Light as a cloud, a crunchy pecan and meringue crust is filled with a creamy strawberry filling in this Strawberry Cream Angel Pie.
I love summertime desserts, like this strawberry cream angel pie. For more summer pies, try this Sour Cream Peach Pie or this Key Lime Pie.
This isn’t your ordinary pie. Instead of a pie crust or a graham cracker crust, you have a meringue crust that is given some extra crunch and texture with pecans.
I have always wanted to make a meringue crust, but I decided that it needed to be changed up a bit with the addition of chopped, toasted pecans. This was definitely a smart move, as I loved the texture it gave the crust, as well as added flavor.
I had the crust made, and I knew I wanted a light and fluffy filling. But I didn’t really know exactly what I was going to do when I got into the kitchen.
Luckily, a little bit of this and a little bit of that turned into a light and creamy and amazingly delicious pie filling. A few hours in the refrigerator, and this dreamy Strawberry Cream Angel Pie was born!!
When my husband first saw the pie, he didn’t quite know what to think about it, but after one taste, he couldn’t get enough. I think he could have eaten the entire pie himself!!
More Strawberry Recipes
Strawberry Bread
Strawberry Cobbler with Cream Cheese
Strawberry Lime Shortcakes with Coconut Cream
Strawberry Mousse
Strawberry Muffins
Strawberry Cream Angel Pie
Ingredients
Crust
- 4 egg whites
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup toasted pecas chopped
Pie
- 6 oz cream cheese softened
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup sliced strawberries
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup diced strawberries
- additional strawberries for topping
Instructions
Make the Crust:
- Preheat the oven to 275F. Generously butter a 9-inch deep dish pie dish.
- In a large bowl, combine the egg whites, vanilla, cream of tartar and salt. Beat until soft peaks form. While still beating, slowly add in the 1 cup of sugar. Continue to beat until thick and glossy. Fold in the pecans.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared pie dish. Spread up the sides of the dish and make a well in the center. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour, then turn off the oven and leave the crust in the oven until completely cooled or overnight.
Make the Filling:
- In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese and the sugar. Beat in the vanilla.
- Place the 1 cup of sliced strawberries in a medium bowl and mash with a fork or potato masher until only small chunks are present. Mix the mashed strawberries into the cream cheese mixture.
- In another bowl, beat the cream until soft peaks form. While you continue to beat, slowly add in the powdered sugar. Continue to beat until stiff peaks form.
- Take about 1/4 of the cream and stir it into the cream cheese mixture. Add the remaining cream and fold in gently until combined. Fold in the 1/2 cup diced strawberries. Pour the mixture into the cooled meringue crust and refrigerate until set, at least 2 hours. Top with additional sliced strawberries before serving, if desired. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Barb says
This pie is beyond yummy. So light & airy. A great summer dessert. This will be my summer go to pie.
Deborah says
Thanks Barb – I’m so glad you loved it!
Jessie Jacobs says
I made an angel pie for thanksgiving. I used a meringue crust that I had baked the day before. I added the lemon filling the next day and covered it with whipping cream. It looked awesome. But, when they went to slice the pie, it just turned into a pudding like texture instead of what I thought was a baked meringue shell. Why would this happen?
Deborah says
The shell will definitely soften up once you have the filling in, but it shouldn’t have a pudding like texture – it should still hold it’s shape. I’m guessing there was too much moisture in there somewhere, but I’m not positive.
William Algie says
Deborah: Tried this recipe a few days ago and made the big mistake of trying to use Half & Half (all I had), instead of heavy whipping cream. Well, after about ten minutes of beating the poor stuff to death, I realized that what’s missing is the fat (live and learn). So, I just put the filling without the whipped cream into the pie shell and refrigerated. The end result was a bit runny, but good. I tried this recipe again a few days later with real heavy whipping cream and, after refrigeration, it seemed runnier that the first time.
My question is: Can this recipe be modified without much effort, to produce a firmer filling, much like a normal cheesecake?
Deborah says
Hi William – the filling shouldn’t be runny at all, although it’s not as stiff as a baked cheesecake. You could probably do a filling like this no-bake cheesecake – http://www.tasteandtellblog.com/cookbook-of-the-month-recipe-no-bake-cheesecake/ – but it still will be more light and fluffy vs firm like a baked cheesecake. I’m not sure if you would be able to achieve that texture without actually baking the filling, and you wouldn’t be able to bake it with this crust.
William Algie says
Thanks for the reply Deborah. My interest in this recipe is due to the taste of the filling with all of the mashed and diced strawberries. What I’m not sure of is if the filling can be made cheesecake-like and baked with all those strawberries mixed in. All of the classic strawberry cheesecake recipes I find on the web contain 4 or 5 packages of cream cheese and only have the strawberries placed on top of the cheesecake after baking. What I would like to do is; instead of a meringue or graham cracker crust, use a Grocery store pre-formed deep dish crust, such as Pillsbury, prepared according to package directions but baked for a shorter time, then fill the cooled crust with a filling made as your recipe, but with a few more packages of cream cheese and maybe omit the whipped cream.
Do you think this will produce a more cheesecake-like pie? Or will it even work with the strawberries in the filling?
Thanks in advance for your reply.
William Algie
walgie@yahoo.com
Deborah says
I’m not sure how it would work out. I’m guessing that if you bake the filling with strawberries in it, it won’t firm up like a regular cheesecake. Strawberries are so moist that think it would be hard to bake them into a cheesecake.
Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust says
OMG I love that crust. It’s amazing!!! And I hate taking my daughter shopping for that reason – except it’s Oreos and chips. I’m so happy summer will be here soon and she’ll be doing all my shopping with me (she says sarcastically).
Joanne says
No such thing as too many strawberries in my house! Love the sound of this pie. Creamy with that crispy crust. Mmm.
dina says
i love the meringue crust. it looks delicious!
Lina says
When do you add the nuts to the crust?
Deborah says
I don’t know how I missed that!! The recipe was updated, but you fold them into the meringue right before you put it in the pie dish. Thanks!
Christina @ The Beautiful Balance says
This looks delicious! Can I justify that this is healthy because it seems light and airy? 😉
How to Philosophize with Cake says
That looks awesome! So many springy flavors! 🙂
Chelsea @ Gal on a Mission says
I love how light and fluffy the pie looks! Diamond nuts are one of my favorite, especially for baking. Gotta make this soon – yum! Happy Wednesday. 🙂
Lisa Brown says
pin http://www.pinterest.com/pin/277675133249907061/
Chloe @ foodlikecake says
That pie looks so fluffy and amazing!!