Strawberry Mascarpone Pie

I've been seeing strawberries everywhere in food magazines and restaurant desserts. But I wanted to make something of my own. I've been reading Everyday Food magazine and I remembered a recipe from Giada De Laurentiis. The Food Network star has a recipe for berries with mascarpone and meringue. A mascarpone-whipped cream mixture is made and then dolloped on mixed berries. I took that mixture and made it the filling for my pie. I macerated the berries in lemon juice and sugar.

My neighborhood grocery store didn't sell tart shells, so I had to buy a frozen pie crust. I baked it in the oven and it was ready to go. I halved the strawberries and arranged them over the mascarpone-whipped cream filling. I didn't have any apricot preserves, so I used peach preserves instead for a glaze.

It's my first strawberry pie!

Strawberry Mascarpone Pie
Ingredients:
Topping:
1 10-ounce container of strawberries, hulled and halved
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup apricot or peach preserves

Filling:
1/2 mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar
1 frozen pie crust or tart shell

Follow instructions on package of frozen pie crust or tart shell to have one ready to go.

Halve strawberries and put in a large bowl. Add sugar and lemon juice. Mix. Let the berries macerate.

For the filling, loosen up mascarpone cheese in a large bowl with a spoon. Set aside. Make whipped cream by adding sugar. Then beat with a hand mixer or stand mixer until soft peaks form.

Fold in a small amount of the whipped cream into the mascarpone cheese. Keep folding in small amounts of whipped cream until it is all mixed in. Take a spatula and cover the bottom of the pie crust or tart shell with the mixture. Be generous.

Arrange strawberries on top. Melt apricot or peach preserves in a saucepan over low heat. Brush the preserves on the strawberries for a glaze.

If there are leftovers, dollop mascarpone/whipped cream on strawberries.

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