I Like Pie, You Like Pie – Let’s All Have PIE!
Today’s recipe is a diversion from my typical recipes, wherein I rarely use prepared items for ingredients. This pie is quick and easy to put together using pantry ingredients along with some fresh plums.
I had purchased some beautiful looking organic plums the other day. They had just the right firmness that I look for; however, one bite and my face puckered up as if I had just eaten a straight-up lemon. Oh, my! Definitely not the reaction one would neither expect nor hope for when eating a plum. So disappointing. But me being me, I also hate throwing out otherwise perfectly good food; so I had to come up with a plan, some inspiration to make plumade out of plums (otherwise known as lemonade out of lemons).
Not yet knowing what would ultimately become of the five plums remaining, I proceeded to stone them, slice the halves into ¼” slices, and then cut the slices in half. Into a bowl they went. To that bowl, I started by adding ¼ cup unrefined cane sugar, tossed them together, and allowed the plums to macerate. They exuded some juice after about ten minutes, but were still a bit too bitter for my liking; so I added another ¼ cup.
Rummaging in my pantry, I found a can of Nature’s Charm Coconut Custard. I had seen this product used in a recipe from a Facebook vegan group. Being intrigued, I purchase a couple of cans, only to have them shift to the back of the pantry, my having forgotten about them. Ah, the inspiration suddenly came.
Yea, I Can Work With That!
The first thing I did was open the can to see what this product actually was. It looked exactly like vanilla pudding but with a coconut flavor instead of vanilla. No actual shreds or flakes of coconut, just a smooth pudding. “I can work with that”, I said to myself.
I always have an organic, whole-grain prepared pie crust in the freezer. I took that out, placed it on a foil-lined cookie sheet, and allowed it to thaw as I prepared the rest of ingredients. When using a store-bought pie crust, I always place it on a lined sheet so that it doesn’t collapse as I attempt to transfer it from the counter into the oven. The sheet not only keeps the pie crust stable during movement but also serves as a shield should the pie overflow as it is baking. Oven mess avoided.
I happen to not like a very sweet fruit pie. In fact, whenever I am making an all-fruit pie, I typically either do not add any sugar or only a scant amount. I want the pie to be fruit-forward without the sugar detracting from the fruit’s natural flavor and sweetness. I added the sugar to the plums for two reasons: (1) they needed some added sweetness; and (2) I wanted the plums to macerate so that they would exude some of their juices.
Depending on the sweetness of your fruit and how sweet you like your pies, you can adjust the sugar to meet your taste preference with equally delightful results.
So, here’s what I came up with.
Coconut Custard Plum Pie
Linda Voorhis
1 Pie - 8 Slices
20 min
30 min
50 min
Save RecipeIngredients
- 5 plums, firm and not overripe
- ½ cup unrefined cane sugar
- 1 9” pie crust
- 1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut, separated
- 1 can Nature’s Charm Coconut Custard
- 3 tablespoons Follow Your Heart Vegan Egg Powder
- 3 tablespoons white whole wheat pastry flour
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Stone the plums (you can definitely swap out any other stone fruit or berry for the plums), slice the halves into ¼” strips, then cut the strips in half. Place the plums into a medium-large mixing bowl.
- To the plums, stir in the sugar. Set aside for at least 10 minutes.
- In a dry frying pan, toast ½ cup of the coconut. Set aside to cool.
- Line a cookie sheet with foil, place the prepared pie crust on the sheet, sprinkle ¼ cup of the untoasted coconut evenly on the bottom of the pie crust, and set aside. The thin layer of shredded coconut on the bottom will help the crust to stay flaky and not get soggy from the custard.
- Add the ½ cup toasted coconut, the can of coconut custard, Vegan Egg powder, and the flour to the bowl of macerated fruit. Stir to combine.
- Pour the plum custard into the pie shell, then sprinkle with the remaining ¼ cup untoasted coconut.
- Bake for 5 minutes, then reduce heat to 350°F, and bake for an additional 30-35 minutes, or until set. Twenty minutes into the baking, cover the rim of the pie with either a pie crust shield or foil so that the crust does not get too brown or burn.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before parking in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours to set before serving.
- To serve, garnish with a dollop of coconut whipped cream.
- Calories 1386
- Total Fat: 56 g 86.15%
- Saturated Fat: 48 g 240%
- Cholesterol: 0 mg 0%
- Sodium: 27 mg 1.13%
- Potassium: 1295 mg 37%
- Total Carbohydrate: 232 g %
- Sugar: 192 g
- Protein: 13 g
- Vitamin A: 56.92%
- Calcium: 52 mg 5.2%
- Iron: 4 mg 22.22%
