Four Ingredient Pumpkin Pie - Simple Vegan & Gluten Free

A simple recipe post today ~ Vegan & Gluten Free

Four Ingredient Pumpkin Pie

 

Pumpkin Pie with Coconut Whipped Crème

1 1/4 cups raw soaked cashews

1 cup maple syrup
1 can organic pumpkin puree (16 ounces) (or use fresh puree)
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  

Blend all together until smooth.

 

Bake with or without crust - 400º for 15 minutes, then reduce to 350º bake for about 35 minutes more.

 

OR: Don't bake at all and scoop into small serving bowls and call it Mousse.

  

**You can buy Pumpkin Pie Spice or use a combination of: cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, & cloves. Omit anything you don't like. Remember this is an "easy" recipe.

Here's a quick and tasty crust.

Pie Crust

 

2 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup pitted dates (packed)

1/3 cup almond butter

2 tablespoons nondairy milk

1/8 teaspoon sea salt

 

For the crust, use a food processor to process the rolled oats and dates into a fine, crumbly texture. Add the almond butter and process for about a minute. Add the nondairy milk and salt. Pulse until the mixture comes together without crumbling. If it’s not holding together, add more nondairy milk, 1 teaspoon at a time. Transfer to a pie plate. Press mixture into pie plate evenly around the base and up the sides. Set aside.

 

 

Coconut Whipped Cream

 

1 14 oz. can unsweetened coconut milk (use top firm part only)

1/3 cup organic powdered sugar, maple syrup or agave may be substituted, texture might be thinner, but just as delicious

¼ cup raw cashews, soaked two hours in filtered water and drained well

1 tsp Vanilla bean (scrape inside) or 1 tsp vanilla extract

 

Place can of coconut milk into refrigerator for 4 hours.  Open and remove thick part on top to use in recipes.  Reserve rest for other uses.

In high speed blender, blend cashews and coconut to smooth, add powdered sugar, blend to thick and fluffy, stir in vanilla.

Chill 2 hours or overnight.

Use within 2 days

 

 

 

 

 

Cardamom Vanilla Bean Cake with Sumac Lemonade

I went to a fun wedding  this last Saturday.  My youngest son's best buddy got married.  We've known Ben since he was a little guy in second grade, so it was a family wedding for us. I felt like the honorary mother of the groom.  It was a lovely day for an outdoor wedding and the grounds up at the Haas' are beautiful.  90 degree weather, blue sky, and and a wonderful way to spend a summer Saturday afternoon.  It was pretty easy to eat vegetarian or vegan too.  There were many salads and vegetable dishes to choose from. There were even cooked vegetables separate from the animal products.  I made a batch of my Cheezy Kale chips and some Raw Teriyaki noodles to add to the table.

When we got home I realized we didn't try any wedding cake.  We left before the wedding cake was served and I didn't think I wanted to eat it anyway.  I would rather have a nice vegan cake made with some fresh whole ingredients. I wanted some cake so I whipped up a great one.  I started with a basic cake recipe from my Vegan Fusion Chef training book. I used a vanilla cake base using vanilla bean instead of vanilla extract, some freshly ground cardamom I had around from a recent recipe, and used some Sumac lemonade I had made up the day before for the liquid.  I covered it with some Cashew Coconut Creme glaze made with fresh orange juice and orange zest.  This cake came out with a delightful flavor.  I'd make it again, but the Sumac lemonade is seasonal as the flowers bloom once and it takes a good grocery bag full to make a batch of lemonade.  A tart fruit juice such as cranberry or raspberry would add a good flavor to this cake.  Try some experimenting with your favorite juice or herbal tea.

Cardamom Vanilla Bean Cake with Sumac Lemonade
          Vegan & Gluten Free

Dry Ingredients

2½ cups Bob's Red Mill organic gluten free all purpose baking flour
1½ teaspoons Xanthum Gum
2 cups Sucanat (I used coconut sugar)
1-1½ tsp ground cardamom, depends how much you like cardamom
1½ teaspoons baking soda
½ tsp sea salt, or to taste

Wet Ingredients

6 TB Sunflower Oil
2¼ cups water or fresh fruit juice
2 TB raw apple cider vinegar
Seeds from one vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla extract


Preheat Oven to 350º

Place dry ingredients in large mixing bowl and mix well.  Combine wet ingredients in a small bowl.  Add wet to dry and mix well.  Pour into a parchment paper lined 9" x 13" pan or two 8" cake pans and bake until a toothpick comes out clean, approximately 35-40 minutes.  Let the cake sit for 5 to 10 minutes before flipping onto a wire rack to cool.  Cool completely before frosting.

