A Luxury Yacht and a "Vegan" Banana Cream Pie

My husband always taught the boys to answer the question "What do you want?" with "A luxury yacht and a banana cream pie."  My answer was always "I can't do much about the yacht, but I can whip up a banana cream pie pretty quickly."

The latest issue of VegNews has a nice cream pie recipe.  It's vegan and gluten free. They've listed a few variations like chocolate, coconut, and lemon cream.  This is a pretty easy recipe and can be made a day before.  The recipe called for a package of vegan whipped topping so I thought I'd try it.  There was something called cashew coconut cream in the store, so I bought some hoping I could whip it.  I didn't like it so much as it didn't whip up fluffy.  Luckily I happened to have some of my own cashew coconut cream in the fridge.  I added a bit of that to the smoothie I had made instead of whipped cream and it thickened up rather nicely.  I think next time I make it I will use my own recipe for the creamy topping.  Afterall, it's so easy, just a half cup of cashews, a can of coconut cream (just the cream at the top), a couple tablespoons of confectioner's sugar,  a few drops of coconut or almond milk, and a vanilla bean. I garnished mine with toasted almonds, banana slices, and a couple Kale blossoms.

We took it to my daughter in law's birthday party.  It didn't last very long.

Bodacious Banana Cream Pie

   Vegan and Gluten Free
     by: Beverly Lynn Bennett

For the crust:

1½ cups gluten-free all purpose flour (or your favorite spelt, or WW pastry flour)
2 TB sugar (I used sucanat)
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup non-hydrogenated margarine (Earth Balance has a nice organic vegan margarine)
4 to 6 tablespoons cold water

For the filling:

6 TB gluten free-all purpose flour
6 TB sugar (agave, stevia, sucanot will all work)
2 teaspoons agar powder (flakes also work just fine)
2 cups vanilla coconut milk creamer
   I just love So-Delicious Coconut Milk Creamer, I use it for my ice creams
2 large bananas, I used 3 bananas for a nice layering of bananas and cream
1-16 ounce package vegan whipped topping, (or make your own cashew coconut creme)

Preheat oven to 400º

For the crust, in a medium bowl, stir together flour, sugar, and salt.  Using a pastry cutter or fork, cut in margarine until mixture resembles coarse meal.  Add water a little at a time until mixture comes together in a ball.

Place dough between two 12-inch sheets of parchment paper.  Flatten into a disc, roll out to a 12 inch circle, and remove top sheet of parchment.  Flip pastry into a 9-inch pie pan, remove bottom parchment paper, and discard.  Trim pastry, leaving a 1-inch overhang, and flute edges as desired.  Prick bottom of pie crust in several places with a fork.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned around edges.  Allow pie crust  to cool completely.

For the filling, in a medium saucepan over medium heat, whisk together flour, sugar, and agar.  slowly whisk in coconut creamer, and cook, whisking constantly, for 5 minutes or until thickened.  Transfer to a bowl and set aside to cool for 15 minutes.

Prepare whipped topping according to package directions.  Decorate top of pie with whipped topping as desired then slice and serve.

Dairy Free Coconut Milk Strawberry Rhubarb Ice Cream

My friend mentioned she was making a rhubarb pie the other day.  I got to thinking about the rhubarb I canned this summer.  I also still have some strawberries in the freezer.

What a combo, coconut milk vanilla ice cream with the rhubarb mixed in.  I made a strawberry sorbet, mixed just a little in the ice cream and then placed it in the bottom of the freezer containers.  I poured the ice cream in the middle.  The sorbet froze around the ice cream nicely.  It's almost like strawberry 50/50 bars. Very Delightful and dairy free.

Dairy Free Vanilla Ice Cream
Begin by making a substitute for condensed milk.

Condensed Milk Substitute

1/3 cup thick coconut milk (The cream at the top of the can)
1/3 cup maple syrup or agave
1 TB melted coconut butter

Whip all above ingredients together and place in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Vanilla base for ice cream

3 TB egg replacer
9 TB filtered water
3/4 cup sucanat or agave
Remaining can of coconut milk from condensed milk substitute
Condensed milk substitute (above)
2 pint coconut milk coffee creamer
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 1/2 TB vanilla extract or the seeds from a whole vanilla bean.

In a large mixing bowl whisk 3 TB egg replacer with 9 TB filtered water until thoroughly mixed and fluffy. Add the condensed milk substitute. Add 3/4 cup sucanat (or brown sugar) and again mix thoroughly. Add the rest of the can of coconut milk and the coconut creamer, 1/2 tsp sea salt and the vanilla. Chill mixture for about four hours before freezing according to the directions for your ice cream freezer.

Coconut Pudding with Pineapple/Orange Pureé

Friday Vegalicious Recipes posted a recipe for coconut pudding.  Thought I'd give it a try, it sure looked good when I noticed it. This is a very easy and tasty pudding made with coconut milk, toasted coconut flakes, agave, and corn starch.  Toasted Coconut, Pineapple/Orange Pureé.  Hmm...Piña Colada Pudding.  :D This recipe is for mango and kiwi pureé, but I didn't have either of those.  I did have a pineapple and some tangelos. I garnished it with crushed stevia leaf.

Dairy Free Dark Cherry Almond Fudge Ice Cream

Had some fun with the ice cream maker. I made a dairy free vanilla ice cream mixture with dark sweet cherries, roasted almonds, and fudge.

I thawed a quart of dark sweet cherries I froze while in season, roasted and chopped some almonds, and made a fudge sauce with agave and organic cocoa. I drained the cherries when thawed and added the cherry juice to the ice cream mixture. When the ice cream was just about frozen, I added the cherries and the roasted almonds. Just before I put it in the freezer I folded in the fudge sauce.

Dairy Free Vanilla Ice Cream

Begin by making a substitute for condensed milk.

Condensed Milk Substitute

1/3 cup thick coconut milk (The cream at the top of the can)
1/3 cup maple syrup or agave
1 TB melted coconut butter

Whip all above ingredients together and place in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Vanilla base for ice cream

3 TB egg replacer
9 TB filtered water
3/4 cup sucanat
Remaining can of coconut milk from condensed milk substitute
Condensed milk substitute (above)
1 pint coconut milk coffee creamer
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 1/2 TB vanilla extract or the seeds from a whole vanilla bean.

In a large mixing bowl whisk 3 TB egg replacer with 9 TB filtered water until thoroughly mixed and fluffy. Add the condensed milk substitute. Add 3/4 cup sucanat (or brown sugar) and again mix thoroughly. Add the rest of the can of coconut milk and 1 pint of coconut creamer, 1/2 tsp sea salt and the vanilla. Chill mixture for about four hours before freezing according to the directions for your ice cream freezer.

Sweet Dark Cherries