Date Sweetened Vegan Pumpkin Pie

Date Sweetened Vegan Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin pie, one of my favourite desserts. As seen from my various other pumpkin recipes, I am quite fond of gourds. Pumpkin pie is already one of the healthiest pie choices available, even the ones from the supermarket aren't terribly bad. But of course, homemade is better. And naturally sweetened ones even more. 

Don't mind the little burnt blotches along the crust; that's filling I got on there :P

Every year, I attempt a pumpkin pie. Usually it is the hard crust that my family complains about. I've tried traditional full-of-butter pie crusts to super fast olive oil pie crusts, but they just never worked out as advertised. Finally I experimented with making pie crust in the food processor (and using coconut oil!) and discovered the perfect pie crust. Flaky, tender, and delicious even on its own.
 
At Thanksgiving early this year, I made a pumpkin pie that was covered in cracks and wasn't sweet enough. Note to self: a quarter cup of honey isn't enough for an entire pie. Pumpkin pie filling isn't difficult to make, in fact it's pretty fail proof. But making one that isn't laden with refined sugars and one that is crack-free is the challenge. I think I have found the solution!

Date Sweetened Vegan Pumpkin Pie

Unlike most pumpkin pies that are sweetened with granulated or brown sugar, this pie is sweetened with date paste. Dates are fat free 'jewels of the dessert' that are a great source of fibre, iron, and potassium. Fibre keeps your intestines clean and happy, iron is especially important to incorporate into women's diets, and potassium is an energizer! Eat a few dates before exercising for a boost of energy. They also double up as a post-work out snack. When my mom first joined hot yoga, her instructor told them to eat a banana (which also has high amounts of potassium) to re-energize the body after sweating buckets. Yes dates are really carb heavy because of the sugar content, but they are very nutritious and make for a great dessert too! Medjool dates are the sweetest, largest, and plumpest variety; I used them in this recipe to make the date paste. Date paste can easily be made at home using dates and water. Blend blend blend away until the texture resembles that of pumpkin puree. If you have any leftover date paste, use it up in a batch of Healthy Carrot Morning Glory Muffins! 
 
Eggs are not part of this recipe, as this pie is vegan. Having egg whites in a pumpkin pie filling may contribute to surface cracks because the proteins in the egg whites will shrink and pull apart as the pie cools, leaving valleys and canyons in the middle of the pie. To combat this problem (as well as make it vegan), cornstarch is used as the thickener. Without a thickener, one would be left with a pile of mashed pumpkin instead of a 'custard'. This recipe of pumpkin 'custard' does not rise at all during baking, which also reduces the risk for cracking. As a heads up, the filling pulls away from the sides just a little bit as it cools. Other than that, the surface of the pie remains crack-free. 

Date Sweetened Vegan Pumpkin Pie

In my photos, the pie looks pretty short. I would prefer the filling to reach the top for cosmetic purposes. Maybe my pie pan is just too deep..? I may add half a recipe more of the filling the next time I make this. Taste-wise, I have no complaints. The excess crust on the top makes for a delicious 'cookie' to munch on! My vegan pie crust is fragrant from coconut oil, flaky, and crunchy and makes for the perfect vessel to spread the pumpkin filling on. The way I like to eat my pumpkin pie probably sounds ridiculous, but hey. Don't judge. Just make the pie and taste for yourself ;)

This pie is essentially guilt-free. It's pretty much just dates, pumpkin puree, coconut oil, and flour. I am not ashamed to say that I've eaten this pie for breakfast on several occasions. This is how I like to get my fruit and vegetable intake.

Find the healthiest vegan pumpkin pie that is crack-free after the cut!

A Long Weekend of Birthday Baking

Gaaaah, this post is about one month late but I still wanted to share three recipes I had tested out during the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend. Over that long weekend, I baked goodies as presents to three birthday girls: a childhood friend, a church friend, and my beloved grandmother. Without further ado, some eye-candy for you to indulge in.

Building the Vegan Chocolate Pumpkin Pie Layer Cake

Once I confirmed that my childhood friend, Tiff, was a fellow fan of pumpkin, I decided to go all out for her birthday cake. We were celebrating her 'entrance into adulthood' with a 'baby turkey' (aka Costco rotisserie chicken) dinner, Disney movies, and a sleepover. Sounding epic? Just wait until you hear about this Vegan Chocolate Pumpkin Pie Layer Cake I made her. Alternating layers of chocolate pumpkin cake and crustless pumpkin pie, glued together with whipped coconut cream. I could eat the whole cake and feel [almost] guiltless. I just got some teasing from my best friend, looking down on the cake just because I mentioned it's vegan. Whoa whoa now, don't hate on vegan food! Vegan food can be de-lish, as proven by this cake.

