The best strawberry crumble pie
An easy dessert made from scratch that you can serve hot or cold. Made with fresh strawberries, a thick crust, and a thick crumble topping. Results in the best strawberry crumble pie ever.
Are you a crumble lover like me? Then you have to try this strawberry pie with crumble topping. Because it is easy to make and it tastes so good! The secret of this recipe is to chill the dough for about 30-60 minutes and to use fresh and ripe strawberries.
The best time to make this pie is when it is strawberry season. Use the freshest, juiciest, sweetest, and most red strawberries you can find. If the strawberry season is over you can also choose to make this crumble with another fruit filling.
I love the crust of a pie the most, and I know I am not alone. So this recipe calls for extra dough, not only for the crust but also for the crumble topping. That results in a thick crust, and a crumble with the perfect thickness. I guarantee you it is the best pie crust ever!
Something we don’t want while making a fruit pie is a soggy bottom. Therefore some instructions are added to the recipe to prevent it from happening. Read on if you want to know how to make the best strawberry crumble.
Ultimate Baking Guide
Do you want to improve your baking? Read my Ultimate Baking Guide where I share the best baking tips ever. No more baking failures!
Ingredient notes & substitutions
- Butter – I love to regulate the amount of salt I use for baking, that is why I always use unsalted butter. You can use salted butter as well, but make sure that you don’t add extra salt to the dough.
- Sugar – sweetens the pie and the strawberries. For the filling brown sugar and granulated sugar are used.
- Flour – it adds structure to the crumble and the pie pastry. For the crumble, all-purpose flour is used. For the crust, self-raising flour is used. You can also substitute the self-raising flour for all-purpose flour with baking powder. The ratio is 1 cup (150 gram) of all-purpose flour mixed with 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder.
- Vanilla extract – gives baked goods more taste. Choose a good quality vanilla extract because that really makes a difference.
- Salt – I use kosher salt. Adding a pinch of salt enhances the natural flavors of the pie.
- Eggs – are used to add structure to baked goods. You need 1 egg at room temperature.
- Custard powder – sprinkling custard powder over the crust prevents a soggy bottom and gives a nice vanilla taste to the pie.
- Cornstarch – adding cornstarch thickens the fruit filling.
- Strawberries – are the star of this recipe. Therefore use fresh and ripe strawberries. Don’t substitute for frozen strawberries, because they can give you a soggy bottom.
Step-by-step instructions
Preparation
Position an oven rack in the bottom third of the oven. Preheat the oven (conventional) to 175℃ / 350 °F. Grease the springform pan with butter and place a piece of parchment paper in the bottom of the springform pan. Close the springform pan and cut off all the baking paper that sticks out with scissors.
Make the dough
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients – self-raising flour, salt, and sugar. Cut a part of the cold unsalted butter into small cubes, about 1/2 inch (1 cm). Add this to the large mixing bowl. Make sure it is very cold. Crack an egg and add it to the large mixing bowl. Add the vanilla extract as well. Knead the ingredients with your hands into a firm dough (you should no longer see pieces of butter). Place in the fridge for 30-60 minutes to rest. To allow the gluten to relax and the flour to fully hydrate.
Make the crumble from the step below. After that and when the chill time of the dough in the fridge is over you can lightly flour a clean work surface and place your dough on top. Lightly flour your rolling pin as well. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin and cover the bottom and edges of the springform pan with it.
Make the crumble
In another mixing bowl add the all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, and unsalted butter. Knead this with your hands until crumble forms. Place the crumble in the fridge for about 30-60 minutes to rest.
Make the strawberry filling
Wait until the resting time is almost over with making the strawberry filling. Making and mixing it too early will draw out too many juices, which will make your crust soggy!
Remove the top of the strawberries. Cut the strawberries in half or quarts, and place them into another mixing bowl. Mix the strawberries with cornflour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, nutmeg, and vanilla extract.
When the resting time of the dough is over, you can grab the springform out of the fridge. Sprinkle some custard powder on top of the dough. Custard powder and cornstarch absorb the juices of the strawberries, to prevent a soggy bottom. Add the strawberries on top of the dough. If the mixture has too many juices you can sieve it before putting it over the dough. After that add some custard powder on top. As last add the crumble dough on top of the strawberry pie.