I wanted to make a nice frosting, but didn't want to use a lot of sugar.  Most the frosting I have made lately has been similar to whipped butter-cream frosting using a lot of powdered sugar.  I wanted something sweet, creamy, but light to go with this flavorful cake. I started with a raw icing from a 30-Minute Vegan recipe substituting cashews for coconut butter and doubling the amount. I doubled the orange zest, and added a little dissolved Agar.  It worked out pretty well, I wasn't thrilled about the color once it chilled.  A lot of it was absorbed in the cake, I think.  I added a layer of fresh blueberries mixed with a couple tablespoons of fresh blueberry/raspberry sauce Rachel made when we were canning cherries.

The Icing
     Adapted from: Raw Cinnamon Rolls, The 30-Minute Vegan

1 cup raw cashews soaked for two hours
The thick cream from one chilled can of coconut milk, about ½ cup
¼ cup agave nectar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract, or seeds of ½ vanilla bean
2 TB Orange zest
¼ cup fresh orange juice, water (or use your favorite fresh juice and change the flavor)

Blend all of the icing ingredients until smooth.  Ice the cooled cake and chill for at least an hour.

Enjoy!

Cardamom Vanilla Bean Cake with Cashew Coconut Orange Glaze

Vegan & Gluten Free

Dark Chocolate Truffle Tart ~ Vegan & Gluten Free

This is the beautiful pie I put together this weekend.  One of the two recipes I tried out of the latest Veg News.  It's very rich, so I don't eat a very big portion of this pie.  It's pretty wonderful though, the chocolate shortbread crust is like a crunchy vegan oreo cookie and the filling is like chocolate candy mouse.  Probably because it is candy, with a little bit of coconut milk cream blended in.  I added some toasted almonds and a nice topping of cherry tamarind sauce.  I warmed some frozen cherries with a little maple syrup, some tamarind water, and a little Agar to thicken.  I used very dark organic chocolate as I like that barely sweetened chocolate flavor.  If you want it a little sweeter, you could use sweeter chocolate and/or add a little Agave to the filling.  I don't have a tart pan, I just used a shallow pie pan.

It's pretty easy and would be a great dessert to bring to a party or potluck.

Dark Chocolate Truffle Tart

a recipe by:  Beverly Lynn Bennett

Makes one 9-inch tart.

For the crust:

3/4 cup brown rice flour
2/3 cup almond meal
2/3 cup unbleached cane sugar
1/2 cup organic cocoa powder
1/4 cup arrowroot powder
1/2 cup vegan margarine

For the filling:

1 1/4 cups vegan creamer (I used So-Delicious coconut milk creamer, my favorite)
1 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips
1 3-ounce dark chocolate bar, roughly chopped
2 teaspoons vanilla or 2 tablespoons alcohol such as rum or whiskey

Topping suggestions:  vegan whip cream,  toasted shredded coconut, chopped nuts, chocolate shavings, sprinkles, sliced fruit, or berries.

Preheat oven to 350º

The Crust:

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, almond meal, sugar, cocoa, and arrowroot powder.  Add margarine and stir well to form a soft dough.  I used my food processor for this, very quick.

Into the bottom and sides of an ungreased 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, press dough 1-inch deep.  Bake 12-14 minutes, or until slightly puffed.  Allow to cool completely on a rack, and then remove outer ring.

The Filling:

In a saucepan over medium heat, bring creamer to a boil.  Remove from heat.  Add remaining ingredients, and stir until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.  Cover and chill in refrigerator for 15 minutes.

Pour filling into prepared crust and chill for 1 hour or until firm.  Garnish outer edge of tart with vegan whip cream and your choice of toppings.