Light and Fluffy Strawberry Chiffon Pie with a Pretzel Crust
When the weather's sticky and the AC’s barely keeping up, the last thing I want to do is turn on the oven. That’s when this strawberry chiffon pie saves the day. It’s light, cool, a little fluffy, and packed with real strawberry flavor. Best part? It’s no-bake and you can make it ahead, which means more time sipping something cold while this beauty chills in the fridge.
Servings 8
Calories 393kcal
Ingredients
CRUST
- 1 ½ cups crushed pretzels 4 ounces about 3 ½ cups of whole pretzels
- ¼ cup sugar
- 12 tablespoons butter melted
FILLING
- 2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 ½ cups strawberries whole, tops removed
- 1 ⅓ cups strawberries sliced
- ¾ cups sugar plus 2 tablespoons
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 egg whites
- ⅛ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ½ cup heavy cream
Instructions
Crust
- CRUST: Combine pretzels and sugar in a food processor and process until fine crumbs. Add melted butter and process until coated. Place in a 9 inch glass pie pan and spread the crumbs to coat the bottom and sides of the pie pan including the rim. Once distributed, press down firmly and refrigerate or freeze until cold.
Filling
- Sprinkle gelatin over water in a small bowl and let sit until the gelatin softens, about 5 minutes.
- Place whole strawberries in a food processor and process until completely smooth. Place a Fine mesh strainer over a bowl and press strawberry puree through the strainer, you should get about 1 cup of juice.
- Add strawberry juice to a saucepan and whisk in ¾ cup sugar, cornstarch and salt. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly until it is slightly thick, about 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and add gelatin mixture, whisking until dissolved. Transfer to a large bow and add lemon juice. Let cool completely, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Beat egg whites with cream of tartar until soft peaks form, about 1-2 minutes then add 2 tablespoons of sugar and whip until stiff peaks form, about 2-3 minutes. Fold ⅓ of egg whites into the cooled strawberry mixture then fold in remaining egg whites until only a few white streaks remain.
- Beat cream until stiff peaks form, about 2-3 minutes. Gently fold cream into strawberry mixture. Fold in sliced strawberries. Spoon mixture into the cold pretzel crust. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
Notes
- Cover the pie with plastic wrap and store it in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- You can use frozen whole berries and just use fresh for the sliced berries that are folded into the pie.
