April is strawberry season in Texas and we always go to a self-pick farm and stock up. This year, in an ever-expanding effort to create delicious, simple strawberry concoctions, I’ve managed a nice little chocolate pudding pie with strawberry whipped topping.

You’ll need:

1 9-inch graham cracker pie shell
1 package of chocolate cook and serve pudding (3.4 oz)
heavy whipping cream
sweet strawberries
cocoa powder

Mix two tablespoons cocoa powder and the package of chocolate pudding in a saucepan. Cook according to directions on the package (2 cups of milk, stirring constantly.) I use a high quality cocoa addition to the packaged pudding to get a dark chocolate flavor–you can leave the extra cocoa out if you don’t like darker chocolates. I also wouldn’t recommend adding extra cocoa if you decide to substitute instand pudding in the recipe–the cocoa needs heat in order to dissolve properly.

When the chocolate pudding is ready, pour it in the pie shell and refrigerate for 3 hours.

Prepare the strawberry puree:

In blender puree enough strawberries to get 1 to 1.5 cups of puree. I don’t add any sugar because we pick the berries fully ripened and they don’t need it. With store berries, you may want to add a tablespoon or two of sugar. If you aren’t going to use the puree within a day, squirt a bit of lemon juice into the puree to help preserve color.

When the pie is set, whip 1 cup of heavy whipping cream with 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 tsp vanilla until soft peaks have formed. About a quarter cup at a time, add one cup of the pureed stawberries. (You can add more, but be careful not to let the peaks get runny–add some, stir, then add more if the cream can handle more liquid without losing its shape.)

Cover the pie evenly with the strawberry topping and serve. To decorate, add slices of strawberries to individual plates and dust with cocoa powder.