My Aunt Alice never remembered making this Strawberry Pie (here’s the story), but I sure remember eating it and have been making it ever since! In her honor, I call it Aunt Alice’s Phantom Strawberry Pie.
It’s no phantom for me! When strawberry season begins, I make this pie and also a Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie.
Ingredients
9-inch baked pie crust
5 cups strawberries
2 to 2-1/2 TB cornstarch
1 cup sugar
About 1/4 cup water
1 tsp lemon juice
Mix corn starch and sugar in a medium saucepan.
Slice and mash about 1 cup of berries (You will need more than 1 cup of berries to make a cup of mashed berries. I usually start with a cup of whole berries and then add as needed to make a cup of mashed berries.) Add 1/4 cup water to the mashed berries.
Add the mashed berries to sugar and corn starch and cook until the mixture starts to thicken, about 10 to 12 minutes. Add lemon juice and continue to cook to thicken, about another 5 minutes.
Place remaining strawberries in the pie shell. If they’re small, put them in whole; if they’re large slice them.
Pour the cooked berry mixture over the uncooked berries.
Refrigerate at least two hours.
Serve pie with whipped cream.
Tips from Jane
— Cooking time may vary depending on the type of strawberries you use. When I can get fresh, tender, local berries from a farm stand, it takes less time than with out of season berries that tend to be harder and less juicy.
— This same technique makes a great Red Raspberry Pie.
— My mother always spread the whipped cream over the top of her Strawberry Pies, which makes a nice presentation. I prefer to serve the pie plain and let people add their own whipped cream, in whatever quantities they like.