Made with fresh strawberries and real cream, this Strawberry Cream Pie is going to be a new family favorite. Homemade strawberry pudding is topped with whipped cream and more fresh strawberries and tucked inside of a graham cracker crust.

This Strawberry Cream Pie is made with exactly what you think it should be: fresh strawberries and cream. Fresh strawberries are pureed and incorporated into a really delicious homemade pudding, and then put inside a graham cracker and then topped with freshly whipped cream and more fresh strawberries.

Basically, this is the strawberry pie to make during strawberry season.

Ingredients Needed

Here is an overview of the ingredients needed for this recipe. The full recipe is listed below in greater detail.

fresh strawberries
heavy cream + whole milk
sugar
eggs
cornstarch (for thickening the pudding)
vanilla extract
almond extract
lemon juice
unsalted butter
Graham Cracker Crumb Crust or Pâte Sablée (Sweet Tart Dough)

Pie Crust Options

There are a few crust options for this pie.

The first recommendation is to use a Graham Cracker Crumb Crust. It’s so delicious and choosing a crumb crust option will make this pie easier to make! Another crumb crust option would be this Vanilla Wafer Crust.

Another option is a Pâte Sablée pastry, which is a sweet cookie-like crust that is very stable and a great choice for this pie. Since this pie is served cold, I don't recommend using a flaky butter pie crust, but if you really want to, here is a Pâte Sucrée (Sweet Pie Crust) recipe which is basically a butter pie crust with added sugar!

Need this to be gluten-free? Make this basic gluten-free butter pie crust. Just be sure to fully blind bake the crust.

A pot with ingredients for strawberry pudding.

How to Make Strawberry Pudding from Scratch

The strawberry pudding takes center stage in the production of this pie. It uses fresh, pureed strawberries as the base, as opposed to a jello mix. The pudding is made in one pot and doesn't require any tempering of the eggs. You start by whisking together the sugar, cornstarch and egg yolks until it forms a paste. Next, add the pureed strawberries and cream and heat the whole mixture up slowly, while alternating between whisking and scraping up the bottom of the pot. The trick is to slowly heat the egg yolks with all of the ingredients at once so they don't scramble. The added cornstarch helps stabilize the egg yolk mixture so that doesn't happen. Additionally, it helps the mixture to thicken to the proper consistency. Once you've cooked the pudding, strain it, and whisk in butter and vanilla and almond extract. A few tips on making the pudding:

Make sure you have the correct amount of pureed strawberries called for in the recipe. I suggest measuring them after they've been pureed. If you have less than you need, the consistency of the pudding will be off.
Make sure to have a rubber spatula and a whisk handy. I use both to make sure the mixture cooks evenly. I swap between using them while I'm cooking the pudding to make sure I'm getting all the mixture out of the crevices of the pot while whisking to ensure a consistent cook.
Don't walk away from the pudding. It only takes a few minutes to cook. Also, it's especially important to stir almost constantly in the beginning when you are cooking it to ensure no egg yolks get stuck to the bottom of the pot and scramble.

Strawberry Cream Pie with lots of whipped cream on top.

Options for Decorating

As with most pies, you can use your discretion with how to decorate the top of the!

Above are two examples of the decoration of this Strawberry Cream Pie. In one example with a graham cracker crust, whipped cream is piped on using a pastry bag and a star tip in a concentric circle, and decorated with fresh strawberries.

In the second photo above, the Strawberry Cream Pie is made in a Pâte Sucrée pastry, and topped with of fresh strawberries underneath a pile of whipped cream and freeze dried strawberries.

Have fun designing what the top using whipped cream and fresh strawberries.

Make Ahead Tips

As with most pies, there are a few steps you need to complete to get to the finished pie. A lot of these components can be broken down into steps and done ahead of time.

