This strawberry orange cream pie has a cookie like shortcrust pastry, filled with strawberry cream filling flecked with fresh orange zest. Decorate your pie with sliced oranges and strawberries for a beautiful and refreshing summer dessert! And for just a strawberry cream pie, feel free to leave out the orange zest and extract, and it will be just as fantastic.
You might also love this strawberry vanilla bean ice cream, fresh strawberry pretzel pie, and strawberry shortcake layer cake.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Pretty and Naturally Pink. I love a pretty dessert, and this strawberry cream pie is as lovely to look at as it is delicious to eat.
Easy to Make. The crust is simple to make by pressing the crumbs into the pan before baking. No need to roll out dough with this recipe.
Perfect for Spring and Summer. This is a beautiful dessert to serve for a celebration in the warmer months, and everyone will love how cool and refreshing it is.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 recipe Shortcrust Pastry. The shortcrust pastry is buttery and crisp, like a shortbread cookie. It adds a nice textural contrast to the creamy strawberry filling in this pie.
TIP: If you prefer a thin, flaky pie crust instead of the shortcrust pastry, find my recipe for perfect all-butter pie dough here.
Filling
- Strawberries. Use fresh, ripe strawberries when they’re in season, but when they’re not, frozen berries are perfectly fine to use.
- Sugar. Granulated sugar adds sweetness.
- Cream Cheese. Adds a tangy flavor to balance the sweetness and a rich creamy texture. The cream cheese also helps to set the filling as it chills.
- Heavy Whipping Cream. Adds richness and creaminess.
- Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
- Orange Extract + Fresh Orange Zest. Adds brightness and orange flavor to complement the strawberries. The orange is totally optional, though.
- Strawberries and Oranges, for decorating.
Instructions
Crust
- Prepare 1 Recipe Shortcrust Pastry.
- Bake as instructed, and cool completely before filling. You can make the crust 1 day in advance, cover it loosely and keep at room temperature until ready to fill.
TIP: See my Shortcrust Pastry recipe for step-by-step photos for making and blind baking the crust. Or, if you prefer a thinner, flaky pie crust, you can get that recipe here.
Filling
- Combine the chopped strawberries and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, and cook for several minutes until the berries have softened and started to break down.
TIP: The next step of reducing the strawberry puree is important. If you don’t reduce the water content, your filling will be thin and watery, and won’t set up correctly.
- Pour the strawberries into a blender and puree until smooth. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer and discard the strained seeds.
- Return the strawberry puree to the saucepan. Reduce the heat to medium low, and simmer, stirring frequently, until the puree is reduced to 1 1/4 cups.
- Once reduced, cover and refrigerate the strawberry puree until completely chilled.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium speed for several minutes until smooth. Since the cream cheese will still be cold, it will be very thick, even when whipped.
- Add the chilled strawberry puree, vanilla extract, orange extract and orange zest. Beat for several minutes on medium speed until smooth, scraping the bowl down several times.
- Switch to the whisk attachment. Add the cold heavy whipping cream and whip on medium high speed for several minutes, until the mixture is very thick, fluffy and holds its shape.
- Spread the filling into the cooled crust. Refrigerate the pie for 3-4 hours, until the filling is chilled and set.
- Decorate with sliced fresh strawberries and oranges before serving.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!
Frequently Asked Questions
Will this filling work with a traditional pie crust or pastry crust?
Yes, it will. See this post for my flaky pie crust recipe and tips on blind-baking the crust.
Should I use fresh or frozen strawberries for the filling?
Both frozen and fresh berries will work just fine in this recipe.
Can I use strawberry jam instead of making the strawberry puree?
Maybe? I haven’t tested it, but it’s possible that if you substitute 1 1/4 cups jam for the strawberry/sugar puree, you could achieve a similar result in this strawberry cream pie.
Can I make this recipe without the orange extract and zest?
Yes.
You Might Also Like
Strawberry Pretzel Pie Strawberry Vanilla Bean Ice Cream Strawberry Shortcake Cake Strawberry Shortbread Cookies
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Strawberry Orange Cream Pie
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- 9-inch Round Tart Pan with Removable Bottom
- Stand Mixer with Paddle & Whisk Attachments
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 recipe Shortcrust Pastry
Filling
- 1 lb strawberries, washed, hulled and chopped
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 12 oz cream cheese, softened at room temperature for 30 minutes
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp orange extract, optional
- 1 tsp fresh orange zest, optional
- 1 cup cold heavy whipping cream
- sliced strawberries and oranges, for decorating
Instructions
Crust
- Prepare 1 Recipe Shortcrust Pastry.
- Bake as instructed, and cool completely before filling. You can make the crust 1 day in advance, cover it loosely and keep at room temperature until ready to fill.
Filling
- Combine the chopped strawberries and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, and cook for several minutes until the berries have softened and started to break down.
- Pour the strawberries into a blender and puree until smooth. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer and discard the strained seeds.
- Return the strawberry puree to the saucepan. Reduce the heat to medium low, and simmer, stirring frequently, until the puree is reduced to 1 1/4 cups.
- Once reduced, cover and refrigerate the strawberry puree until completely chilled.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium speed for several minutes until smooth. Since the cream cheese will still be cold, it will be very thick, even when whipped.
- Add the chilled strawberry puree, vanilla extract, orange extract and orange zest. Beat for several minutes on medium speed until smooth, scraping the bowl down several times.
- Switch to the whisk attachment. Add the cold heavy whipping cream and whip on medium high speed for several minutes, until the mixture is very thick, fluffy and holds its shape.
- Spread the filling into the cooled crust. Refrigerate the pie for 3-4 hours, until the filling is chilled and set.
- Decorate with sliced fresh strawberries and oranges before serving.
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