Inspired by the cocktail/mocktail; Sex on the Beach Icebox Pie tastes like sunshine sitting on a pristine sandy beach. It’s a perfect blend of Cranberry, Orange, Peach and Pineapple juice, cream cheese and whipped cream in a buttery cookie crust. This is made without the vodka, but it’s happy hour somewhere, right?
Why Different Colors?
I made two pies. The first pie was made with food coloring to get that beautiful Sex on the Beach coral hue. The second pie was made without food coloring. Also, cranberry juice brand matters. Surprisingly, Langers juice had a slightly deeper pink color than Ocean Spray. But, taste? The very same.
I loved both pies; but the coral slice was more appealing in my opinion.
The first step is cooking the juices, sugar, and cornstarch together on the stovetop until thickened and then cooled. To facilitate faster cooling, transfer the juice filling to a separate bowl and placed in the fridge for at least 1 to 2 hours. (I forgot to take still shots, so the two pics below are from video, oops.)
Below is the cooled NO food coloring filling beaten with the cream cheese. I was very excited to find Tillamook Cream Cheese; it’s the best! If you are adding food coloring, this is the time to do it. For the coral color: 2 drops hot pink, 1 drop yellow.
After the cream cheese and filling are beaten together, add in the whipped whipping cream. Below is the coral version of this step.
Last but not least, spread the finished filling into the prepared shortbread crust (or crumb crust of choice).
Finish off with more whipping cream and refrigerate about 3 to 4 hours before serving. Pro Tip: place 3 to 4 toothpicks in whipping cream to loosely lay plastic wrap over the top of the pie. This will keep the pie filling from developing a “dried out” skin. The toothpicks also protect any whipping cream design you made.
Slice and serve! I couldn’t resist adding maraschino cherries and tiny paper umbrellas. Dessert should be festive and fun!
It’s so tropically delicious! Hopefully the sands of your nearest beach are warm! Mine are only warm 3 months of the year, which is why I need some island relief from the kitchen!
Happy Pie Making Pie Peeps!
Sex on the Beach Icebox Pie
Course: Fruity-licious, Gluten Free, Ice Box Pies8
servings15
minutes2
hours4
hoursSex on the Beach Icebox Pie, inspired by the cocktail with cranberry, orange, peach, and pineapple juices, which tastes like sunshine!
Ingredients
- Pie Filling
2/3ย cupย granulated sugar
2-1/2ย tablespoonsย cornstarch
3/4 cup cranberry juice cocktail
1/4 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons peach nectar
2 tablespoons pineapple juice
pinchย ofย salt
8ย ounceย cream cheese (room temperature)
1ย cupย heavy whipping cream
1/4ย cupย powdered sugar
One prepared 9-inch graham or vanilla wafer cookie crust
- Topping (see notes for stabilizing whipped cream)
1-1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix (if stabilizing)
Directions
- Pie Filling
- In a saucepan, add the sugar and cornstarch, stir until well combined.
Add the juices (cranberry, orange, peach & pineapple), and pinch of salt. - Cook and stir over medium heat using a flat bottomed whisk, getting the corners and bottom of pan.ย Continue stirring with whisk until mixture over medium to medium-high starts to get bubbly and thickens; about 6 to 8 minutes depending on temperature .
- Remove from heat and pour filling into a heat proof bowl.ย Cover with plastic wrap pressed onto surface of filling and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours until completely cooled.
- Place the cream cheese into a large mixing bowl and use an electric mixer to beat until creamy.
- Add the cooled juice filling to the beaten cream cheese, and beat one to two minutes until fully mixed.ย Set aside.
- In a separate large bowl, place 1 cup heavy cream and 1/4 cup powdered sugar and use an electric mixer to whip the heavy cream doubles in size and has firm peaks.ย
- Fold the whipped cream into the juice/cream cheese filling and spread filling into prepared shortbread crust.
- Topping
- Beat the remaining whipped cream with powder sugar until stiff peaks form. Spread a layer of whipped cream over entire pie and pipe remaining whipped cream around edges.ย Refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours before serving.ย
Recipe Video
Notes
- To stabilize whipped cream for topping, add 1 tablespoon Instant Vanilla Pudding mix, mixed with powdered sugar and then added to whipping cream before whipping with mixer. It will add an ever so light yellow hue to whipped cream, but it will not deflate overnight.
