Recipe: Summer Strawberry Pie

Just try to keep your neighbours away when you bake up this bad boy. The summer strawberry pie has that look and feel that perfectly captures everyones favourite season; just try not to picture this cooling on a window sill and letting that freshly baked smell let everyone know that you’re the most valuable person on the block. Try this one out this summer and I guarantee your Facebook friend count will shoot up by at least 100.

Summer Strawberry Pie (serves 8-10)

Ingredients (preparation time – 25 minutes + cooling time)

BASE

• 3 sheets of short crust pastry (defrosted)
• 1 large egg (lightly beaten)

FILLING

• 4 x 250g punnets of Victorian Strawberries (washed and hulled)
• 3/4 cup of caster sugar
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1 vanilla bean (slice lengthways and cut out seed paste)
• 3/4 cup of water
• 3 tbsp corn flower (mixed with the water)
• 1 tbsp icing sugar (for dusting)
• Rice, lentils, or pastry weights for blind baking

Method (Cooking time – 45 minutes)

1. Preheat oven to 180*c and line a greased 24cm pie dish with 2 sheets of pastry, making sure the pastry is pushed down into the corners. You will have to cut and join the pastry to fill in the gaps. Trim of excess pastry with a knife and use the remaining pastry to line the top of the rim, then with thumb and finger pinch around the edge for form a crimped effect.
2. Blind bake – line the base with baking paper and fill with rice, lentils, or pastry weights. Bake for 15 minutes then remove the paper and weights. Brush the base of the pie shell with the lightly beaten egg and bake for a further 10 minutes to crisp the pastry.
3. In a small saucepan mash 1 punnet of the strawberries and add caster sugar. Stir over a medium heat until strawberry pulp begins to bubble and sugar dissolves.
4. Add the lemon zest, vanilla seed paste and the cornflour mixture. Stir continually until the liquid begins to bubble rapidly. Let boil for 1 minute until it forms a very thick custard consistency. Set aside to cool.
5. Cut the remaining 3 punnets of strawberries in half lengthways and place in a large bowl. When the sauce has cooled, gently fold through the fresh strawberries.
6. Pile the strawberry filling into the pie shell. Slice the remaining pastry sheet into 1.5cm strips. Brush the outside rim of the pie shell with egg wash and create the lattice top by weaving the strips of pastry and pressing the ends into the pie edge. Brush the pastry with the remaining egg wash and bake for 15-20 minutes until the lattice top is cooked through.
7. Let cool for 30 minutes before serving dusted in icing sugar and with scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Recipe supplied by www.vicstrawberry.com.au

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