Friday Pie-Day: Strawberry Cream Cheese Lemon Pie

It can be really tricky sometimes (I find, anyway) when trying to encapsulate all the elements you want to get across in the name of a recipe. In this case, it is the rather clumsy-sounding 'Strawberry Cream Cheese Lemon Pie'.

I don't think that really does it justice.

Alright, so the pictures don't really do it justice either (my food doesn't always come out as beautiful as I would like, ok!).

But my point is - this has a creamy texture like that of a cheesecake, but it would be wrong to call it a strawberry cheesecake pie. Because it tastes like a (creamy) lemon tart. The pastry is of the coconut and oat variety - erm, alright, that makes it sound dry. It's just a nice surprise when you bite into it, expecting a normal buttery pastry bottom, to find a bit of coconut crumbling into your mouth instead. But it would be completely ridiculous to call it Strawberry Cream Cheese Lemon Pie with Coconut and Oat Pastry.

The pastry can be a bit awkward to roll out into the shape you want, but there's no point striving for perfection here - just do what I do and piece it back together if it starts to fall apart in places, haha.

Well, I don't think I've done a particularly good job of selling this to you, but just try it. Trust me, you'll like it!

Strawberry Cream Cheese Lemon Tart

Cuts into 15 squares (12 x 8" flan tin):

• 125g strawberries, cut into 30 slices
• Zest of 2 lemons
• 200g soft cream cheese
• 100g icing sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• Pie crust:
• 100g plain flour
• 50ml grapeseed or olive oil
• 50g rolled oats
• 25g dessicated coconut
• 1 egg white
• Some cold water

1) Sift the flour into a large bowl, then mix in the oats and coconut.

2) Add the oil and knead into a dough, gradually adding bits of water as needed. Wrap and refridgerate for 30 minutes.

3) Roll out the dough into a rectangle and transfer to a flan tin. Roll up the edges to create a 'lip' all the way around. Bake at 220 degrees C for 10 minutes. Brush with egg white, then return for another 5 minutes.

4) Reduce oven to 190 degrees C. Whisk the remaining ingredients, except for the strawberries.

5) Carefully pour the filling into the baked crust, levelling out with a knife. Return to the oven for 20 minutes until almost done - then remove and top with the strawberry slices. Return to the oven for another 5 minutes.

You can eat these warm of course, but if you want to have them as a cold dessert, switch the oven off and leave them to cool inside with the door slightly open. This should stop the filling from sinking inwards!

Pie out.

Read my other Friday Pie-Day adventures.