Strawberry Chiffon Pie

Strawberry Chiffon Pie

Strawberry Chiffon


 Last week, I bought 3 pints of strawberries at a farmer's market, took them to a desert with the intention of eating them... And then ate 2 strawberries before they went rotten. My bad. This week, when I saw that a pint of strawberries had been included in my CSA box, I instantly decided to not let them meet the same fate.

Thus, pie.

A note: This is one of the recipes that my gram stopped making, once using raw eggs became frowned upon. You can purchase pasteurized eggs at some stores, which makes using raw egg whites much safer, or do it yourself at home.  You also can just throw caution to the wind and use whatever eggs you have in your fridge. Skip this one if raw eggs in general fill you with the shivering heebie jeebies. 




Strawberry Chiffon Ingredients
INGREDIENTS
1 pint fresh strawberries
3/4 Cups  sugar, divided
3/4 Cup cold water
1 envelope (1 tbsp) unflavored gelatin
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 Cup whipping cream, whipped (plus additional for topping)
2 egg whites
1 9" baked pasty shell (pre-bought or homemade)
Dash of salt

Crush the strawberries (should yield about 1 1/4 cups).

Mix with 1/2 cup sugar; let stand for 30 minutes.

Strawberry Chiffon 

 Soften gelatin in the cold water. Dissolve over a low heat, and allow to cool to room temperature.

Mix with strawberries, lemon juice, and a dash of salt. Chill until partially set, stirring occasionally. (I put mine in the freezer instead of the refrigerator, because I'm impatient, and had the following exchange with my boyfriend every 10 minutes "Does this look partially set? What does that even mean? How about now? I think it's done. Ok fine, I'll put it back in." It took about 45 minutes of this, but your experience may vary.)

Strawberry Chiffon

Beat egg whites to soft peaks, then gradually add 1/4 cup sugar, continuing to beat until stiff peaks form. 

Fold in strawberry mixture, then fold in whipped cream.

Strawberry Chiffon

Chill till mixture mounds. ( Again, every 10 minutes: "Does this look like it's mounding? I'm putting it back in the fridge for a bit longer.") 

Pile in to pastry shell, and smooth out the top. 

Strawberry Chiffon

Chill till firm, about 5 hours. (I chilled it overnight, because, weirdly, I didn't feel like eating pie at midnight.)

Trim with whipped cream and additional strawberries, as desired. 

Strawberry Chiffon


Serve while VERY cold.

Strawberry Chiffon>


Since it's warm out, and the pie is so delicate, I put it in the freezer for a bit before slicing, just to make sure it would hold it's shape and look pretty while it was being eaten - I'm not sure if the strawberries I had were especially juicy, but those couple of minutes in the freezer definitely were key to the strawberry chiffon holding it's shape while I sliced it. 

I never made a chiffon pie before, and can't remember eating one, either, so I second guessed myself the whole time I made this. All in all, I'm happy with it, and would make it again. At first, I wondered if it would be better to puree the berries, for a smoother texture, but I liked the chunks of fruit in the finished product. 

Now I can't wait to find the keylime recipe, and try that one out! 

Strawberry Chiffon



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