Strawberry Cardamom Chamomile Pie

Hello! On a spur of watching baking shows and reading baking books, I quite literally started to dream about baking - ha! One of those things though, was a strawberry chamomile cardamom tart. But having make pies in the past, I decided to make my dream real! This pie would be the perfect ending to a lazy summer afternoon, with strawberry bursting with cardamom flavor and subtle sidenotes of chamomile and lemon.

For the Crust:

1. 2 1/2 Cups of flour
2. 16 Tablespoons of cold butter
3. A pinch of salt
4. Two tablespoons sugar
5. 1/2 cup freeze-dried strawberries

For the Filling:

1. 3 1/2 cups strawberries
2. 1 1/2 teaspoons cardamom
3. 4 chamomile teabags
4. 3 tablespoons cornstarch
5. 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
6. 2 teaspoons vanilla
7. the zest of one lemon

To make the pie crust, add your flour, sugar, and salt to either a food processor or bowl and combine. Then, cut the butter into small squares. If using a food processor, add in one at a time until combined. If using a bowl then use your fingertips to pick up the flour and butter and rub together while letting it fall back into the bowl until combined in pea to fine sized pieces.

Add in about five tablespoons of ice cold water one at a time, until when you squeeze the dough together it sticks. Split the dough in half. Crush the freeze-dried strawberries into a fine powder and combine with one half of your dough. It may be easier to combine if you do this before adding water, but I did not! Then, make both doughs into separate balls and place in the fridge. You may leave it to chill overnight, which is what I did, but as long as you leave it up to two hours it will be thoroughly chilled!

While the dough is chilling, make the filling. Slice up the strawberries and add to a bowl with the sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla. Pour the chamomile teabags into a mortar and pestle, and add the cardamom and ground it to a fine consistency. Then, add to the strawberry mixture, zest the lemon into it and combine. Set aside for the remainder of the time it takes your pie dough to chill, to let the flavors settle.

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. When your dough is chilled, take it out and let it sit for thirty minutes to soften or until room temperature. Then, take the beige colored dough and roll out on a flour surface to the circumference of the pie dish you will be using, about ten inches. When it is rolled out, transfer to the dish and press it in. Pinch the top of the pie crust with your index finger and thumb. Then, do the same with the pink dough and roll out ten inches and cut with a pizza cutter equal widths to your desire.

Take a slotted spoon and scoop the strawberries out. If you keep the juice, it will likely make your dough soggy. Add the strawberries to the prepared pie dish. When evenly dispersed, add your lattice. To do this, put one piece down vertically in the middle, and then one horizontally near the top. Then put two vertical strips over the horizontal strip and lift up the initial vertical strip to put a horizontal one under it. Cut off the excess ends and pinch together with the pie crust.

With your excess dough, you can use a cookie cutter to cut out some extra embellishments, or save it for a bonus tart! Crack one egg and use as an egg wash over the pie, helping to stick your embellishments on if you choose to. While wet, you can add some turbinado sugar or coarse sugar for that extra oomph! Put tin foil around the edges of your pie to prevent burning, and bake at 20 minutes. When the timer goes off, turn down to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for an additional 55 minutes or until the crust is golden.

(OPTIONAL): For the bonus tart, press the excess dough into a small oven safe dish. Poke holes in the bottom and brush some of the remaining strawberry juice on, and spoon about two to three tablespoons of your choice of jam on. Layer sliced strawberries on top. Put this in when you change the oven settings, and put tin foil around it to prevent burning (which I forgot to do-hahaha!)

Pie am very happy that you looked at this recipe! I hope that you enjoyed making this pie, and of course, eating it!