pie sounds so good right now. Your pie looks beautiful and summery! Great pics!
I like strawberry pie though I’ve never made one. Yours looks and sounds delicious!
I also like the idea about rolling dough between sheets of plastic wrap. I’ll have to give it a try next time.
Kalyn – thanks for visiting my blog. I’ll have to spend some time on your blog as well. Looks like you’ve got some great low calorie recipes. I would be up for a food bloggers picnic. Keep me posted.
Very fun, this is the second Utah food blogger Alanna has helped me discover! Maybe this summer we’ll have to have a Utah Food Bloggers picnic or something.
How yummy spring-delicious is your strawberry pie? Very, I bet!
Thanks so much for bringing pie to Pi Day at Kitchen Parade, especially for sharing your terrific tips for making pie crust. I really do hope we inspire others to give it a shot …