A flaky and buttery pie shell is filled with a delicious cream cheese and whipped cream mixture, then topped with macerated strawberries to make this heavenly Strawberry and Cream Pie. This pie will become a stable summer pie on your menu for years to come.
This Strawberry and Cream Pie was originally published on August 4, 2014, about two months after I started this blog. It is one of my favorite pie recipes that I make over and over again. After almost 4 years of blogging, my photography has improved significantly and I’ve decided to update this post with new photos, better step by step process, and more thorough instructions. So without further ado, let’s get on with it.
How to Make Strawberry and Cream Pie
Last week, I posted a step by step tutorial on How to Make an All-Butter Pie Crust. You will be using a batch of that flaky and delicious pie crust in this recipe. Refer back to the tutorial if you need a little refresh on how to make homemade pie crust. You can also opt to use pre-made pie dough to save time.
Macerate the Strawberries
The strawberries can be prepared ahead of time, I usually make it the night before. Or at least, it should be the very first thing you make when starting this recipe since the fruits need time to soften.
Preparing the Pie
The pie crust needs to be baked to completion, since we won’t be baking this pie with the cream filling. It also needs to cool completely before adding the cream filling so we don’t melt the filling.
The cream filling is a mixture of whipped cream and cream cheese. You can flavor it with vanilla extract or almond extract. Originally, I flavor it with vanilla extract, but since Ryan loves almond, I switch it up once in a while.
Add the macerated strawberries on top of the cream, you can add the rest of the juice over the top if you wish. I usually reserve it and drizzle on individual slices when served.
The inspiration for this pie came from a peaches and cream pie we bought from Polly’s Pie many years ago. It will forever be the best cream pie I’ve ever eaten! The cream filling was just the perfect creaminess and cheesiness. Afterward, we came back every single year just to look for that exact same pie, but they never brought it back. So I was on a mission to recreate it. Instead of peaches though, I ended up with this Strawberry and Cream Pie. And it is just as delicious!
Reference Recipes
- How to Make an All-Butter Pie Crust – for step by step tutorial on how to make pie dough
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment, rate it and don’t forget to tag me @wildwildwhisk on Instagram. I’d love to see what’s cooking up in your kitchen. Cheers!
Strawberry and Cream Pie
Ingredients
For pie crust
- 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 rounded tablespoon granulated sugar
- ¼ rounded teaspoon kosher salt
- 5 ounce unsalted butter - cold
- 3 tablespoon cold water
- Extra flour for rolling
For cream filling
- 8 oz cream cheese - room temperature
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream - cold
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (or almond extract)
For fruit filling
- 2 lbs fresh strawberries
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
Instructions
Prepare the fruit filling
- Wash and hull the strawberries. Quarter the big ones and halve the small ones. Toss strawberries with ¼ cup of sugar in a large bowl, cover and refrigerate until needed.
Make the dough
- Add flour, sugar and salt in a small bowl and mix thoroughly with a whisk. Then transfer to a food processor fitted with the dough blade.
- Cube the cold butter and add to the flour mixture. Pulse several times until butter is about pea and bean size, variation in size is okay, but no smaller than a pea.
- Turn the food processor to “on” position and drizzle cold water over the dough mixture through the water hole, as soon as the dough starts to pull together turn the food processor off. You may need to stop the food processor in between and get a spatula to get the flour at the bottom to mix up.
- Turn the dough out on the counter or cutting board and shape into a disk. Wrap in plastic and rest in the refrigerator for an hour.
Prepare and bake crust
- Take pie dough out of the fridge and roll into a circle about 2” larger than your pie dish. Use extra flour to keep dough from sticking to the counter and roller.
- Carefully place the dough over the pie dish, lightly press the dough into the bottom and side of the pie dish, let the excess dough hang over the side.
- Trim some of the excess dough if necessary to create an even edge, but leave enough to fold under and flute the edge.
- Cover the prepared pie dough with plastic wrap and freeze for 10 - 15 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Take the frozen pie crust out of the freezer and poke holes with a fork on the bottom and side.
- Line the frozen pie crust with parchment paper, large enough to cover the crust completely.
- Add pie weights or dry bean on top of the parchment paper, enough to fill to the top.
- Bake pie crust for 20 minutes.
- Remove pie weights or bean, and bake for another 10 - 15 minutes until golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack, about 2 hours.
Prepare the cream filling
- In the stand mixer bowl, beat the heavy whipping cream to stiff peak. Transfer to another bowl and set aside.
- In the same stand mixer bowl, cream the cream cheese with sugar and vanilla (or almond) extract until smooth.
- Add the whipped cream back in, and set the mixer on “stir” or fold by hand using a spatula until thoroughly mixed. Cover and refrigerate until needed.
Assemble the pie
- Spoon the cream mixture into the cool crust; level out the top. Then spoon the strawberries on top of the cream using a slotted spoon.
- Drizzle the strawberry juice over the top or reserve the juice to drizzle over pie when served.
- Keep refrigerated.
Notes
- If using premade frozen pie crust, bake according to instruction that comes with the dough.
- Adapted from Pillsbury.
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Super good. That’s all I can say.
Yay! Thank you 🙂
Looks delicious. Can you please answer two questions. How do you use the beans as weights and is this a deep dish size or regular pie size? Thank you.
Hey April, this is a deep dish pie dish, I line the raw pie crust with parchment paper and pour the bean on top as you would a ceramic pie weight. See this pie crust post for more photos that will explain this.
I made this pie yesterday. It was absolutely yummy and that cream filling I could have just eaten by the spoonful. The only change I made was added some blueberries to the strawberries. Thanks for such deliciousness.
Thank you for the feedback April! I’m so glad you enjoy this pie. 🙂
How far in advance can this be made? Looks delicious!!
I would recommend the day before as best, but it will keep 2-3 days in the fridge just fine. However, you can certainly make the pie crust, the filling and the strawberry all separately, and assemble the day of. Let me know if this helps or if you have any other questions.
This is such a gorgeous pie! I love strawberry desserts!
Thank you so much!
What a perfect Summer dessert. This looks so beautiful
Great! How clever using dry beans as pie weight. Who’d of thunk it?