Monday, May 9, 2011

Double Crust Strawberry Pie





I have two issues with traditional strawberry pie (the one with a single crust, filling of whole strawberries coated in mystery syrup, with a few squirts of "whip cream" on top): firstly, the mystery syrup tastes nothing of strawberries; secondly, this pie is not eaten with ice cream, as all fruit pies should be.


I got this recipe from my Magnolia Bakery cookbook, and I love that it's baked in the traditional fruit pie way. I told Josh I was planning on making it over the weekend, and he was sickened that I was going to cook strawberries. He ate his whole slice. I took it up to my parents' house, and my brother who abhors cooked fruit of any nature also snarfed his slice. So don't let this new method deter you, friends-it's Strawberry Pie with Ice Cream Time at last!






For the Crust:


I always use the Martha Stewart recipe for Pate Brisee, but I give you permission to use premade.


Martha's:


2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup ice water, plus more if needed


In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour and salt; pulse to combine. Add the butter, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some larger pieces remaining, about 10 seconds. (To mix by hand, combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl, then cut in butter with a pastry blender.)
With eh machine running, add the ice water through the feed tube in a slow, steady stream, just until the dough holds together without being wet or sticky. Do not process more than 30 seconds. Test by squeezing a small amount of the dough together; if it is still too crumbly, add a bit more water, 1 Tablespoon at a time.
Turn out dough onto a clean work surface. Divide in half, and place each half on a piece f plastic wrap. Shape into flattened disks. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight. The dough can be frozen for up to 1 month, thaw in refrigerator before using.


For the Filling:


5 cups fresh strawberries, cut in half
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup quick-cooking minute tapioca (if you've never bought this before, it's in the store by the jell-o. It's the perfect thickener for this recipe)
1 teaspoon vanilla


Glaze:


1 Tablespoon milk
1 Tablespoon sugar


To make the Pie:


Preheat oven to 400 degrees. (You turn it down slightly when it's time to put the pie in.) 
In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients for the filling. Let stand for 15 minutes while you prepare the crust.
Roll out the first disk, and place it in a 9 inch pie dish. 
Pour in the filling. 
Roll out top crust, and top the pie.
Crimp edges together, brush the crust with milk, and sprinkle with sugar. Cut a few slits in the center of the pie with the tip of a knife. 
Place on a baking sheet, and lower the temperature to 350 degrees. Bake for 60-70 minutes. Let cool for at least 2 hours.
And most importantly: serve with ice cream!

4 comments:

  1. I'm making this recipe for a memorial day party I'm attending tomorrow. Glad to know it's good! Then again, it's from my Magnolia cookbook so I knew it would be. It will be my first ever attempt at baking a pie. Wish me luck!

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  2. Nancy from TorontoJune 16, 2012 at 2:45 PM

    I've just spent 20 minutes searching the internet for a double crust strawberry pie recipe for my boyfriend who turned down all the single crust ones I found for the exact same reasons you proclaim above. I read out loud to him your intro above, especially the part about the mystery syrup, and he's calling out in response from the kitchen "that's right...that's right!". So with this page securely bookmarked, he is now embarking on making the crust (he uses the recipe from the crisco box) and will then proceed to follow your directions for the filling and baking. Gotta love dating a man who likes to bake!

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  3. I could have also copied your dislikes about single crust Strawberry Pie verbatim. Actually, I wanted to make a strawberry/rhubarb pie for Easter but rhubarb was nowhere to be found here in Buffalo, NY. So happy to have come across your recipe which I used. It came out beautifully, looking pretty much like yours [wish you had a photo opt. In all my cooking years I have never used tapioca as a thickener either and so glad you turned me on to that aspect as well! In the future however, I would not use Martha's pate brisee crust.....better suited to a savory pie/quiche - IMHO. Thanks!

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