Feb 14, 2023

Strawberry Valentine Pie

Show off your heart with this delicious and beautiful Valentine strawberry pie.

Covered in a lacework of flaky pastry hearts, there is no mistaking the love this strawberry pie represents. Inside that flaky crust is an ocean of sweet strawberries just waiting for a dollop of whipped cream or ice cream.

This is the perfect pie for Valentine's Day, or any day you want to show someone how much you care.

For those with strawberry allergies, try swapping the strawberries for another berry that won't cause a reaction.

If using my simple pie dough recipe then this pie can be made gluten-free. I've included alternate ingredients on that recipe page. This pie is suitable for vegans as long as you ensure the pie shell you use is vegan.

Ingredients

(Makes 10 servings)

1, 2-part pie shell, frozen store-bought thawed, or my simple pie dough recipe
3 quarts fresh strawberries, hulled and diced with 7 strawberries left whole and 1 cup mashed
1 cup water
1 cup monk fruit sweetener (or granulated sugar)
3 tablespoons tapioca flour (or cornstarch)
1/4 teaspoon salt
juice of 1/2 a lemon

Directions

Follow the instructions for preparing a 2-part, 9-inch, store-bought pie shell, or my simple pie dough recipe.

If using my pie crust recipe, it will need to be blind baked and cooled before the filling is added. Preheat oven to 350°F / 175°C. Dock the bottom and sides on the crust once it is in your chosen pie shell. Line with parchment paper and fill the pie dish completely full of pie weights to ensure the sides don't collapse. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the crust starts to turn a golden brown. Remove pie weights and set aside to cool completely.

For the second part of the 2-part pie shell, cut out about 70 or so hearts using a small (~1.5-inch) heart-shaped cookie cutter. Total number of hearts needed will depend on the size of cutter you use. Reroll the scraps to continue making hearts as needed. Include any trimmed dough from the edge of the base if you've made my pie dough recipe.

High-quality saucepan perfect for this recipe

In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, add the 1 cup of mashed strawberries to 1 cup of water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and let simmer for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and carefully strain the liquid into a measuring cup, using the back of a spoon to press the juice through the sieve. There should be roughly 1 cup of liquid. If it is a little low add enough water to increase the volume to 1 cup. If more, reduce the volume. The remaining pulp can be discarded.

In a small bowl, add the sweetener and mix in the tapioca flour, and salt, whisking until they are fully combined.

Return the strawberry juice to the saucepan and place over medium heat. Add the lemon juice and stir. Bring to a simmer then slowly begin stirring in the sweetener and flour mixture ensuring it is completely incorporated. Let simmer for about 5 minutes until the liquid thickens and turns into strawberry sauce. Remove from heat.

Reheat oven to 350°F / 175°C.

In the cooled pie shell, add the diced strawberries. Add one of the whole berries bottom-up in the very centre of the pie and use the remaining 6 whole berries to create a circle around the one in the centre. Carefully pour the strawberry sauce evenly over the fresh berries. Give it a little shake to settle the filling then start arranging the hearts from the outside in towards the centre in four rows. The hearts should all slightly overlap giving you rows of approximately 24, 20, 15, and 10 hearts respectively. The last row of hearts should create a neat ring around the whole berries in the centre.

Place the pie on a sheet pan and bake in the centre of the oven for about 20 minutes or until the hearts on the top are golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature. If serving warm with ice cream, allow it to cool at least 20 to 30 minutes so the filling is not scalding hot.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: