You Can Make Fruit Pies Without Much Baking.
You’re fine with summer if you enjoy all the fruit pies you can get your hands on. Heaps of fruit are often cooked to make a flavorful juice sauce, but this is not without its drawback. The texture of the fruit has changed forever, and sometimes it becomes completely soft. Lucky for us, there is a fresh fruit pie. It’s a way to enjoy the original texture of raw fruit, but still get the pie crust, sauce, and drastically reduce oven time on these hot days.
What is a fresh fruit pie?
A fresh fruit tart is prepared by coating large or whole pieces of fruit with a thin layer of high pectin fruit sauce, placing the fruit in a pre-baked pie shell and refrigerating for an hour. The pectin will harden firmly, giving large pieces of fruit a chance to cling to them, adding flavor and sweetness, and making it easier to cut later. That’s all. A few steps and the rest of the time is cold. It’s almost like the reverse of the day version of any other kind of fruit pie.
The taste of the pie is incredible. I baked a strawberry pie, and the pureed strawberry sauce makes the fresh fruit taste like a caramelized version of itself, and in the best possible way. It brings out all the strong natural fruit flavors. I wouldn’t say this pie is “easy to eat” though – the crust crumbles easily because there’s no cohesive filling to hold onto, and the fruit has a hard texture so needs to be cut into bite-sized pieces. – it was worth the mess on my plate and I would do it again.
How to make fresh fruit pie?
I used America’s Test Kitchen recipe as a guide. Their online recipe is closed by subscription, but it’s the internet. So, um, it’s free if you try it – even a little. To make the sauce, puree a small amount of raw fruit. In a small saucepan, add sugar, salt, cornstarch, and pectin powder. The corn starch will thicken the sauce, and the pectin will help it gel without the gelatin. America’s Test Kitchen recommends using SureJell for low or no sugar recipes. My grocery store doesn’t have this brand, so I bought a box of Simply Delish peach-flavored plant-based jelly (we need smarter names for this stuff) that doesn’t contain pectin, but it still worked to the same measurement.
Pectin Options for Summer Fruit Pies:
Mix the dry ingredients in a saucepan together to distribute the cornstarch. Add fruit puree and beat the mixture thoroughly. Now you can turn on the stove. Cook fruit mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly. After about five minutes, the mixture will begin to noticeably thicken and bubble. Once the mixture starts bubbling heavily in the center of the pot, take it off the heat after about a minute and stir in the lemon juice. Pour the thickened sauce into a large bowl and let it cool for about 10 minutes.
Once the mixture has cooled down a bit (no big deal if it’s still warm), add the peeled, dried, raw fruit pieces and stir until they’re completely coated in the sauce. Place the fruit in the pre-cooked pie dish and arrange the fruit nicely. Place in the refrigerator for an hour and then serve.
Strawberries seem to be a prime candidate for this type of pie, but any fruit that doesn’t spew out incredible amounts of water will do. Stay away from sliced melon, but most berries will be fine. In fact, the berries are great because they don’t need to be cut at all, unless they are gigantic. You can split them in half. This cake is best served in the afternoon, so make sure you have enough friends and family to make this summer treat in no time.
Fresh Strawberry Pie (adapted from American Test Kitchen)
Ingredients:
- 2 ½-3 pounds fresh strawberries
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- A pinch of salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons pectin powder (or plant-based jelly)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 prebaked pie crust
Peel, wash and dry all strawberries. Leave them whole if possible, but larger ones can be cut in half. Take about 5-6 of the most spoiled ones and puree them. You will need about ¾ cup fruit puree.
In a small saucepan, add sugar, cornstarch, pectin powder, and salt. Whisk this mixture thoroughly to dissolve the starch. Add puree and beat to dissolve starch. Heat the mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly, but don’t overdo it. After about five minutes, the mixture will begin to bubble. Continue whisking and simmering until the mixture is thick and bubbling vigorously towards the center. Turn off the heat, add the lemon juice and pour the mixture into a large bowl. Let it cool down for 10 or 15 minutes.
Add strawberries and stir to coat. Pour the strawberries and sauce into a pie dish and arrange the berries so they are mostly cut side down and look pretty. Place the whole cake in the refrigerator for an hour to firm up before serving.