Blue Ribbon Group Dreamy Creamy Raspberry Pie
State Fair Winning Recipe
This dreamy creamy raspberry pie is true to its name. The “always-heavenly” heavy cream and cream cheese ingredients give this pie it’s richness. You use both frozen and fresh raspberries. Featuring this fruit makes the raspberry flavor a co-star to the cream. Each bite is divine thanks to the pie’s five layers.
Five Easy Layers
- pie crust
- baked “cheesecake”
- raspberry filling
- whipped cream cheese
- fresh raspberries
Everything goes inside a fabulous and flaky pie crust, homemade with cold butter and ice cold water, plus flour, salt, sugar, of course. And as always, if you’re in a time crunch (or have no interest in mastering your “pie crust from scratch” skills), a pre-made crust works too. No questions asked. No judging 😊
The pie’s bright color is eye-catching for sure, making it a scrumptious sweet treat for Valentine’s day…or any special day of the year for that matter. You can see all the layers well in this slice’s close up. (Personally, this pic makes me want to lick the screen. And I find the raspberries almost hypnotizing on top.)
Worth the Wait
Because of the chill times, this dreamy creamy raspberry pie will take a few hours to make, but please do not let that intimidate you. The raspberry filling thickens easily and the creamy layers are easy to whip up. For the crust, you use a food processor. If you don’t have a food processor, opt for a pastry blender. Just be sure to keep the butter cold and water ice cold. The crust bakes beautifully and the delicious layers give it a complexity that wows the senses.
State Fair Winner
Recipe credit goes to Emily Olsen, who created it for the North Carolina State Fair, Gold Medal Flour best pie contest (2015). She won a red ribbon, and we are so glad she did! Make this one as soon as possible!
-Cyndi
Dreamy Creamy Raspberry Pie
1 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (about 125 grams)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 stick salted butter (1/2 cup), cold
1-2 tablespoons ice water
Raspberry Layer:
10 ounces frozen raspberries, thawed
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
12 ounces fresh raspberries
Creamy Layers (2):
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 cup heavy cream
For Crust: In food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar and pulse several times. While pulsing the mixture, drop in butter, one tablespoon at a time, until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add 1 tablespoon ice cold water and pulse until dough comes together and forms a ball. (You may need to add more water, but go slowly as not to add too much.) Remove and form dough into a round disc, wrap in plastic, then refrigerate 30 minutes or longer.
Raspberry Layer: In a medium saucepan, combine thawed frozen raspberries (including their liquid) and sugar. Place pan over medium heat and bring just to a boil, stirring occasionally. While you are waiting for raspberries to boil, combine cornstarch and water in a small bowl. When berries are just boiling, stir in cornstarch mixture and cook, stirring constantly, for one minute. Remove from heat, set aside to cool.
Roll out chilled dough to fit a 9 inch pie pan; then trim and crimp edges. Pierce bottom generously with a fork. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Par-bake the crust 12-14 minutes, until very light golden brown. Cool 10 minutes on wire rack. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees F.
Cream Cheese Layers (2): In medium mixing bowl, beat cream cheese with sugar until smooth. Divide mixture in half. To one half, add egg and lemon zest. Blend well. Spread this mixture onto par-baked pie crust. Return to oven. Bake 15-18 minutes at 375 degrees until filling is set. Remove from oven. Let cool 30 minutes. Meanwhile, add almond extract and heavy cream to remaining cream cheese mixture. Beat well until smooth and fluffy; set aside. Spread raspberry mixture over “cheesecake” layer. Then spread almond-cream cheese mixture over the raspberry layer. Top pie with fresh raspberries. Chill one hour or more before serving. Makes 8 servings.