Make the Graham Cracker Crumb Crust or Pâte Sablée ahead of time. Either can be prepared a day ahead of time.
Make the strawberry pudding a day ahead of time.
Whip the cream: the cream is stabilized so it can be made up to 2 days ahead of time. It may need a quick mix with a hand whisk the further ahead it is made.
Assemble the pie: The entire pie can be assembled 1 day in advance, minus the garnish of freeze dried or fresh strawberries. It can last up to 2 days, but leave the cream off until you are ready to serve in case the cream needs a brief whisk.

More Strawberry Recipes:

I am so honored when you make a recipe from my site! If you make this Strawberry Cream Pie, please leave a comment and a star rating with your experience! If you have any questions about this recipe, feel free to comment here, too!

Strawberry Cream Pie

Author: Kelli Avila
Prep Time: 00:20
Chilling Time: 04:00
Cook Time: 00:35
Total Time: 4 hours 55 minutes
Yield: 8-10 servings
Category: Sweet Pie
Method: No-Bake

Print Recipe

Description

Ingredients

1 batch Graham Cracker Crumb Crust, prepared (see note for alternatives)
⅓ cup (40 grams) cornstarch
¾ cup (150 grams) granulated sugar (see notes for sweet strawberries)
Pinch salt
2 large eggs
2 egg yolks
2 quarts (32 ounces) strawberries, washed, hulled and divided (see notes)
1 cup (227 grams) whole milk
½ cup (115 grams) heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon juice
¼ teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons (25 grams) unsalted butter

For Stabilized Whipped Cream:

1 ounce (2 tablespoons) cream cheese
2 tablespoons sugar (optional)
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
1 cup (227 grams) heavy cream

Instructions

Prepare Graham Cracker Crumb Crust in a 9" pie plate, making sure to blind bake it as instructed in that recipe.
Place a fine-mesh strainer over a medium bowl; set aside.
Puree 16 ounces of hulled strawberries in a blender until smooth. You will need 2 cups of strawberry puree.
In a medium saucepan, off heat, whisk together cornstarch, sugar and salt. Whisk in eggs and yolks until you have a light yellow paste. Then add in pureed strawberries, milk and cream and whisk together until it’s fully combined. Use a spatula to get into the crevices of the saucepan to make sure there are no bits of eggs.
Place the sauce pan over medium and cook the mixture, whisking constantly, and occasionally taking a spatula and scraping up any thickened pudding in the edges of the pan. Cook until the pudding has completely thickened and large bubbles are forming and popping, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; immediately pour through the strainer and into a bowl, using a spatula to push all the pudding out while leaving behind any seeds or cooked egg.
Add in the extracts, lemon juice and butter to the pudding and whisk until combined. Pour the pudding into the prepared pie crust and smooth over the top. Alternatively, you could place the pudding in a bowl if making ahead of time. Place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding to prevent skin from forming (or if you don't care about the thickened crust forming, skip this) and chill the pie for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Make the whipped cream: To the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, add cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Beat on medium speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl halfway through for 2 minutes. Add heavy cream and beat on medium speed until the cream has reached soft stiff peaks, about 2 minutes more.
When ready to serve, remove the plastic wrap from the pie and place the prepared whipped cream on top as desired, along with additional fresh strawberries.
Serve immediately or keep chilled until ready to serve. Once assembled, this pie is best served on the same day.

Notes

Looking for an alternative to a graham cracker crumb crust?

This recipe was developed using regular grocery store strawberries, which is to say ones that aren't super sweet. If you have amazing perfectly ripe, sweet strawberries, you can reduce the amount of sugar in the pudding to just ½ cup.

Make sure to place enough strawberries to yield 2 cups of strawberry puree. You will need 16 ounces of strawberries after they have been hulled. That means you will likely use more than 1 quart of strawberries to yield 16 ounces. If you don't have a scale, you can measure out the amount of puree you get in a measuring cup to ensure it is 2 cups.

You can skip the stabilized whipped cream and top this pie with a simple whipped cream, using these instructions.

Check out the photos in the post for ideas on how to decorate the top of the pie.

Keywords: Strawberry Cream Pie, Strawberry Pudding Pie

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