Fresh Strawberry Cream Cheese Pudding Pie

I picked up some fabulous strawberries the other day and couldn't decide whether to just eat them, or to make something with them.  Obviously, I decided to make something with them...half of them, anyway.  This pie comes together very easily and fairly quickly.  You don't have to bake any of it, which is great in the Summertime.  Start off with a vanilla wafer crust (you can make it or buy it), then make a quick pudding from scratch, adding a block of cream cheese at the end.  Top it off with some fresh strawberries and a pureed strawberry glaze, and you're set!  One quick note:  The pudding does not firm up enough to hold its shape when you cut the pie, which was fine for me as we all loved the pie despite it's lack of pie shape.  Adding a bit more cornstarch would probably help, but I haven't tried it.

Fresh Strawberry Cream Cheese Pudding Pie

Crust:
1 box (11 ounces) vanilla wafers
6 Tablespoons melted butter

Pudding:
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 1/2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups milk
2 Tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature, cubed

Pureed Strawberry Glaze:
16 ounces fresh strawberries, divided
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch

For the crust, place the vanilla wafers in a food processor and process until you have fine crumbs.  Add the melted butter and continue to process just until the crumbs are evenly moistened.  Press the crumbs onto the bottom and up the sides of a 9 inch pie plate.  Place in the refrigerator to chill for about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, make the pudding.  In a large saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt.  Whisk in the eggs, then the milk.  Heat the mixture over medium heat, whisking  constantly, until the mixture is thick and steaming, but NOT BOILING (or you will get egg white chunks in your pudding).  Remove the pudding from the heat and stir in the butter, vanilla, and cream cheese.  Whisk until the butter and cream cheese are melted.  Pour the pudding into the prepared crust and chill in the refrigerator while you prepare the strawberry topping.

For the Pureed Strawberry Glaze, slice about 2/3 of the strawberries, and place on top of the pie in a circle, starting from the outside and working towards the center.  With a food processor, puree the remaining strawberries.  Place pureed strawberries in a small saucepan with the water. In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cornstarch.  Bring the strawberry/water mixture to a boil and boil for 1 to 2 minutes.  Add the sugar/cornstarch mixture and stir quickly until dissolved.  Continue to cook and stir the strawberry mixture until it has thickened.  Remove from heat and let cool slightly.  Spoon strawberry glaze evenly over the sliced strawberries.  Chill the pie for at least 4 hours, or until completely chilled.  Slice and serve.  Makes 8 to 12 servings.

Enjoy!  -Cardamommy