Bake the strawberry crumble pie
Bake the strawberry crumble pie in the bottom third of the oven for 70 minutes at 175℃ / 350 °F. Place it on a cooling rack after baking. Allow the pie to cool completely before slicing it. This will allow the filling to completely thicken. Serve the strawberry crumble with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
🍓 Other recipes for strawberry lovers!
- White chocolate strawberry cheesecake
- Homemade white chocolate strawberry ice cream
- Oreo Golden Strawberry Milkshake
- Strawberry mojito
🍴Equipment
- Mixing bowls – you need 3 mixing bowls. One for the dough, one for the crumble, and one for the strawberry filling.
- Springform pan 26 cm / 10 inch – I love to use a springform pan for baking pies because it is really easy to remove the pie from the form. You can also make this in another pie form.
- Rolling pin – You need a rolling pin for rolling the dough into the springform pan.
🔪 How do you cut strawberry crumble?
Remove the sides of the springform pan. Use a large kitchen knife to cut through the strawberry pie. Clean the knife with a paper towel every time you cut the pie for perfect slices.
👩🏼🍳 Expert tips
- Bake in grams – Use a kitchen scale to weigh your ingredients instead of using measurement cups. A kitchen scale is more accurate.
- Rest dough in fridge – Let your dough rest in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes. It will allow the gluten to relax and the flour to fully hydrate. This should help to give a more tender pie crust with less shrinkage. It will result in an extra-flaky, melt-in-your-mouth crust.
- Prevent soggy bottom – things you can do to prevent a soggy bottom. First of all, bake the pie in the bottom third of the oven. Secondly, mix the filling right before adding it to the crust. Thirdly, allow the pie to cool completely before slicing it (I know this is hard!). Fourthly, use cornstarch to thicken the strawberry filling. Lastly, sprinkle custard powder on the bottom of the crust and the topping of the strawberry filling.
🍰 How long can you store strawberry crumble pie?
Out of the refrigerator
You don’t have to refrigerate your strawberry crumble pie if it contains sugar. You can store a strawberry crumble pie at room temperature for up to two days. Keep it from drying out by wrapping the pie with plastic or aluminum foil.
Refridgerator
After two days it is time to store the crumble pie in the refrigerator. Where you can store it for an additional two days. So up to 4 days in total. Keeping it in the original pie pan is the easiest way to store leftover pie, but you can also portion individual slices in an airtight container or wrapped in aluminum foil.
Freezer
A freshly baked strawberry crumb pie can be stored in the freezer for up to 3-4 months. Make sure that the strawberry crumble has cooled down completely before freezing it. You can freeze a whole pie with his springform. Wrap it airtight with aluminum foil or cling foil and an extra plastic bag around it.
You can also freeze a slice of the pie. Place any leftovers uncovered in the freezer until they’re completely frozen. Then, wrap the frozen pie tightly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Thaw the pie at room temperature. After that, you can also reheat it until it’s warm in a 350°F / 175°C oven (about 30 minutes).
❓FAQ
It will allow the gluten to relax and the flour to fully hydrate. This should help to give a more tender pie crust with less shrinkage. It will result in an extra-flaky, melt-in-your-mouth crust.
Things you can do to prevent a soggy bottom. First of all, bake the pie in the bottom third of the oven. Secondly, mix the filling right before adding it to the crust. Thirdly, allow the pie to cool completely before slicing it (I know this is hard!). Fourthly, use cornstarch to thicken the strawberry filling. Lastly, sprinkle custard powder on the bottom of the crust and the topping of the strawberry filling.
Yes, you can make this crumble with other fruits as well. You choose any fruit to your liking, like apples, pears, raspberries, or blueberries. You can also choose to mix different fruits, like a red fruit crumble with raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries. Be creative!
