Strawberry Cream Puff Pie -- Joelle

I'm so glad we're back at it! I've missed Cooking with Cuties.

This week I made a Strawberry Cream Puff Pie. I got the recipe from Real Mom Kitchen. We went to the Farmer's Market yesterday and bought a gallon of fresh strawberries and I thought this recipe would spotlight them perfectly.

I made this for our small group. I started it when the girls went down for their nap today. I made the puff pastry crust and let it cool. Pressley woke up early and was running a 103 degree fever. I sat with her, rocked her, comforted her and tried several times to get up to finish the pie. Every time I tried she cried and cried. I finally convinced her to sit on the counter next to me while I finished. I made the cream layer and then tossed on the strawberries I had already cut up. I thought I was done.

I intended to let the strawberries sit in some sugar water before I put them on the pie but with my little interruption, I forgot. So I tossed a few of the cut up strawberries in a skillet, added about 3 tablespoons of sugar and some water and cooked it until it made a thickened sauce. I let it cool completely then spread it on top of the pie and David said that sauce really "made" it for him. So I guess this sauce is a keeper.

Since Pressley was sick, I stayed home with her and David took the pie with him. He said everyone loved it and gave it an A. I can't grade it for myself since I didn't get to try it. I asked David if he would want me to make it again and he said "Yes, it was really good!". Thats a lot coming from David! He tends to grade me a little on the tough side.

So, I'll call this one a success! I didn't get any pictures of my prep. I planned to get one of my cooked crust and then another picture after each layer but with Pressley it just didn't happen. David did take a couple of pictures of it before it was served.

I will make this again. I can't wait to try it and it seems to be perfect for summer!

The recipe:


Strawberry Cream Puff Pie


Cream Puff Base:
5 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup water
1 tablespoon sugar
2/3 cup flour
3 eggs


Cream Cheese Mixture:
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon fresh orange zest
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2/3 cup powdered sugar


1. For the cream puff layer, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Bring the butter, water and sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the flour all at once and stir quickly until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan. Remove the pan from the heat and stir the mixture until smooth. Let cool for 5 minutes.
2. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until the mixture is shiny with a satiny sheen. Don’t overbeat. Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch spring form pan (or in a pinch, you could use a 9-inch circle cake pan). Using an offset spatula, spread the mixture on the bottom and one inch up the sides of the prepared pan. Bake for 25 minutes.
3. Remove from the oven and prick pastry with a toothpick 10-12 times. Return to the oven and bake 5-10 minutes more until golden brown but not over baked (you can insert a toothpick into the center and if it comes out with sticky dough, it still needs longer in the oven). Cool completely.
4. For the cream cheese mixture, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Gradually add the powdered sugar (if you want to ensure there are no lumps, sift the powdered sugar into the cream cheese) and beat with the cream cheese until mixture is smooth and light. Add the remaining ingredients and beat until stiff peaks form. Spread onto the cooled cream puff shell.
5. Top with fresh sliced strawberries (I mixed 2 cups of strawberries with 2 teaspoon sugar and let them hang out in the fridge while I was prepping the cake) or you can use a 16-ounce bag of frozen strawberries that have been thawed. Mix the thawed strawberries and juice with 1-2 teaspoons sugar and bring to a simmer in a saucepan. Cook until slightly thickened. Cool completely and use as topping for the cake