Ed and I went strawberry picking this summer so I was able to try a few new recipes.  I made strawberry swiss meringue buttercream, two types of strawberry cupcakes, and frozen strawberry pies (one 8″ tart and 12 miniature ones).  I also highly recommend this no-bake strawberry torte that could easily be made into a delicious trifle.  Of all of the strawberry desserts that I made this summer, this frozen strawberry pie was my favourite.  It received great reviews from everyone that tried it.  It’s perfect for any summer event and can easily be made ahead of time for entertaining or surprise guests.

Frozen Strawberry Pie Recipe

makes 1 8-inch tart/pie and 12 miniature pies; adapted from Bunny’s Warm Oven

Note:  At the end, I folded in an additional 1 1/2 cups of diced fresh strawberries.  They looked beautiful in the pies and resulted in fresh bursts of strawberry flavour, but the chunks of frozen strawberries were quite icy and slightly difficult to eat, so I have not included this instruction in the recipe below.

for the crust:

3 cups lightly packed graham cracker crumbs (use store bought crumbs or use a food processor to grind graham crackers finely)

10 tbsp unsalted butter

1/4 cup granulated white sugar

for the filling:

1 1/2 cups of pureed fresh strawberries (Note:  I used freshly picked strawberries so they were quite sweet.  If your strawberries are tart, mix in up to 1/4 cup of granulated white sugar.)

1 (300 mL) can of sweetened condensed milk

1 cup heavy whipping cream

4 ounces (1/2 block) cream cheese

Note:  In the original recipe, you are instructed to chill all of your ingredients beforehand and to be vigilant about keeping all components in the refrigerator between steps until they are ready to be used.  I did not do that and my pies still turned out great, but I suspect that the warmer ingredients resulted in a larger amount of filling.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.  In the meantime, use cooking oil spray to lightly grease your 8″ tart or pie pan and mini cheesecake pan.  Set aside.  In a large bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs and sugar.  Then melt the butter in the microwave and pour it over the crumbs and sugar.  Using a fork, mix everything together until the crumbs are evenly moistened with the butter.  Then use half of the crumb mixture for your 8″ tart or pie and the other half for your 12 miniature pies.  Press the crumb mixture firmly and evenly into the bottom of the mini cheesecake pan and into the bottom and up the sides of the tart or pie pan.  Bake until golden brown, about 6 to 8 minutes.  Set on a wire rack to cool completely while you make the filling.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, on the highest speed, whip the heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks are achieved.  Scoop the whipped cream into a different bowl and place the cream cheese into the now empty stand mixer bowl.  Using the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese until smooth and creamy.  Then beat in the sweetened condensed milk and strawberry puree until well combined.  Use a rubber spatula to gently fold in the whipped cream.  Pour the filling to the top of the the tart/pie shell and mini cheesecake pan.  Immediately place these into the freezer until frozen through, at least 4 hours.  Serve frozen.  To remove the individual sized frozen pies from the mini cheesecake pan, warm the bottom of the pan with a tea towel that has been moistened with hot water.  Then push them out from the bottom up using your pinky finger or a chopstick.