Strawberry Cream Pie with Pomegranate Glaze

I love pie, but I really don’t love making pie crusts.  In fact, I’m pretty bad at making pie crusts.  So as much as I love pie, in the past it hasn’t been something I’ve made very often.  But a few months ago, I discovered this fool-proof pie crust from The Country Cook that even I can’t mess up!  It has become my go-to pie crust and I no longer hesitate to make pies.

This strawberry cream pie happened almost by accident.  I had a big container of strawberries that I’d gotten from Costco and I was trying to think of something to do with them before they went bad.  Somehow pie popped into my head and I also knew I had some mascarpone cheese that I needed to use up as well as heavy cream.  So strawberry cream pie it was and since I had a big container of pomegranate juice, I decided use that to make the glaze.

While I know pie is meant to be a treat and isn’t really what you would call healthy, I decided to make it slightly healthier and sweeten it with agave nectar instead of using refined sugar. And since the strawberries are already sweet and the mascarpone cheese and cream are already slightly sweet, I kept the amount of agave to a minimum.  The result was the perfect amount of sweetness for my taste and it let the flavor of the strawberries shine through.

Strawberry Cream Pie with Pomegranate Glaze

For Crust:

• 1  3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp water

For filling:

• 1 1/2 cups 100% pomogranate juice (i.e Pom Wonderful)
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp agave nectar, divided
• 3 tbsp cornstarch
• 2 lbs fresh strawberries
• 1 (8 oz) container mascarpone cheese
• 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine flour and salt in a mixing bowl.

Stir in oil and water until well combined.  Form dough into a ball.

Coat pie pan with cooking spray.

Place dough ball in pie pan.

Gently press dough out with your fingers, until it’s spread out into an even layer on the bottom of the pan and up the sides.

Crimp the top edge of the crust with your fingers.

Poke the bottom of the crust with a fork, to keep it from puffing up while it bakes.

Bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, until golden.

Allow crust to cool completely.

Meanwhile, whisk together pomegranate juice, 1/4 cup agave and cornstarch in a small saucepan.

Bring mixture to a boil and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture has thickened into a glaze.

Allow glaze to cool, stirring occasionally to prevent a skin from forming.

Hull strawberries and cut into quarters.

Once glaze has cooled, pour over strawberries and gently toss to coat the berries.

Combine mascarpone, cream, remaining 2 tbsp agave and vanilla in a mixing bowl.

Beat mixture until it becomes stiff.

Spread cream mixture over the cooled pie crust.

Top cream mixture with strawberries.

Keep pie refrigerated.

ENJOY!

 

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The Country Cook