Every spring, I go on and on about strawberries. I think I get so excited because they’re so beautiful and cheap and, like the first really great watermelon in summer or the first sweet, crisp apple in the fall, or juicy orange in the winter, sweet, fat strawberries are one of the first signs of spring.
I realized recently that we don’t have a strawberry pie recipe on our blog. Problem is, as gorgeous as those pies loaded with shiny glazed strawberries are, I don’t really like the strawberry glazes or junkets–they often taste a little artificial or have weird textures to them. Instead, I love this pie that still showcases the beautiful berries, but the glaze is replaced with sweetened whipped cream and cream cheese. Then the strawberries are drizzled in chocolate because that is how strawberries were intended to be eaten. Promise.
Plus, it’s super easy. Easy as pie. Oh, Kate, that was lame.
You’ll need a quart of fresh, beautiful strawberries (pick out the prettiest ones of all sizes–the rest will be doomed to live the remainder of their lives with low self-esteem in a jam jar), whipping cream, powdered sugar, a little brown sugar (which I forgot in the picture), cream cheese, almond or vanilla extract, and about 1-2 ounces of chocolate (roughly 1 regular candy bar), and a graham cracker crust.
In a medium bowl, mix the cream cheese, vanilla extract, and brown sugar together until light and fluffy. In a separate bowl, mix the heavy cream with the powdered sugar until medium peaks form. Add about a cup of the whipped cream mixture to the cream cheese mixture and beat until it’s smooth and combined. Add the remaining whipped cream mixture, mixing until just combined.
Place the whipping cream/cream cheese mixture in the graham cracker crust
and spread it out evenly. Isn’t it magical how this exact amount of whipped cream and cream cheese perfectly fill a graham cracker crust? It’s like it was meant to be…
Pop that bad boy into the refrigerator for a few minutes while you slice the stems off the strawberries. Make sure the strawberries are as dry as possible–you don’t have to get crazy here, just whip out a paper towel and gently blot the un-cut surfaces.
Arrange the strawberries, cut side down, on the whipped cream mixture. You can press them way down if you want (and even add another layer of berries if you feel the urge) or just have them sticking out like I do here. Because they’re just so pretty.
Break the chocolate into chunks and place it in a small, heavy-duty Ziploc bag. Microwave for 45 seconds-1 minute, stopping every 20 seconds or so to mash the bag around. You don’t want the bag to get hot, you just want the chocolate to melt. When the chocolate is melted, snip a corner off the bag and drizzle the chocolate over the berries.
Refrigerate the pie for at least 3 hours before serving. Wonder if Kate will ever again post a recipe that’s not a dessert. Know that I will. I promise. But until then, you’ve got pie…
Chocolate-Drizzled Strawberries and Cream Pie 1 quart fresh strawberries (frozen’s not gonna cut it here. If you use them and then leave a comment telling us how gross this recipe is, we’ll cut you. Just kidding. But seriously peeps, don’t use frozen strawberries.) In a medium bowl, beat the softened cream cheese, brown sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. In a separate large bowl, beat the whipping cream and powdered sugar until medium peaks form. Add about 1 c. of the whipping cream mixture to the cream cheese mixture. Beat until smooth and well-combined. Add the remaining whipping cream mixture and mix until just combined. Spread in the graham cracker crust and refrigerate for a few minutes while you prepare the strawberries. Wash the strawberries and cut off the stems. Blot dry with a paper towel and then gently press, cut side down, into the whipped cream mixture. Set aside. If using a chocolate bar, break it into equal pieces and place in a small Ziploc bag. Microwave for 1-1 1/2 minutes, stopping the microwave every 20 seconds to mash the bag. You want the chocolate to be melted but not hot at all. When the chocolate is melted, snip a corner off the bag and drizzle it over the strawberries. Refrigerate for at least three hours before serving. Serves 8.
Recipe by Our Best Bites
1 8-oz. package cream cheese at room temperature (light is fine)
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 c. packed light brown sugar
1 c. heavy whipping cream
1/4 c. powdered sugar
1 9″ graham cracker crust (store-bought or homemade)
1-2 ounces chocolate
Also, make sure you mark your calenders for some upcoming book signings!
Sara will be in Provo next week, at two locations- make sure to go say hello! You’ll also see dates below for two signings in Boise, ID and also one in Seattle, WA!
Provo, UT
April 28th (next Thursday!)
BYU Bookstore
1:30-3:30
Provo, UT
U Village Deseret Book
Thursday April 28th 5-7 pm
Boise, ID
Friday May 6th
Deseret Book on Eagle Road
5-7 pm
Boise, ID
Saturday May 7th
Nampa Costco
noon-1:30 pm
Seattle, WA
Friday June 10th
Deseret Book, Bellevue
5-7 pm
Just wanted to share that I made the pie for a party we threw but used the mini graham cracker crusts instead of one big one. The recipe filled 12 mini’s (two 6 packs from the store) perfectly and I put three to four strawberries on each one depending on the size of the strawberries. Also, next time I think I’ll wait and drizzle the melted chocolate on just before serving so that it’s still all melty and gooey. By the way, everyone RAVED about the cute little strawberry pies!!!
Super yummy, easy and cheap pie! I cut my strawberries in half and laid them cut side down just because that was my preference over the whole strawberry standing on end. It was a potluck success!! I wanted to make another today but my 2 and 4 year olds just ate all the strawberries! 🙁 Next time I think I’ll make a chocolate graham crust instead of honey grahams.
