Roasted strawberry cream pie

My roasted strawberry cream pie is incredibly light with a buttery, flaky crust, jammy roasted strawberries, and served chilled for the perfect summer dessert. This post is sponsored by Calphalon. All opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that make Beyond Sweet and Savory possible.

As summer rolls along, nature provides us with an abundance of fruits from strawberries, berries, and stone fruits to figs. At their peak ripeness, they are delicious eaten raw and baked. Pies, tarts, cobblers, and crumbles make regular appearances at the end of our summer meals. With endless dessert possibilities, I’m excited to partner with Calphalon to share the most requested summer dessert from family and friends, my roasted strawberry cream pie. This delicious pie plays on the classic combination of strawberries and cream that I grew up with. It only takes a few steps to put together and can be made ahead of time for the perfect summer dessert. 

Ingredient notes

Strawberries: Strawberry is the hero in this pie. Buy in season, fresh strawberries that are plump, firm, and fully red. Avoid bruised or wrinkled strawberries. Some of my favorite strawberry varieties are gaviota, albion, mignonette, alpine, and mara des bois.   

Mascarpone: Originating in Italy, mascarpone is a mild and creamy fresh cheese with a consistency similar to soft butter or thick crème fraîche. It adds a layer of richness to the whipped cream that makes up the cream component of this pie. You can make your own but I prefer store bought mascarpone.

Tips for a flaky pie crust

For my pie crust, I used a simple recipe of all purpose flour, unsalted butter, powdered sugar, iced cold water, and distilled white vinegar.  The dough came together in minutes with the help of my trusty food processor.  Adding vinegar to the pie crust helps tenderize the dough by inhibiting gluten formation, makes it easier to work it, and creates a flaky, buttery crust.

Other things that I find helpful for getting a good crust is keeping your equipment and butter as cold as possible so the butter does not melt and becomes overworked. Once the dough came together, I let it rest in the fridge for an hour for the gluten to relax before rolling it out. With the scorching summer heat, it might be easier to make the crust at night when the temperature drops. You can leave the unbaked crust in your fridge or freezer until ready to bake. 

Tips for blind-baking a pie crust

For this roasted strawberry cream pie, blind-baking is required. Blind-baking is the process of cooking a pie shell before it's filled especially for pies with no-bake fillings like banana and cream, lemon meringue, or chocolate pudding. It’s a two step process that requires the crust to be filled with pie weights for the first bake. The pie weights help the crust keep its shape instead of slumping into a gloppy mess. If you don’t own pie weights, you can also use dried beans or rice like how I did.  

On the second round, the pie weights are removed and crust baked until golden brown. You’re aiming for the color of golden brown to get the best texture and flavor. When in doubt, it’s better to slightly over-bake than under-bake. No one likes a soggy crust. The baked crust will keep at room temperature, tightly wrapped, for up to 2 days.

My pie crust resulted in a perfect flaky texture with the help of my Calphalon Performance Cool Touch Countertop Oven. Yay for no soggy bottom! For the first round, I baked the crust at 400 degrees F for 25 minutes. Once the pie weights were removed, the crust went back in the oven for an additional 10 minutes to finish baking. Using Quartz Heat Technology, the Calphalon countertop oven provides consistent, even heating on the inside, and the innovative cool touch exterior keeps the outside of the oven 75% cooler even when cooking at maximum temperature. 

Tips for roasting strawberries

While the pie crust was cooling down, I prepared the roasted strawberries. For smaller strawberries, leave them whole and halve the bigger ones. Drizzle a mixture of maple syrup and vanilla bean seeds to add sweetness and flavor. You don’t need much maple syrup if you’re using strawberries with the perfect ripeness. In season strawberries tend to be juicer, sweeter and more flavorful than they are the rest of the year. If you don’t have maple syrup, honey is a good substitute. Arrange them in a single layer on a pan lined with parchment paper for easy clean up and collecting all the juices. I roasted the strawberries at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes. 

The roast function of the Calphalon countertop is one that I use often for making dessert like this balsamic strawberry ice cream as well as vegetables, meat, and fish. I love how versatile the Calphalon countertop oven is with 12 cooking functions (Toast, Bagel, Bake, Roast, Broil, Pizza, Cookies, Reheat, Dehydrate, Keep Warm, Defrost and Bread Proof) to ensure the best cooking experience. 

After 20 minutes, the heat from the oven concentrated the fruit’s natural sugars, leaving them caramelized with an intense sweetness and deep flavor as the strawberries broke down and released their juices. These roasted strawberries make the perfect topping for cream pie, ice cream, yogurt, and oatmeal. 

How to make the cream filling

The cream filling for this roasted strawberry cream pie is a mixture of whipped cream and mascarpone. I whipped the heavy cream to soft peaks, folded in the mascarpone and powdered sugar, then continued beating the mixture until stiff peaks formed. 

To check for peaks, hold your whisk up. If the cream on your whisk gently droops or just barely holds its shape, you have soft peaks. If the cream stands tall and doesn't drip off the whisk, you have stiff peaks. Don't keep whipping past this stage or you'll risk over-whipping your cream and making butter instead. The cream filling can be made ahead and stored in the fridge for 2 days.  

Once all the components are ready, it’s a cinch to put the pie together. Simply fill the crust with cream then top it off with roasted strawberries and a light drizzle of syrup. It is best eaten the day of but can be stored in the fridge for 48 hours.

The intensely jammy strawberries pair well with the sweetened cream and crisp crust bringing a delightful combination of flavor and texture. This roasted strawberry cream pie is incredibly light with a flaky crust, roasted strawberries, and served chilled for the perfect summer dessert.

For more summer dessert inspiration, check these recipes: strawberry rhubarb mascarpone galette, blueberry and mascarpone galette, peach and blueberry cobbler,