Whether you’re feeding a crowd or just don’t want the hassle of making a traditional pie, you’ll love a slab pie filled with everything you love about a strawberry pie but easier! Try a strawberry slab pie and showcase your fresh strawberries surrounded by a buttery crust that makes this a summertime favorite.
We’re still finding fresh strawberries here and a strawberry slab pie is a wonderful way to show off their sweetness. With an amazing buttery crust on both the top and bottom, you get the best of both worlds, sweet berries and double the flaky crust.
In North Carolina, we get wonderfully sweet strawberries for about 3 months, so for 3 glorious months, I go crazy with them making jam, pies, cakes, bars and throwing them in salads and on crackers.
However, when I want just simple strawberries baked in a flaky crust, a slab pie is the way to go. If strawberries aren’t in season, then try a chocolate pecan slab pie, it’s great anytime of the year.
Why you’ll love it
- The focus is all on the scrumptious strawberries
- A top and bottom buttery crust allows you to have twice as much crust in every bite
- A traditional strawberry pie will not slice into pretty pieces, with extra crust a slab pie is easier to eat
- There’s nothing like homemade strawberry pie
What you’ll need
- Strawberries – You have to have fresh. If you don’t have fresh berries, then try making strawberry icebox pie where you can use a mixture of fresh and frozen.
- Orange – just a little zest, if you don’t have an orange, you can use a lemon instead.
- Cornstarch – strawberries are so juicy you have to have something to thicken it and cornstarch works great. You could also use potato starch.
- Demerara sugar – I love this for topping fruit desserts, it is a larger grain sugar that has a toffee flavor.
- For the crust you will use pantry staples, flour, butter, sugar, egg yolks, and milk.
The pastry surrounding the strawberries is a little different from my traditional pie crust in that it has egg yolks and milk for the liquid. This makes a melt-in-you-mouth flaky, buttery crust. Pre-baking the pie crust keeps it from being soggy.
Step by step guide
Step 1: Make a piecrust using a food processor, mixer or pastry cutter. It needs to refrigerate for at least an hour. You can do this in advance and freeze it until you are ready to make your pie.
Step 2: Take ⅓ of the pie dough and roll it into an 8 inch square and refrigerate it on a cookie sheet.
Roll out the remaining dough into a 12 inch square and place it in an 8 inch square pan, pressing it into the corners and up the sides. Add pie weights and bake until golden brown. Let cool completely.
Step 3: Combine the strawberries with the sugar, cornstarch and orange zest and place it in the pre-baked crust.
Cover with the smaller piece of pie crust and brush with an egg wash and Demerara sugar. Cut some slits in the top to allow for steam to escape and bake for about 50 minutes. Let cool for about 3 hours and then remove from the pan.
FAQs and tips
I slab pie is a pie that has been adjusted to fit into a square or rectangle.
If you don’t want to use cornstarch, potato starch works great for thickening a fruit pie.
Almost all fruit pies do not hold up well after a day or so. The fruit has so much liquid that you will have a soggy crust after a day. For this strawberry slab pie you will need to make it in advance because it needs to set for a couple of hours before you cut it but it is best eaten within one day.
Since the pie is so juicy, vanilla ice cream is the perfect topping. You could also top it with whipped cream.
The only down side to this recipe is that you have to let the pie sit for a couple of hours. We like it while it’s still slightly warm but it’s still delicious cold the next day.
More Pies you’ll love
Adapted from Food & Wine May 2015
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Strawberry Slab Pie
Ingredients
CRUST
- 2 cups flour
- 4 teaspoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 18 tablespoons butter cut into cubes and chilled
- 2 egg yolks
- ¼ cup whole milk
PIE
- 4 cups strawberries quartered
- 1 cup sugar
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon orange zest
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 egg beaten
- Demerara sugar
Equipment
Instructions
- PIE CRUST: In a food processor, add flour, sugar and salt. Add cold butter and process until pea size pieces are still visible. In a small bowl whisk together egg yolks and milk and add to flour processing just until the dough just comes together. Place on lightly floured surface and form into a one inch disc. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350º. Spray an 8 inch square baking pan and line with parchment paper leaving 3 inches of overhand on all sides.
- Cut ⅓ of pastry from the disk and with a rolling pin, roll it out to an 8-inch square and place it on a cookie sheet and refrigerate.
- Lightly flour the plastic wrap and roll out the remaining pastry into a 12-inch square, about ¼ inch thick. Place the pastry in the prepared pan, pressing it into the corners and up the sides. Trim the excess pastry, leaving no overhang. Line the pastry with parchment paper and fill with pie weights. Bake for 30 minutes until just pale golden and set. Remove the pie weights and if the pastry has sunk down the side, gently push it into place before it cools. Let cool completely.
- PIE: In a medium bowl, toss the strawberries with sugar, cornstarch, orange zest and salt. Spread into the cooled pastry crust. Cover with the chilled piece of pastry curst, gently pressing it down around the edges. Brush the top with the beaten egg and sprinkle with Demerara sugar. Using a sharp knife, make six 2-inch slits in the top of the pastry.
- Bake for 50 minutes, until the crust is deep golden. Transfer the pan to a rack to cool at least 3 hours before trying to remove from the pan. Carefully lift the pie using the parchment paper.
Barbara’s Tips + Notes
- You can make the pie dough ahead of time and freeze it until you’re ready to make the pie.
- Make sure you let the pie cool before trying to remove it from the pan. If you can’t wait, just cut the slices in the pan, it will be juicy but still delicious.
- Do not use frozen strawberries, there will be too much liquid.
- You can use a purchased pie crust if needed.
- You can use lemon zest instead of orange zest.
- This is great served with vanilla ice cream.
Nutrition
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