⚖️ Baking in grams
The most accurate way to bake is by baking by weight. Measuring cups are very inaccurate and can lead to baking failures. Therefore all of my recipes are posted in grams. I always bake with a scale, so I have a recipe card that automatically converts metrics to US customary, but it can have errors. So I advise you to bake with a digital scale. You can find them on Amazon for a small price.
⭐️ Did you make this? Please leave a star rating below or a review in the comments section.
📖 Recipe
Strawberry crumble pie
Equipment
- 1 Springform pan 26 cm or 10 inch
- 1 Rolling Pin
Ingredients
Pie dough
- 160 grams unsalted butter cold
- 170 grams granulated sugar or white caster sugar
- 300 grams self-raising flour
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- Pinch of kosher salt
Crumble
- 200 grams all-purpose flour
- 120 grams unsalted butter cold
- 100 grams granulated sugar
Strawberry filling
- 1000 grams strawberries fresh
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 6 tbsp custard powder
- 100 grams granulated sugar
- 50 grams brown sugar
- ¼ tsp nutmeg optional
- 1-2 tsp cinnamon optional
Instructions
Preparation
- Position an oven rack in the bottom third of the oven. Preheat the oven (conventional) to 175℃ / 350 °F.
- Grease the springform pan with butter and place a piece of parchment paper in the bottom of the springform pan. Close the springform pan and cut off all the baking paper that sticks out with scissors.
To make the dough
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the self-raising flour, salt, and sugar.300 grams self-raising flour, Pinch of kosher salt, 170 grams granulated sugar or white caster sugar
- Cut a part of the cold unsalted butter (see below this sentence how much) into small pieces, about 1/2 inch (1 cm) in size. Add this to the large mixing bowl. Make sure it is very cold.160 grams unsalted butter
- Crack an egg and add it to the large mixing bowl. Add the vanilla extract as well. Knead the ingredients with your hands into a firm dough (you should no longer see pieces of butter).1 tbsp vanilla extract, 1 egg
- Wrap your dough in cling foil. Place in the fridge for 30-60 minutes to rest. To allow the gluten to relax and the flour to fully hydrate.
To make the crumble
- In another mixing bowl add the all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, and unsalted butter. Knead this with your hands until crumble forms. Place the crumble in the fridge for about 30-60 minutes to rest.120 grams unsalted butter, 100 grams granulated sugar, 200 grams all-purpose flour
Strawberry filling
- Wait until the resting time is almost over with making the strawberry filling. Making and mixing it too early will draw out too many juices, which will make your crust soggy.
- Remove the top of the strawberries. Cut the strawberries in half and place them into a mixing bowl.
- Mix the strawberries with cornflour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract. Optional extra with cinnamon and/or nutmeg.1000 grams strawberries, 2 tbsp cornstarch, 1 tbsp vanilla extract, 100 grams granulated sugar, 50 grams brown sugar, ¼ tsp nutmeg, 1-2 tsp cinnamon
- When the resting time of the dough is over, you can lightly flour a clean work surface and place your dough on top. Lightly flour your rolling pin as well. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin and cover the bottom and edges of the springform pan with it.
- Sprinkle half of the custard powder on top of the bottom crust. Custard powder and cornstarch absorb the juices of the strawberries, to prevent a soggy bottom. Add the strawberry filling on top of the crust. If the mixture has too many juices you can sieve it before putting it over the dough. After that sprinkle some custard powder on top. As last add the crumble dough on top of the strawberry pie.6 tbsp custard powder
Bake
- Bake the strawberry crumble pie in the bottom third of the oven for 70 minutes at 175℃ / 350 °F. Place it on a cooling rack after baking. Allow the pie to cool completely before slicing it. This will allow the filling to completely thicken. Serve the strawberry crumble with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.
👉🏻 Recommended
- Passion fruit cheesecake
- No-bake mojito cheesecake
- Nutella brownies
- Red Velvet Cupcakes
- White Chocolate Strawberry Cheesecake
- Easy no-bake Double Chocolate Oreo Cheesecake
Did you make this recipe? Please share it on Instagram or Facebook. Mention @Fleurfoodie or tag #fleurfoodie!
This post may contain affiliate links. You can read my affiliate policy here.
