Several weeks ago the fruit stands at the local farmer’s market were filled with strawberries, both locally cultivated and wild. Seeing these bright red berries, large and small, reminded me of a strawberry pie I had years ago in Baltimore’s legendary restaurant, Haussner’s , which closed in 1999. The strawberry pie was its signature dessert. So I bought lots of berries and my mission to recreate it resulted in this Mile-high Strawberry Pie.
The Haussner’s pie is not baked, but a mounded arrangement of fresh, ripe berries in a baked tart shell, filled with pastry cream, glazed with strawberry jelly and served with a dollop of whipped cream. Because the berries are not baked, they retain their vivid color and flavor. Unlike strawberry shortcake which has thick layers of delicious biscuit, this pie with only a thin layer of pastry is truly a celebration of the luscious strawberry.
I found a recipe for Haussner’s pie published in the Baltimore Sun (claimed to be original). Although I remember the glistening bright red pie surrounded with a ring of whipping cream as breathtakingly delectable, I was dismayed to learn its recipe called for adding imitation strawberry flavoring and red food coloring to the glaze. Since this pie was on the menu year round, I surmised the primary reason for these artificial additions was to improve the taste and appearance of commercially cultivated strawberries not always in season and shipped long distances but not uniform from batch to batch. The berries often arrived looking pretty but lacking the sweet slightly tart flavor. But for my re-creation of Haussner’s pie, adding imitation flavoring would sully the fresh berries. So I decided to use the original recipe as inspiration but to embark on a better version of the pie with an alternative way to concentrate the strawberry flavor without resorting to artificial flavoring or color.
As I researched different types of strawberries I learned that there are three basic types: wild strawberries (Fragaria vesca, often called fraises des bois), commercially grown hybrids (Fragaria ananassa), and local strawberries (numerous cultivars).
For centuries, only wild strawberries were enjoyed. According to Wikipedia, wild strawberries are native throughout the Northern Hemisphere, but for some reason rarely seen at farmer’s markets in North America. Wild strawberries, less than one quarter the size of a hybrid strawberry, have an intense flavor and aroma but their supply to market is sporadic as there is no industry behind these wild berries, and availability depends on home gardeners who cultivate a patch and foragers finding patches in meadows and fields.,
Commercially grown berries generally are produced from hybrids first developed in France in the 18th century, where wild strawberries imported from Virginia were planted next to yellow Chilean strawberries. This cross-pollination produces a sweet red berry several times larger than its wild cousin. Now, strawberries are bred for fruit with particular (and marketable) properties such as uniform appearance, large fruit, freedom from disease, survival during long-distance shipping and long shelf-life. Concentrating on genetic factors that favor these qualities has resulted in loss of the balance of sweetness and acidity which is important to the strawberry taste. Commercially cultivated strawberries often have about half the sugar content and juiciness of wild or local seasonal strawberries but have the advantage of being available year-round from distant growers.
Strawberries grown and sold locally during the short season from mid-June to mid-July are usually ripened right on the plant and picked by hand. Vine-ripened berries are redder and sweeter than shipped berries but are very fragile and perishable.
Of the three types of strawberries, the wild ones have the best flavor and would definitely boost the strawberry taste in the pie. But they are too small for a dramatic presentation and I did not have enough wild strawberries to significantly enhance the strawberry flavor. So I decided to use the locally grown berries in the pie and experiment whether an intensely flavored glaze could be made from frozen berries, which are picked at the peak of ripeness, and which would add to the strawberry-ness of the pie without imitation flavoring.
In my view, the experiment worked. The glaze on this Mile-high Strawberry Pie intensifies the flavor of the fresh strawberries which marries perfectly with the luscious pastry cream and silky whipping cream without artificial flavor or color enhancers.
This is definitely a special occasion pie with five easy preparation steps, some of which can be prepared over several days. The needed ingredients are listed with the instructions for each step. The pie crust and pastry cream can be prepared several days ahead and kept refrigerated. The pastry should be baked and glaze should be prepared the morning of serving, just before the pie is assembled, allowing ample time for thorough chilling.
Step one– All-Butter Pie Crust, adapted from King Arthur Flour
Of course, you can use a good-quality purchased pie crust. But if you are inclined to bake one yourself, this simple pie crust relies on butter for both its flakiness and wonderful flavor.
2 ½ cups (312.5 g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (226.8 g) unsalted butter*
¼ to ½ ( 59 ml to 118 ml) cup ice water
*If you use salted butter, reduce the salt in the recipe to ½ teaspoon.
Whisk together flour and salt. Dice half the butter into small cubes and slice remainder into pats. Cut the butter cubes into the flour until it’s well-distributed but unevenly crumbly, leaving some of the butter in pea-sized pieces. Then add cold pats. Toss pats with flour, separating as you go. Then squeeze the pats flat with fingers, working fast to keep butter cold. When finished, large chunks of butter should be visible.
Stir in ice water a tablespoon or two at a time. Toss dough with fork. Dough is ready when it looks crumbly but holds together when squeezed.
Transfer dough to a sheet of parchment paper. Use ends of parchment to fold dough over on itself, pressing flat after each fold. Spray any dry spots with ice water. Stop adding water when the dough starts to come together, and grab it in your hands. If it holds together easily, without crumbling, it’s ready. If it has dry spots, or pieces break off easily, add a bit more water until it’s totally cohesive. Continue folding and spraying until dough is completely cohesive.
