Description
Copycat recipe of the famous Fresh Strawberry Icebox Pie from Strawn’s Eat Shop in Shreveport, Louisiana. This cold, no-bake pie is made with fresh strawberries, a strawberry glaze, and whipped cream, all on top of a thin cracker crust.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Crust
- 1 graham cracker pie crust (9″ preferred)
- 1 egg, beaten (optional)
Glaze
- 2 eggs
- 130 g granulated sugar (~2/3 cup)
- 21 g cornstarch (~3 tbsp)
- 6 oz whole milk* (~3/4 cup)
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1–2 drops red gel food coloring (*see notes)
- 25 g freeze-dried strawberries (*pulsed into a powder, ~3/4 oz)
Fresh Strawberry Filling
- 1 lb strawberries (sliced into quarters, ~3 cups)
- 55 g powdered sugar (~1/4 cup)
Whipped Topping
- 16 oz cold heavy cream (~2 cups)
- 55 g powdered sugar (~1/4 cup)
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 strawberry half (for garnish)
Instructions
- Bake the crust. Brush egg wash on the storebought crust and bake per package instructions or at 375° for 8-12 minutes until golden brown. Set aside to cool.
- Make strawberry glaze. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and granulated sugar until incorporated. In a separate bowl, mix 2 tbsp of the milk with cornstarch and stir until smooth. Pour cornstarch mixture into the egg mixture and combine. Warm the remaining milk (1/2 cup + 2 tbsp) and butter over medium heat until steaming, approx 2 minutes (be careful not to bring it to a simmer). Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly, to avoid cooking the eggs.* Then place the entire mixture into the saucepan on medium heat. Stir constantly until the glaze thickens, about 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat. Pour the glaze through a fine-mesh strainer into a heat-safe bowl. The strainer ensures a smooth glaze.
- Whisk in the red food coloring and powdered freeze-dried strawberries to make that rich, red-pink color! Refrigerate the glaze for at least an hour to cool down. Cooling overnight is ideal. You’ll have enough strawberry glaze for about 2 pies, so you will have plenty.
- Make whipped cream. With a hand mixer or stand mixer with a whisk attachment, beat together the heavy cream, confectioner’s, sugar, and vanilla until it forms stiff peaks. Be careful not to overbeat it (it will look curdled if it is). Set aside.
- Assemble the pie. Spoon about half of the strawberry mixture into the pie crust (you will have extra for a second pie if you want!). Spread it all over the bottom and up the edges. Layer on the fresh quartered strawberries on top of the glaze. Sprinkle the 55g or 1/4 cup of powdered sugar on top of the strawberries, then add heaping spoonfuls of the whipped cream over the top. Spread the cream topping in a dome shape over the pie and garnish with a strawberry half.
- Serve cold. Keep the pie refrigerated if you don’t serve it all right away. It’s important to keep the whipped cream cool so that it doesn’t bleed too much into your fresh strawberries. The pie is best assembled the day you want to eat it.
Notes
- Make-Ahead Instructions. This pie is a perfect make-ahead recipe! Store the crust, glaze, and strawberries in your fridge until ready to serve. The glaze can stay good for up to 1.5 weeks. When you’re ready to serve, whip up the cream and assemble the pie!
- *Milk Replacement. Subbing for half and half or heavy cream will work just fine in this recipe. I would stay away from using nut milks or milk alternativess in the recipe because they lack the fat content needed for the glaze.
- *Red Gel Food Coloring. I use Wilton red icing gel which is more concentrated than liquid food coloring and will produce a richer red color.
- *Pulsed Freeze-Dried Strawberries: Add the freeze-dried strawberries to a food processor or spice grinder and pulse until it forms a powder. It’s okay if there are a few lumps but it should be mostly powder.
- *Tempering the egg mixture. If you start seeing specks of white in your glaze, the eggs have cooked and we definitely don’t want that! I recommend starting a new batch and ensuring you add the warm milk into the egg mixture even slower as you whisk vigorously.
Keywords: easy pie recipe, icebox pie, icebox pie recipe, pie