Crush the graham crackers either in a blender or large zip close bag. Add melted butter and brown sugar and mix well.
11½ graham crackers, 7 Tablespoons salted butter, 3 Tablespoons brown sugar
Press into a 9 inch pie pan, and use a cup or bowl to help even out the bottom and make firm. If making ahead, now is the time to bake it for 10 minutes at 350℉ to help make sure the crust doesn't get soggy.
Use a blender to pureé the strawberries. Should make about 4 cups (945 mL) of liquid.
2 lb strawberries , ¼ cup white granulated sugar
Add strawberry puree to a pot with sugar and bring to a boil. Cook for 10 minutes until reduced down to about 3.5 cups. Remove from heat and stir in Tablespoon of butter.
1 Tablespoon salted butter
While the strawberries are boiling, rinse out blender and blend together eggs, cornstarch, and lemon juice.
¼ cup cornstarch, 2 Tablespoons lemon juice , 3 large eggs
Add in a few spoonfuls of the hot strawberry pureé to the egg mixture and stir temper the eggs. Add the egg/cornstarch mixture into the pot of strawberry pureé. Whisk well and heat to simmering over low/medium heat. Simmer 1-2 minutes until thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in sour cream and vanilla extract until smooth. See Note.
½ cup sour cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla
Pour it into the pie shell (it's fine that it's hot) and cover with plastic wrap to cool. Let it cool 15-20 minutes before transferring to the fridge, and chill for 3-4 hours until fully set.
Mix powdered sugar, cream cheese, and vanilla and whip with an electric mixer for 1 minute until smooth. Then add in cream a 2-3 Tablespoons at a time and mix well in between each addition. Then whip on high speed for 3-4 minutes until stiff peaks form. ½ cup powdered sugar, 4 oz cream cheese, 1 teaspoon vanilla
Scoop, spread, or pipe the whipped cream cheese topping onto the chilled pie and top with sliced strawberries and/or lemon zest. Enjoy!