Taste Etc: Strawberry milk pie

Strawberries with condensed milk is pretty much a perfect dessert as is: sweet, tart and floral. For this recipe I wanted to lean into the simple pleasure depicted in Daido Moriyama’s Memory. This is easy to put together. The hardest part is waiting for the pie to chill.

Crumb crust

› 150g TUC crackers, made into crumbs

› 30g caster sugar

› 100g unsalted butter, melted

Filling

› 250g strawberries, fresh or frozen (thawed), plus more for serving

› 3 egg yolks

› 1 tin (397g) condensed milk (reserve 50g for serving)

› 20ml lime juice and zest of 1 lime

› 1–2 drops red food colouring (optional)

Preheat the oven to 170°C (fan). Mix the cracker crumbs and sugar together. Use a fork to stir in the melted butter until the mixture begins to clump together. Use your hands or a cup measure to press the mixture into the bottom and sides of a 20 cm pie tin or 23 cm tart pan and bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until it starts to brown. Allow it to cool for 20 to 30 minutes.

De-stem and purée the strawberries and strain to remove any seeds. Mix with lime juice and food colouring (if using) then set aside. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the egg yolks and lime zest together until pale and thick (this should take around five to seven minutes by hand, or three minutes with an electric whisk). Add the condensed milk and whisk for a further three to five minutes. The mixture will thicken slightly. Whisk in the strawberry and lime juice until the filling is uniform in colour. Pour it into the prepared crumb crust and let it sit for 20 minutes at room temperature.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the middle of the pie is no longer wobbly. Cool the pie at room temperature for one hour and refrigerate for at least three hours before serving.

Serve chilled with fresh strawberries and a drizzle of condensed milk on top.

^{Memory was presented by the artist in 2013.}

^{Chloe-Rose Crabtree is a pastry chef and food historian. She can be found baking at Bake Street, Stoke Newington.}