BERRYLICIOUS Strawberry Cream Pie!
Strawberry season is the best season! When berries are abundant and at their peak freshness, ripeness, sweetness and FLAVOR.
When Aldi marked down strawberries, I STOCKED UP with 5 pounds lol. Then I took 3 cups of those juicy ripe berries and transformed them into one of my favorite strawberry recipes YET. Holy moly you guys. This is a must-make!
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Favorite 'REAL DEAL' Grain-Free Crust
This crust is one of my ALL -TIME FAVES. It reminds me of the conventional flour, sugar, butter crusts-- tastes so buttery like a shortbread cookie. But there's no butter!
I keep going back to this crust recipe from my Chocolate Silk Pie. It's one that I make again and again and it never disappoints!
Plus it's so much healthier than the traditional pie crust. No gluten, no grains, no refined sugar. Since it's made with almond flour, flax and coconut oil, it's full of protein and fiber and healthy fats. Your grandma's pie crust can't say THAT. 😉
Don't worry about having to cut in the butter, or roll the dough, or use pie weights or any of that crazy stuff. This one you just stir together and press into a pan. I use parchment paper to make it much easier to remove.
Desserts with Fresh Strawberries
You guys have asked for more recipes using *fresh* strawberries and I delivered! You won't need any freeze-dried strawberries like a few of my recipes call for.
And you won't even need to cook the berries to remove the water! (Did you know strawberries are like 98% water?!)
So how do you make a strawberry pie that doesn't end up watery or soggy? Nope, it's not gelatin, eggs, cashews, starch or oil!
It's a unique ingredient that is a game-changer. Coconut Butter! See all about it below.
How to make Magic PINK Filling
It's the magic of COCONUT BUTTER. What is coconut butter? It's made simply by blending dried (unsweetened) coconut flakes into butter the same way you make nut butter.
SO EASY (and way cheaper than buying it).
How to Make Coconut Butter
- Just put 2 cups of coconut flakes in a food processor.
- Let it blend until it's basically a liquid (very runny and thin). It can take about 15 minutes, so I like to start my butter as the crust is baking.
- Stop a few times along the way to scrape down the sides.
- Boom. It's done.
Does it Taste Like Coconut?
No, surprisingly it does NOT taste like coconut (even though I love the stuff!) Coconut butter has a mildly sweet sort of shortbread type of flavor. All I taste here is mega strawberry sweetness. Mmmm so good.
TIP: use *fresh* coconut flakes since older/stale ones are harder to blend. Learned that the hard way and it took forrrrevr 😉
Store-Bought Coconut Butter
If you opt to use pre-made coconut butter, it is CRUCIAL that you melt the entire jar and STIR it every time you use it. That's because the natural oil can rise to the top and separate and it must be thoroughly mixed back in.
Easy & Delicious
Now for the EASY pink magic... Throw in 2 cups of strawberries and you get this DELICIOUS beautiful PINK strawberry cream!! I'm IN LOVE.
To finish slather the crust in pink cream and add more beautiful berries on top.
Set it in the fridge to chill for a couple of hours to set. Then get ready to enjoy a pie that's absolutely bursting with strawberry flavor.
Sweetener Swap
Pure maple syrup may be swapped with a sugar-free syrup such as
- lakanto vanilla monk ruit syrup (Used code PRETTYPIES for 20% off)
- Besti vanilla monkfruit/allulose syrup (Used code PRETTYPIES for 10% off)
- or stevia syrup that measures 1:1 with maple.
Or use an equal amount of liquid such as coconut milk + your favorite concentrated sweetener such as:
Or a powdered sweetener such as
- Lakanto powdered monkfruit/erythritol
- Besti powdered allulose/monkfruit
- (Used code PRETTYPIES for 10% off)
*Always sweeten to taste*
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If you make this, drop a comment below, or tag me on Insta! I'd love to hear what you think 😀
Strawberry Cream Pie (Gluten and Dairy-Free)
Ingredients
Shortbread Cookie Crust:
- 2 ¼ cups almond flour
- ¼ cup coconut oil - or oil of choice
- 2 Tbs maple syrup - or SF syrup (see above)
- 2 Tbs ground flax + 2 Tbs water
- ¼ teaspoon pink salt
Strawberry Cream Filling:
- 2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut - or scant ¾ cup coconut butter, warmed
- 2 cups diced strawberries - + more for topping
- 2 Tbs maple syrup - or SF syrup
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Dash of salt
Instructions
To make the crust:
- Preheat oven to 375. Line a pie plate with parchment.
- In a small bowl, whisk together flax, water and maple syrup. Set aside 2 minutes to thicken. Then whisk in oil.
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together almond flour, salt. Pour wet mixture over flour and mix well.
- Spread dough over the dish and flatten with a measuring cup. Pinch the edges with your fingers. Use a fork to poke holes all over the bottom to let air escape.
- Bake for about 20 min until lightly golden around the edges. Let cool before filling.
To make the Strawberry Cream Filling:
- Blend coconut in a food processor for about 15 minutes until liquefied, scraping down the sides as needed.
- Add remaining ingredients and blend smooth. Taste and adjust for sweetness, if needed (esp if your berries are tart)
- Pour filling over crust. Garnish with more strawberries and chill in the fridge for 2 hours to set.
- ENJOY!
Notes
MORE Healthy Strawberry Recipes
ps. If you love strawberries, be sure to check out these other delectable berrylicious desserts (all free from gluten & dairy!):
Nienke
Hi Emily! I don't have a food processor, will a blender also do the job?
Emily
If it is a high speed blender such as a Vitamix, yes. Otherwise, I don't think it will make the coconut butter smooth enough. Let me know if you make it and how it turns out
Audrey
Would substituting gluten-free all-purpose flour work in place of the almond flour? Would the measurement be the same?
Emily
Possibly! Same amount. It would be a softer texture though since GF is lower fat/protein.
Honestly, I would just use a recipe specifically developed for GF flour to ensure the best results. Hope that helps
Eryn Rubin
Made this for 4th of July and it was delicious
Emily
So happy to hear that! Thanks for letting me know 🙂
Ann
I use a regular egg rather than flax?
Emily
Sure, I think that would be fine
Ann
Thank you!! Can't wait to try!