Although it is still cold here, Spring has officially arrived and what better way to celebrate than with strawberries! California strawberries are available year round but during Spring they are at their peak season and I thought that I would welcome in Spring with a fresh strawberry pie!
I started the pie off with a simple shortbread crust filled with lemon zest and poppy seeds and I filled it with a quick and easy lemon ricotta no-bake cheesecake sweetened with honey. The pie is finished off with a floral like arrangement of fresh sliced strawberries along with a garnish of mint and lemon zest.
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This strawberry pie is best enjoyed on the day that it is made.
So nice and fresh and perfect for spring! Bring on the warmer days!
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Lemon Ricotta Strawberry Pie with Poppy Seed Shortbread Crust
A spring fresh strawberry lemon no-bake ricotta cheesecake pie with poppy seed shortbread crust.
ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1/4 cup powdered/confectioners sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup ricotta
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 2 pounds strawberries, sliced
For the lemon poppy seed shortbread crust:
For the lemon ricotta no bake cheesecake filling:
For the pie:
directions
- Cream the butter, mix in the sugar, lemon zest, poppy seeds and salt followed by the flour and mix until it forms crumbs.
- Press the mixture unto a 9 inch pie/tart plate and bake in a preheated 400F/200C oven until lightly golden brown, about 15 minutes before letting it cool.
- Mix the ricotta, cream cheese, honey and lemon juice and zest until smooth.
- Spread the ricotta mixture across the bottom of the baked and cooled crust, arrange the strawberry slices on top and enjoy.
For the poppy seed shortbread crust:
For the lemon ricotta no bake cheesecake filling:
For the pie:
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This is too pretty for words and I love that gif! Also, I love the flavors too. Perfect for spring!
YUM!! this looks so tasty. i love lemon poppy seed…and adding strawberries makes it even better. xo jillian – cornflake dreams
stunning!
What size pan did you use for the crust?
This looks amazing, I am definitely going to try this!
Piusale.blogspot.it
Just beautiful!!
Delicious and so pretty!
This looks really, really wonderful!
What a beautiful presentation! This is a must have for Easter brunch!
This pie makes me happy just looking at it!
This is seriously dreamy!!
Really super gorgeous, Kevin. And I love your gif. 😉
Did you use all purpose flour?
Gorgeous pie, I need a big slice or maybe 2!
Oh my gosh! I just made a 2-tier cake with strawberries on top like this. But your pie is much prettier!
Oh man, this tart is gorgeous!! Love it!
Absolutely gorgeous!!! Way to pretty to eat!
Wow that is the most beautiful tart! The strawberries! The lemon zest! Stop it!
beautiful!
from – The Lion's Den
Absolutely gorgeous pie! LOVE Strawberries!
That is just such a beauty, Kevin!!
You just brightened up my day with this beautiful tart Kevin! Love the fun gif too.
Absolutely gorgeous. Love the gif too.
That strawberry decoration looks so good!
This is a very pretty dessert to look at, and we enjoyed it. I do want to note, though, for those who are watching carb counts (diabetics, etc.) that the nutrition information is way off. At 8 servings (instead of 6), the carb count is around 30 per serving, and the calorie count is over 300. Note that these numbers are also using part-skim ricotta and neufchatel cheese instead of cream cheese.
How gorgeous is this?! It's almost TOO pretty to eat!
What a gorgeous pie!
Kevin this is the most beautiful pie I've ever seen! Almost too pretty to eat…… almost. 🙂
Absolutely gorgeous!
You have made a show stopping tart!
Can't get over how completely perfect this pie is!! So gorgeous!!
I also would like to know whether a 9" or a 10" pie pan was used. I plan to add this to our Easter Dinner dessert table!
Anonymous & Gail: It is a 9" pan. Enjoy!
Sarah Morris: Yes, all purpose flour.
This looks absolutely fresh and delicious! Now with the pan size mystery solved (lol) I can't wait to make this!
Thank you for the info on the pan size!
Dorothy at Belle of the Kitchen: I am glad you enjoyed it! I will look into the nutritional info. I am using an online tool and I have noticed that it does make mistakes sometimes. (Like interpreting "1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained" as 15 ounces of dried black beans.)
I love strawberry pies but I always bake the same, or almost. Your recipe looks really amazing. I'm gonna try it very soon. Thanks for this brilliant idea!
I had a few problems- ie my crust (had to make twice) was crumbly but a tad sticky when patted out and my filling was kind of thin. Was it me or the stand mixer/ butter not soft/ etc? I'm not very experienced in the kitchen so any tips/tricks would help.
Terry: The shortbread dough should have been crumbly when you place it into the pan but not sticky. ie. You should have been able to easily press the mixture down into the pan without it sticking to your fingers. If you find that a shortbread dough is a little sticky you can chill it in the fridge for 20 minutes or add a bit more flour. The filling was meant to be a fairly thin, 1/4 -1/2 inch, enough to hold the strawberries in without stealing the show from them.
Made this for our Easter lunch on Sunday & it was a HUGE hit! Absolutely perfect in every way. I will definitely make it again! I also had a problem with my shortbread dough being sticky but I think that my butter was much too soft to get the right crumb. It still turned out beautifully & I was so pleased. Thank you!
This looks positively berry-licious! Gorgeous and of course, love the GIF.
This is too beautiful and looks yummy! Can't wait to try! Is that fresh mint leaves you sprinkled on top along with the lemon zest?
Making this for the second time, with homemade ricotta cheese; was very well received at Easter. Very easy to make and I purchased the tart pan with removable bottom just for this. Excellent!
mimidar: Yes, that is fresh mint leaves and lemon zest for garnish.
I tried making this and it was a HUGE disaster. The shortbread was the best thing about it and looked terrible, but tasted good. The filling was runny and texture was unpalatable. The strawberries sank into the runny filling. I bake fairly often and followed the recipe to the letter…was SO disappointed, cause it does look super good in the pic. (pouty lip being displayed)
Unknown: I'm sorry it did not work out for you! It sounds like the ricotta that you used had a LOT of water in it! The Ricotta that I get, in several different brands, has a consistency something close to cream cheese as far as moisture content goes and it has a slightly grainier texture so the filling should be nice and thick with the strawberries not even being able to sink into it without pushing them in with a fair amount of force.
Perfectly pretty and so delicious looking!
I will definitely give this cheesecake a try.
Thanks for sharing!