Fresh Strawberry Pie with Coconut Whipped Cream

I bought 8 pounds of strawberries this weekend and had quite a bit of fun in the kitchen with them.  I used about half of them to make some freezer jam and we ate a bunch straight up, but I had plenty of them left to make some desserts with them.  Fresh Strawberry Pie is one of my favorites and I was very, very happy with how well the coconut whipped cream turned out (even my hubby, who is not a coconut fan, ate it).

  
Fresh Strawberry Pie
(adapted from BHG)
1 baked pie crust
2-3 lbs strawberries, washed and hulled
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon corn starch

Prepare baked pie crust and set aside.  To bake my pie crust, prep it as outline here. Once prepped and in the pie tin, prick the bottom ~8 times with a fork.  Cover it with a double layer of aluminum foil and bake at 450F for 8 minutes.  Remove the foil and bake for another 5-6 minutes.  Remove from the oven and allow it to cool on a cooling rack.

Meanwhile prep strawberries. Cut any large strawberries in half lengthwise; set aside. Take a portion of the strawberries and chop them into quarters (you need 1/2 cup total).

For glaze, in a food processor combine the 1/2 cup of the chopped strawberries and water. Cover and blend or process until smooth. Add enough additional water to the mixture to equal 3/4 cups. In a small saucepan combine sugar and cornstarch; stir in blended strawberry mixture. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 2 minutes more.  Remove from heat; cool for 10 minutes. (Do not stir.)

Spread a thin layer of the glaze over bottom and sides of Baked Pastry Shell. Arrange half of the remaining strawberries, stem ends down, in the pastry shell.

Carefully spoon half of the remaining glaze over berries, making sure all berries are covered. Arrange remaining berries over first layer. Spoon remaining glaze over berries, covering each. Chill for 1 to 2 hours. 

If desired, top with whipped cream.

Coconut Whipped Cream

1 can coconut milk (full fat, not lite)

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Chill the coconut milk in the fridge for at least a couple of hours or overnight.  Remove the top portion of cream, leave the water behind in the can.  Place the cream in a stand mixer and whip on high until soft peaks form, mix in the sugar and vanilla and serve with the pie.

This post is featured on Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Allergy Free Wednesday, Allergy Friendly Friday and Gluten Free Wednesday.