Over the years I have picked up a few recipes that I like to call “church food” – all of them tasty, and just “sinfully rich” enough to be fun. One of my favorites is a dessert called Strawberry Crunch. The mother of a friend of mine from college gave me the recipe. It is a light, fluffy strawberry and whipped cream filling with pecan crumbles.

Strawberry season is right around the corner. Fresh berries begin arriving at markets in late spring and will continue through early summer. Strawberries do not continue to ripen off the vine, so when selecting berries for this recipe choose those that are uniform in size and rich red in color with a bright green cap.

As with most fresh produce, it is best to eat strawberries as soon as possible, but they will keep in the refrigerator for a few days. Store them, unwashed, in a covered container.

Garnished with sliced strawberries and a dollop of fresh whipped cream, this dessert is a delicious treat on a warm spring day.

Ingredients

Crunch Ingredients:

  • 1 cup Plain Flour
  • 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
  • 1/2 cup Chopped Pecans
  • 1/2 cup Melted Butter

Strawberry Filing

  • 2 Large Egg Whites
  • 1 cup White Sugar
  • 2 cups fresh sliced strawberries 20 oz. package of frozen berries
  • 1 Carton Whipping Cream 8 oz.
  • 2 teaspoons Lemon Juice

Instructions

  1. Combine egg whites, white sugar, berries and lemon juice in a large mixing bowl. You want to use as large a bowl as you have available because the mixture expands as you beat it. Beat at a high speed for 10 to 15 minutes.
  2. In a separate, smaller bowl whip the cream. Fold whipped cream into berry mixture. After the crunch has cooled, evenly distribute 2/3 of it across the bottom of the pan.
  3. Cover crunch with berry and whipped cream mixture. Sprinkle the top with remaining 1/3 of crunch. Freeze until solid.
  4. When you are ready to serve the strawberry crunch allow it to thaw just a little bit. This will make it easier to cut.
  5. Serves 8 to 10.