No-Bake Strawberries & Cream Pie

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Remember how this weeknight vegetarian series was, in large part, motivation for me to plan meals ahead of time? Well, I am nothing if not very on top of all the things, and thus waited until 45 minutes before guests were arriving for dessert to decide what to make. Gold star donations accepted.

Despite the rush, this was delicious. Cool and creamy and fresh and ready in time. There are not many other things to be asked from a dessert.

No-Bake Strawberries & Cream Pie

Strawberry filling
1 9-inch graham cracker crust, homemade or store bought*
1 pint fresh strawberries (I actually used ones that we’d picked and frozen – worked fine)
1/2 – 3/4 cup white sugar (depending on sweetness of berries)
3 T cornstarch
3/4 cup water

Topping
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
1 t vanilla extract
1/2 cup heavy cream

*I’m usually finicky about doing things from scratch, but I feel like graham crackers are processed anyway, so I figure, might as well use a pre-made crust. Justification, I am its queen.

1. Arrange half
of strawberries in baked pastry shell. Mash remaining berries and
combine with sugar in a medium saucepan. Place saucepan over medium heat
and bring to a boil, stirring frequently.

2. In a bowl, whisk together cornstarch and water until dissolved. Gradually stir mixture into boiling strawberry mixture. Reduce heat and summer until thickened, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

3. Meanwhile, beat cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer (or use a handheld mixer) until fluffy (turns out I only had about 2 oz of cream cheese so my topping is a little runny but it was still delicious). Whip sour cream and vanilla. Whip heavy cream separately until it forms stiff peaks and fold into the cream cheese mixture.

4. Pour strawberry mixture into graham cracker crust and cover with cream cheese topping. Chill until ready to serve.