Sunday, June 27, 2010

Mom's strawberry pie recipe


Hi All,

I actually posted this recipe two years ago here but I've got some people that are new to my blog so I thought I'd re-post it now that strawberries are in season here. This recipe would be one of my "last meal" requests and I haven't met anyone who doesn't like it. It's a very light pie, and for me, something I could finish off in a day all by myself (a slice for breakfast, a snack, dessert after lunch, another snack, dessert after dinner...).

I used the recipe as written in my blog two years ago and tested it this weekend to make four pies. Less than one pie is left since they're pretty popular. The following recipe makes two pies.

Ingredients:
2 graham cracker crust (though it's almost as good without a crust if you prefer)
1 large bag (500 g or 1 lb) marshmallows. Miniature marshmallows are easier but large is fine.
1 pint or 500 ml of whipping cream
4 cups or 1 L of chopped strawberries with a bit of sugar

Instructions:
Chop the strawberries into small pieces. Sprinkle with enough sugar to get the juices flowing.

Melt the marshmallows over low heat. Before pouring the marshmallows into the pan, add a bit of water to the pan, just enough to cover the bottom. It helps with the sticking. Stir frequently and keep the heat low! When most of the marshmallows are melted, take the pan off the heat. The rest of the marshmallows will melt with the residual heat if you stir and mush the lumps. Cool to room temperature or slightly warmer. You want it just warm enough to be able to stir the marshmallows. It's fluffier the more you let the marshmallows cool.

While the melted marshmallow is cooling, whip the whipping cream in a good size mixing bowl. You can add sugar to the whipping cream if you like, but it's not necessary.

Fold the melted marshmallows into the whipping cream and add the strawberries. There are two schools of thought on how to fold the strawberries and cream into the marshmallows - you can do it all at once and the theory is that it causes less of the whipped cream to collapse. Or you can fold the whipping cream in first and then add the strawberries gradually. Either way seems to work fine.

Add the mixture to the graham cracker crusts and chill. Pour any remaining mixture into cups and eat later. Garnish with sliced strawberries if you like. Mom usually cuts strawberries in half and puts them on the pie starting from the centre to form a radial pattern. That, of course, is too fussy for me so I either serve with chopped strawberries drizzled over top, or just eat plain.

If you don't want to do a crust, you can pour a bit of the mixture into a clear glass, add a thin layer of berries, top with more mixture, more berries, etc. It's quite pretty when served in a clear glass.

Let me know if you try the recipe and like it or have tips on how to improve the instructions. You can see additional pictures here.


Cheers,

Sandy

P.S. Apparently the ingredients are somewhat North American. Fiona from the UK has adapted the recipe to great success and you can see her blog entry here.

3 comments:

Fiona said...

Wow. This sounds great and so American. I'll try an English version tomorrow and let you know how I get on.

Fiona said...

I've made it, blogged it and linked to your recipe! Take a look.

Cindy Lietz, Polymer Clay Tutor said...

YUM!! You have made me so hungry Sandy! The kids picked cherries off our tree today... I wonder if this would work for cherries? Now you got my mind thinking! Happy Canada Day BTW!