I am a stress baker.

In times of severe turmoil or grief, I take to the kitchen and throw things together in a mad frenzy. There’s something about baking–the mixing and the beating, or maybe it’s the thousands of chocolaty calories that result from those few minutes of effort. Whatever it is, baking always makes me feel better. Food is comforting. Those of you who have read my books have probably noticed there are at least a few scenes in each that revolve around food (most likely eating pie at some point). My characters are always eating.

The last month has been a difficult one. A few weeks ago, my grandmother died. I don’t think I’ve yet completely wrapped my head around the fact that my grandma is gone. I was the first grand baby on that side, and so I’ve always felt like she and I have had a special bond. Although we only lived a few hours apart, I didn’t get to see her all that often in recent years. Life gets in the way, sometimes, but I was able to make it over to see her when it counted most.

A week or so after my grandmother passed away, I went back to work after having been away from the job for more than a year and a half. With very little training, I was thrown back into things with no safety net, no life preserver, and no one to keep me from drowning. Thankfully, the mechanics of my job are ingrained in muscle memory, but today, the shit hit the fan and I got home after an eight hour shift, feeling like I should be drinking all the wine in the house. And so tonight, I am having the girls in, and we are going to eat this Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream Pie from Smitten Kitchen, because it looks soooooo good (and because it is too hot to have the oven on for longer than ten minutes).

Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream Pie
from Smitten Kitchen

An additional note about texture: The cream cheese base of this pie gets firm but not rock-hard in the freezer (a good thing), but the whipped cream topping can get very firm, almost popsicle-like. If this isn’t to your liking, you can add the whipped cream right before serving, or only let it firm up 10 minutes in the freezer, enough that it can stand up to the wet strawberry topping but not be fully frozen.

Crust
1 1/2 cups (155 grams) finely ground graham cracker crumbs (from about 10 crackers)
3 tablespoons (40 grams) granulated sugar
2 pinches sea salt
7 tablespoons (100 grams) unsalted butter, melted

Cheesecake filling
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, at room room temperature
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whipped cream topping
1 cup heavy or whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Strawberry sauce
1 pound strawberries, hulled and halved
2 tablespoons sugar
Juice of half a lemon
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons water

Make crust: Heat oven to 350°F. Combine graham crumbs, sugar and salt in a medium bowl and stir until mixed. Add butter and stir until crumbs are evenly coated. Press crumbs into the bottom and up the sides of a standard 9-inch pie dish. I like to use the outer edge of a heavy measuring cup to press in neat, firm sides but nobody will be the wiser if you just use your fingertips. Bake crust until lightly browned, about 9 to 10 minutes. Set on cooling rack to cool completely. Once cool, you can even transfer it to the freezer to get it started on the chilling process.

Make cheesecake filling: Beat cream cheese until soft and fluffy, then slowly beat in condensed milk until smooth. Beat in zest and vanilla. [This step updated to ensure everyone avoids lumps.] Pour into cooled crust and freeze for 6 to 8 hours, until firm.

Make whipped cream topping: Whip cream with sugar and vanilla until soft peaks form. Spread the whipped cream over the frozen filling and return to the freezer until firm, usually less than an hour.

Make strawberry topping: Combine strawberries, sugar, lemon, cornstarch and water in a medium, heavy saucepan. Let macerate for 15 to 20 minutes, then cook over medium-low heat to a simmer, stirring. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes more, then remove from heat and chill sauce completely. You can hasten this along by stirring it in a bowl set over a bowl of ice water. Chill strawberry sauce in fridge until needed. (We won’t be freezing this part.)

To serve: Using a hot, wet knife, cut pie into wedges and drape each with strawberry sauce. Eat, repeat.