This recipe was so easy and SO yummy (oh, and pretty, too!) Made it for several friends and they all loved it. I would definitely make it again. Thanks for the great recipe!
Ok – so I had to improvise a little with this recipe today and it worked out awesome! So i decided to share! We don’t have a microwave at the moment so I panicked when I thought I couldn’t make this because I couldn’t melt the chocolate. So I had to get creative. I put the hershey candy bar while still in the wrapper under some hot water then left it in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes. It melted the chocolate perfectly and still kept the chocolate cool so i just clipped the edge of the wrapper and Voila! I just thought I would share if someone else doesn’t have a microwave and or doesn’t have a ziploc baggie on hand… which I also didn’t have. Also – my extremely picky 17 year old brother in law couldn’t get enough of this dish.. he had 3 helpings and told me it was to DIE FOR! so thank you for sharing a killer recipe!!!
This was amazing! So good and so easy and so beautiful. A real show-stopper. Mine looked just like the picture, too! When does that ever happen?!
I made this for Easter and my whole family loved it so much that I made it again for Mother’s Day. Thank you for sharing this recipe!!
SO FLippin GOOD!
Made this delicious pie last night. Yummmmmmmm! sums it up well, a great blend of flavors. As many discussed some issues with the cream cheese/whip cream becoming watery I added a tablespoon of vanilla pudding to the whip cream. My honey just cut a piece for breakfast and it is still looking good!! Thanks for this recipe!!
I made this Pie today and it was amazing!!!! Sooo easy to make and a great light dessert.
Thanks Kate 🙂
This is my new favorite dessert. And I’ve had a lot of those. I agree that fresh strawberries are the key! Thanks for this.
So , your site has been up on my computer all day since I first found it this morning. We have been browsing on and off all day. My 8 yr old daughter thought this recipe looks so yummy she said it was making her want to eat the computer! 🙂 We are trying your coconut crusted chicken tonight and already have a list of others we cannot wait to try! Great site! Thank you!!!!
Oh these look amazing! I left a blog award for you over at http://kneadysweetie.blogspot.com/2011/04/blog-awards.html
Made this into little mini pies for Easter and everyone LOVED it! Thank you so much!
Made this for Easter dessert. Used a chocolate crumb crust instead and drizzled with both milk and dark chocolate. Looked wonderful. Tasted even better. Thanks for a great recipe.
Wow. Yum. That’s all I have to say!
I made this today and just sat down and had my first slice…can I say YUM!! The only thing I did different was to use a chocolate graham cracker crust instead of the original and it was really good! Thanks so much…I’m going to be sharing this one on my blog!
Wow…this pie was amazing!! This has become an over night favorite!! And fyi…it’s really good for breakfast, too 😉
Totally made this for Easter and MAN it looked pretty setting all out on the counter waiting to be cut but MAN it sure looked ugly once I cut it. lol What did I do wrong? the whip was all runny and liquidy under the surface event though it sat overnight in the fridge. It tastes fantastic though.
My guess is either the cream cheese wasn’t mixed in well enough with the whipped cream or the whipped cream wasn’t stiff enough. How long did it sit out on the counter? That might be it, too. 🙂
I made this for Easter and it was sooo yummy. It was a little runny…do yo think it was because I chopped the strawberries up first? Or is it a mixing thing?
It could be the liquid from the strawberries–did you add them to the whipped cream? Or just have chopped strawberries on top? It also could be that the cream cheese wasn’t mixed well enough with the whipping cream or the whipping cream wasn’t whipped quite enough. Or if it sat on the counter for too long.
yummo. It is things like this that make life so good:)
Y’all! Whatcha bet this one would also be great with peaches later in the summer? I’mma thinkin’ I’mma have to TRY THAT!
I made this this weekend. It was amazing!
Not only did it look great! It tasted great too! I made this for Easter dinner and it was a huge hit. I loved the responses I got from all those who ate it! Thanks for lots of great recipes.
I made this for Easter…it was a total hit! Simple to make, yet elegant looking and delicious, this dessert had all the right moves. Thanks so much!
made this for easter…it was a hit
This dessert literally saved my life!!! I made this for a dinner party on Friday night (along with the Pork Tender w/Chimichurri). They were both HUGE hits!
Anyway, I am a Type I diabetic and I accidentally gave myself too much insulin, so I had to eat the leftover pie to keep my sugar up. 🙂 It’s so rare that I really get to indulge on treats, and I enjoyed every minute of it!
Wow! I am drooling : ).
This is perfect because I don’t like the glazes either!
I made this for Easter dinner yesterday, and my pregnant friend (don’t know why the fact that she’s pregnant makes the comment sound more legit? Maybe because you just don’t argue with a pregnant woman about her food?) made the comment that it’s everything she loves about pie (whipped cream, delicious fruit, sweet crust) without everything she doesn’t (soggy fruit, inappropriate filling/crust ratio). Delicious!
And just so you know, my Easter table was half-filled with OBB recipes! This pie, bacon wrapped green bean bundles (AMAZING!), and holiday block jell-o. Add that to ham, salad, and Scarborough Fair potatoes (parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme), and we decided to call it F-easter. Love this site!
I made this yesterday for our Easter dessert and it was so divine. Thank you so much for all of the hard work you guys do. I really love your blog and hope to one day have a few extra bucks to purchase your cookbook.
I made this pie over the weekend and it was sooooo yummy! My husband LOVED it, which means a lot because he is not a dessert/sweets/pie kind of person. He said to me “you can keep this recipe.” Lol. There were two pieces left, which we both ate for breakfast the next morning 🙂