Strawberry Sour Cream Pie

Sunday Dinner Dessert

I love Sundays even if I know the weekend is almost over. I especially like Sundays where we don't have too much in the way of plans and I can spend some time getting dinner ready. I find that I am willing to put the extra time in a dinner and can plan on leftovers for Monday lunch. Right now I have Chicken Cordon Bleu, Green Bean Casserole (with fresh Haricot Verts beans steamed!)  and Corn Pudding all in the oven while I write this.

I found this recipe for Summer Strawberry Sour Cream Pie on Pinterest the other day and used this for inspiration. I doubled the recipe and made a few changes so I thought I probably should post it. I doubled it first of all, then blended two kinds of flour, added a little almond extract to the dough, and some vanilla and creme fraiche to the filling. It smells heavenly and I can't wait to dig in after dinner. Once that happens I will add a photo of a slice at the bottom of the blog.

I mixed 2 kinds of flour to make the crust. I had both all purpose and then white whole wheat in the house so I figured I would hedge my bets and use both. I used my Kitchen Aid mixer rather than a food processor, using the wire whisk to mix the flour and salt together.


 
To this I added the Crisco, in little bits, making sure to take a rest between each addition and mix so as not to overheat the mixture. I then moved on to the chunks of butter, doing the same. I noticed at that point I had to use the paddle attachment rather than the whisk.I kept turning it on and off again, to make sure I didn't overheat everything.

I added the cold water, a little bit at a time, by the tablespoonful. I found that I needed quite a bit of water to create a dough that would actually come together and maybe that is because I used a mixer instead of a processor but it worked. I estimate it was about a 1/4 cup. Once I could see my dough was almost the right consistency I added the almond extract. I think the aroma itself makes it worth adding!


I put the dough on to a wooden board and formed two balls with my hands, and then flattened to disks. These were wrapped in plastic wrap and chilled for about a half hour. It's really important to work with chilled dough for this work. . . Also little tip. . . My board is a remnant from Ikea that I bought in the clearance section. I have tiled countertops that are not conducive to rolling anything out so this is a portable surface that I can use either in the kitchen or in the dining room and makes making breads and cookies easy too!

I turned the dough on to the board, once I floured it, and rolled each disk out to a little larger a circumference than the pie plate. I then pressed it into the pie plate and crimped. Now, I'm no expert and these aren't as beautiful as a professional but I'll take it. I then turned my attention to the filling.

In the mixer, I first sifted the flour, salt and sugar with the whisk attachment. I used two kinds of sugar, turbinado and cane sugars. I then added sour cream and creme fraiche as well as some vanilla extract and cinnamon. I then folded the strawberries in by hand, taking care not to be rough with them. I then spooned the mixture into the two pie crusts, carefully spreading but not packing the filling.

I sprinkled some more turbinado sugar on the top of the filling and then put the pies into a preheated oven at 450 degrees for ten minutes. Based on the original recipe, after ten minutes I reduced the temperature to 350 degrees and baked for about another half hour, making sure not to go too long. I then also broiled the tops of the pies for about 4 minutes on high.

Recipe:

Pie Crust (makes 2)

2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups white whole wheat flour (I used Trader Joe's brand)
1/2 cup Crisco, chilled
1 cup cold butter chopped
Cold ice water (approximately 1/4 cup)
1 Tablespoon Almond Extract

Filling Ingredients

2 lbs fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 cup Turbinado sugar
1 1/4 cup White Sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
1 cup creme fraiche
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons Turbinado sugar

Directions:

• Combine flour and salt together. Add bit of shortening and using whisk attachment, combine with slow speed and with breaks in the standing mixer. Add cubes of chilled butter in the same manner.
• Add minimal amounts of cold water until dough will form a ball with shaping. Add almond extract.
• Separate dough into two balls and flatten into disks. Wrap in plastic and chill in the fridge for about a half hour.
• Place disks on floured board and roll out, to a little bit larger than your pie plates and then transfer to plates, trimming and crimping dough.
• Sift flour, sugars and salt in the standing mixer. Add sour cream, creme fraiche, vanilla and cinnamon and blend until creamy. Hand fold the strawberries into the mixture. Spoon into pie shells and sprinkle with sugar.
• Bake in a 450 degree preheated oven for ten minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake an additional 30 minutes. Broil the pies for about 4 minutes and then let cool completely before slicing.