Recipe: Strawberry Pie

Name: Strawberry Pie
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 70 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: This strawberry pie with its light cream and redcurrant and cardamom "mirror" jelly requires some organisation planning but when you have well understood the planning of this recipe, you have also understood why I explained the recipe with such care; Strawberry pie for 6 to 8 persons :1.1 lb shortbread pastry (recipe on this web site); 1.7 lb tasty and fruity strawberries; 1.1 lb cold confectioner's custard; (recipe of this web site)6.7 fl oz liquid cream; 2/3 oz icing sugar (1 tablespoonful); 5 small green cardamom capsules (crushed with the bottom of a sauce pan); 2.6 oz redcurrant jelly; juice of a half lemon1 oz caster sugar

By chef patrick Asfaux 4.9/5 (33 reviews) · 🍳 22 made it

Prep 45 min

Cook 25 min

Total 1h10

Servings 8 serv.

Strawberry pie with cold pastry cream and cardamom-infused whipped cream. Glazed with redcurrant jelly for shine. This recipe requires proper timing: blind baking, spice infusion, step-by-step assembly. Allow 2.5 hours including chilling. Peak season strawberries from May to June deliver the best flavour.

Ingredients for 8 servings

Adjust for

servings

This strawberry pie with its light cream and redcurrant and cardamom "mirror" jelly requires some organisation planning but when you have well understood the planning of this recipe, you have also understood why I explained the recipe with such care

Strawberry pie for 6 to 8 persons :

1.1 lb shortbread pastry (recipe on this web site)
1.7 lb tasty and fruity strawberries
1.1 lb cold confectioner's custard

(recipe of this web site)

6.7 fl oz liquid cream
2/3 oz icing sugar (1 tablespoonful)
5 small green cardamom capsules (crushed with the bottom of a sauce pan)
2.6 oz redcurrant jelly

juice of a half lemon

1 oz caster sugar

Step-by-step directions

Please respect the chronology of the following steps :

1 Lay down the raw pastry on your work plan, then put it into your pie mould, prickle it with a fork and put it into the fridge during 1 hour.

2 Quickly rinse the strawberries and get rid of the stalks AFTER you have rinsed the strawberries (otherwise the water would go into the pulp), then dry the strawberries with care, put them on a flat large dish, sprinckle the caster sugar and pour the lemon juice on them and keep into the fridge.

3 Pre-heat the oven at 356°F.

4 Pour the liquid cream into a salad bowl and keep it into the DEEP-FREEZER during 5 minutes.

5 Boil the redcurrant jelly into a saucepan, then add the crushed cardamom capsules. Put the sauce pan aside off the heat and cover it with a lid (for infusion).

6 Take the pie mould off the fridge, put dry beans or tiny stone balls (marbles) on the pastry and cook the pastry into the oven during 20 minutes.

7 Pour the cold confectioner's custard into a salad bowl, whip it to make it softer (you can add the juice rendered by the strawberries in their flat dish)

8 Take the liquid cream with its bowl off the frezze and whip it to make a steady Chantilly and add the icing sugar nearly when you finish the Chantilly.

9 Pour the Chantilly on top of the custard and blend them gently with a wooden spatula by lifting the custard through the Chantilly so that you get a lighter custard, and keep it into the fridge.

10 Take the pie off the oven, get rid of the beans/balls and let it cool down on a flat dish.

Finishing :

1 Pour the cream/custard into the pie with care, from the center to the hedges

2 Flower-shape it with strawberries (with care) from starting by the hedges and making circles to the center of the pie (you can cut the strawberry in thick slices : see the picture)

3 Strain the redcurrant jelly (to get rid of the cardamom) and brush it gently onto the strawberries.

4 You may put a few fresh mint leaves on top of the pie and/or crush a biscuit/rusk (as a powder) on it.

You have done a marvellous dessert.

When you cut the pie to make portions, use a special knife for bread !

A chef's advice

Strawberry pie is a spring Sunday classic, the one you make when berries hit the market and days grow long. It's naturally seasonal, May to June, because at that time Marat des bois or ciflorette strawberries have concentrated, sweet flavour you won't find elsewhere. What makes this version distinct is the cardamom and redcurrant pairing. Crushed cardamom infuses into warm jelly, bringing subtle spice that doesn't shout but changes everything. Whipped cream lightened with cold pastry cream sits between cake and mousse texture, easier to eat than thick cream alone. With wine, reach for a crisp Sancerre or Chablis premier cru. If you prefer off-dry, try Anjou or Vouvray demi-sec. The wine's acidity cuts the richness, that's the key point. Serve plain or with homemade strawberry sorbet if time allows. Some add a splash of kirsch to the pastry cream, but it's not essential. Real quality comes from planning ahead: tart chilled 30 minutes, berries chilled while you cook, cream in freezer 5 minutes before whipping. Without that timing, nothing holds.

Frequently asked questions

Can you replace redcurrant jelly with another ?

Yes. Raspberry, blueberry or apricot work well. Avoid overly sweet store-bought jelly. Choose artisanal or homemade. Cardamom shines best with low-acid red fruits. With apricot, reduce cardamom (3 seeds instead of 5).

How long does the pie keep in the fridge ?

Maximum 24 hours, covered. Whipped cream softens, pastry absorbs moisture. Cook it morning for evening, or same day. Don't freeze assembled pie. You can freeze raw dough or pastry cream separately for up to 3 weeks.

Why chill the cream 5 minutes before whipping ?

Because 30% liquid cream whips better when cold. At room temperature it won't hold and turns buttery. 5 minutes in freezer firms it without freezing. Whip quickly after with a whisk or electric mixer.