Gather dough into a ball, and divide it in half. Gently shape each half into a rough disk and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate dough for at least 30 minutes before rolling. If dough has been refrigerated longer than 30 minutes, allow it to warm at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes, until it rolls easily. Use pastry within a few days or freeze.
Blind baking the crust – on day of serving
Pre-heat oven to 375°F (190°C).
Roll out pie crust on a lightly floured surface to a circle 4 inches wider than pie plate.
Place crust in the pan. Trim overhanging edges of pastry to 1 ½ inch. Roll excess dough underneath until it reaches and aligns with the edge of the pie plate. ((You want to make sure you are actually rolling this (like you would roll up a sleeping bag) and not just folding or tucking it under. The roll provides a firmer edge and more dough to crimp.)
Crimp edge. Prick dough all over with a fork. Line crust with a parchment. Add pie weights (dry rice or dried beans), enough to fill the pan ⅔ full. Chill the crust for 1 hour to solidify butter and prevent shrinkage.
Bake in a preheated oven for 20 minutes. Remove parchment with pie weights. Replace pie in the oven and bake for another 20 minutes or until crust is golden. Cool to room temperature before filling.
Yield: 1 double crust pie or 2 single crust pies. You will need to bake one crust for this pie on the day of serving. The other crust can be wrapped tightly wrapped in plastic and frozen for up to 3 months.
Step Two — Pastry Cream, adapted from pastrylikeapro.com
This version of pastry cream is thickened with gelatin in addition to the usual flour. The gelatin holds the pastry cream at room temperature and prevents weeping after refrigeration.
1½ teaspoons gelatin
2 teaspoons cold water
1⅓ cup (355 ml) milk, very hot
4 egg yolks
½ cup sugar (100 g)
¼ cup flour (35 g)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean split
Soften gelatin in cold water and set aside.
If using vanilla bean, scrape out seeds and add to milk along with the pod; heat the milk until hot but not boiling.
Whisk egg yolks and sugar together in a non-reactive saucepan. Whisk in flour. Remove vanilla pod from the milk, if using. Add milk slowly, whisking well and scraping the corners of the pan with a rubber spatula to make sure entire egg yolk mixture is incorporated. Place over medium heat and, stirring constantly, bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla (if using extract). Stir gelatin into hot cream and stir until dissolved. Pour into a storage container, cover the surface with plastic wrap, poke a few holes in it and refrigerate overnight to chill or freeze.
Yield: About 2 cups (480 ml)
Step Three — Strawberry Glaze
2 pounds (907 g) frozen whole strawberries, without added sugar
1 cup (200 g) sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1½ tablespoons unflavored gelatin
Thaw strawberries in a large bowl. Lightly mash just to break up big berries. Stir in sugar. Cover bowl and leave on counter until sugar starts to dissolve in exuded juices.
Transfer berries and juice into a large saucepan. Over medium-high heat, bring mixture to a simmer, stirring until all sugar is dissolved, about 2-3 minutes.
Remove from heat and strain mixture through a fine mesh strainer lined with muslin or cheesecloth into a large bowl. Using a spatula, press strawberries to release all the juices. (When refrigerated, remaining strawberry pulp will set up like jam and can be used as topping on toast, pancakes or waffles.)
Pour juice into a 2 cup measuring cup. If there are less than 1 ¾ cups of juice, add water to make up the difference. Reheat juice in a saucepan over medium heat,
In mixing bowl, sprinkle unflavored gelatin over ¼ cup (50 ml) water. Let stand for several minutes until gelatin is hydrated. Add premixed gelatin to the hot juice and stir until dissolved.
Cool to room temperature before glazing strawberries.
Yield: 2 cups (480 ml)
Step Four — Whipping cream—prepare the day of serving
1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Chill mixing bowl, beaters or whisk and heavy cream for several hours before using.
Combine cream and vanilla in a chilled bowl. Beat whipping cream in a stand mixer or by hand-held mixer with a whisk attachment or by hand until soft peaks form. Add powdered sugar and beat until peaks of whipping cream hold firmly but have slightly softened tips. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
Yield: About 2 cups (240ml)
Step Five: Pie Assembly – the morning of serving
2 pints fresh strawberries
½ cup (55 g) sliced almonds
Remove baked pie crust and pastry cream from refrigerator half hour before assembly.
Stir pastry cream with a spoon until smooth and fill the pie crust with 1 inch of pastry cream. Save remaining pastry cream in refrigerator or freeze in a tightly lidded container for another dessert.
Rinse and hull strawberries. Dry thoroughly on a kitchen towel. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Dip strawberries one at a time in the glaze and place in concentric rings on the pastry cream until the entire surface is covered. Place in the refrigerator for an hour for the strawberries and pastry cream to set. Then, dip more strawberries in glaze and place on top, creating a mound in the center of the pie. Refrigerate for several hours to gel.
Garnish with swirls of whipping cream and sliced almonds a few hours before serving.
One year ago: http://www.kitchenepiphanies.com/a-tomato-lovers-panzanella/