An easy icebox pie made with fresh strawberry compote, tart and smooth cream cheese flavored with creamy vanilla paste, all atop a sweet and salty pretzel crust.
1pound(454g) fresh or frozen strawberries1hulled and sliced into halves or quarters; about 2 and ½ cups once sliced
½cup(120mL) water
3Tablespoons(38g) granulated sugar
1 and ½Tablespoonslemon juice2
1 and ½Tablespoons(15g) cornstarch
PRETZEL CRUST
2cupscrushed pretzelsabout 5 cups of whole mini pretzels
½cup(113g) unsalted buttermelted
¼cup(50g) firmly packed light brown sugar
PIE FILLING
1cup(240mL) heavy cream
8ounces(227g) full-fat block cream cheesesoftened to room temperature
1cup(120g) powdered sugar
2teaspoonsRodelle vanilla paste3
Instructions
STRAWBERRY COMPOTE
Combine the strawberries, water, sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch in a small saucepan.
Heat over medium heat, bring to a low boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10-12 minutes4 until liquid thickens. Set aside to cool.
PRETZEL CRUST
Preheat the oven to 350ºF (177ºC). Spray a 9" springform pan (this is my preference) or traditional pie plate with non-stick spray. Set aside.
Place the crushed pretzels in a medium size bowl, drizzle the melted butter evenly over the pretzels, add the brown sugar, then stir to mix completely.
Press the pretzel evenly into the bottom and up the sides of the prepared pan, then bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before you add the prepared filling.
PIE FILLING
In a medium size bowl with a hand mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the whipping cream until medium-stiff peaks form (about 3-4 minutes; see this tutorial for step-by-step instructions for homemade whipped cream). Place bowl in the refrigerator (or transfer to smaller bowl if using a stand mixer) until ready to use.
In a large bowl with a hand mixer or the same bowl of the stand mixer (no need to clean) now fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium-high speed until smooth. Reduce mixer speed to low and add the sugar, increase the mixer speed to medium-high, and beat again until smooth. Add the vanilla paste and continue beating until smooth. Scrape down the sides as necessary.
Turn off the mixer and fold in the cold whipped cream with a large spatula until mostly incorporated. Add the cooled strawberry compote and fold again with the spatula until white swirls disappear and filling is evenly pink.
Pour the filling onto the baked pretzel crust and spread evenly with the spatula. Cover with foil or plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator or freezer5 at least 4 hours before serving. Store leftovers covered tightly in the refrigerator up to 5 days or the freezer up to 2 weeks.
Notes
Fresh or frozen strawberries: I like to use fresh the best, but out of season, frozen work just fine. Do not thaw. You may need to simmer the compote a bit longer to account for the added water from thawing.
Lemon juice: it is best to use freshly squeezed lemon juice in compote, but you can use bottled if it's all you have available to you.
Vanilla paste: my preferred brand of vanilla paste is Rodelle. If you don’t have vanilla paste, you can substitute 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract. You will not have flecks of vanilla in your cookies unless you use homemade vanilla extract. You can also scrape out the seeds from 2 vanilla bean pods instead of using vanilla paste or vanilla extract.
Simmer time: this recipe both halves and doubles beautifully. You may need to reduce or increase simmer time depending on how large your batch is. You want the juice to hold a thick coating on the back of a spoon when it's sufficiently reduced.
Fridge or freezer: I tested this recipe in both the refrigerator and the freezer and depending on what kind of end result you're looking for, you can choose which best fits with your chilling option.If you chill this pie in the fridge, know that it will still be fairly soft when you slice it. This can make for messier slices, but is fine if you are putting it right into a bowl or don't mind eating it with a spoon.If you'd prefer more of a sturdy, definitively sliceable pie, go the freezer route. Allow the pie to sit out for at least 15-20 minutes to insure you can get through it.
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.