Completed Vegan Chocolate Pumpkin Pie Layer Cake

It was my first time using and eating whipped coconut cream, oh my goodness, Coconut Crumpet went on a vacation to heaven. I stuck a can of Rooster Brand Gold Label Coconut Milk into the fridge overnight for the vegan whipped cream. I highly recommend using this particular coconut milk because of its high, high, high fat content. It's super rich, thick, and coconutty. All the coconut whipped cream recipes I've seen online use the 'full fat' cans of coconut milk, which yield about half a can of whip-able coconut cream. The Gold Label Coconut Milk yields more than 3/4 can of coconut cream!! It was enough to frost this loaf-sized cake. 

As for the actual cake part of the cake, I used a pumpkin chocolate brownie recipe and adapted this crustless pumpkin pie recipe. While the brownie turned out fine, I took my Rachel-ifying a little too far for the pumpkin pie layer. It was bubbling in the oven like a cauldron and rose about five times the height that it should have, then I almost burnt it, and all that height collapsed as it cooled and some batter stuck to the sides of my loaf pan. Thankfully, the taste was fine and it would be ready to become a cake with a bit of a trim.

On the same day as I decorated this cake, I baked up two more birthday presents. Some Cranberry Orange Ricotta Muffins for my grandma and Soft Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies for a church friend, who is a lover of peanut butter and chocolate.

Cranberry Orange Ricotta Muffins

These muffins follow the same recipe as this Blackberry Lemon Ricotta Muffins I already have on the blog. This ricotta muffin recipe yields the fluffiest muffins ever; it is a must-try! I replaced the blackberries with cranberries, lemon zest and juice with that of an orange, and sprinkled the tops with turbinado sugar before baking. The raw sugar gives a beautiful sparkle and delicious crunch to the finished muffins. It's just unfortunate the the sugar will dissolve by the next day...so no more crunch :(

Soft Baked Peanut Butter Cookies

And finally, a batch of soft-baked peanut butter cookies, packed with chocolate chips and peanut butter chips of course. These were soooooooooooo good~~ Totally my type of cookie: soft, thick, chewy, peanut-buttery... I'm drooling again. You probably want to know what recipe I used right? Well head over to Sally's Baking Addiction; she has a plethora of cookie recipes with a good mix of healthy recipes too! 

I altered a few ingredients as softened (not melted!) coconut oil replaced the butter and Reece's peanut butter chips and chocolate chips instead of M&M's. The base of the cookie can be made vegan with the use of coconut oil. 

Soft Baked Peanut Butter Cookies

Even though many peanut butter cookie recipes recommend sticking to the regular creamy peanut butter stuff that is laden with sugar, I went ahead and used my natural peanut butter. The trick is to make sure the separated oil is very thoroughly re-incorporated (stir it every time you open the jar) and the jar is kept in the refrigerator. By keeping the natural peanut butter cool, the texture becomes creamy instead of runny.

I forgot to press down on the cookie dough before baking, which is why my cookies look a lot smaller and fatter. That isn't really bad at all as there will just be more soft cookie inside to enjoy!

Well, I hope that these little posts of "what I've been baking" is interesting. Halloween is over and now we're charging full force into Christmas. While I had a fun Halloween dressing up as a minion (I have a slight obsession with those yellow pill-shaped creatures), Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. No arguing. I cannot wait for Christmas and all the festive deliciousness that happens during December; hopefully I'll be able to post about my successful recipes! Pumpkin pie anyone? The perfect Vegan Pie Crust can be made by following my recipe here. I'm still working on a perfect pumpkin pie filling so please check back soon! The Crumpets will try our best to post as often as we can between our busy schooling ;) We have lots to accomplish before we wander into the scarier-than-Halloween land of university...dundunDUNNNN..


Love from Coconut Crumpet's Corner ♡

Rainbow Thai Quinoa

I've been eying this recipe for the loooooooooongest time, and finally had the opportunity to make it myself last Sunday. Cashews? Colourful veggies? Peanut butter dressing? Sounds like it was like designed for moi :'D

Rainbow of ingredients for Rainbow Thai Quinoa

How can this plate of fresh ingredients not bring a smile to your face? It's the definition of gorgeous! The only colour absent from my plate is yellow, which could easily be filled with some yellow bell pepper, corn, squash, or zucchini. Any dish with a whole rainbow of fresh produce in it has to be healthy for you.

Making this dish (or it could be called a salad, I suppose) is super quick and simple. Minimal cooking and lots of chop, chop, chopping! Most of the time is spent cutting up vegetables and herbs. To speed up the already short process even more, cook the quinoa ahead of time. I cooked mine in the morning before heading off to church, and threw the whole dish together for lunch when I arrived home. Easy and delicious, what more could a lazy chef like me ask for?

Rainbow Thai Quinoa ready to eat!

Although the peanut butter didn't dominate the dish like I had expected, it added the perfect hint of nuttiness and richness. I like everything sweet, so I adjusted the sauce a twinge with more honey. This quinoa dish has so many dimensions, and is a party for the taste buds to try and decipher all the components. Sometimes a little sweet, sometimes a little spicy (raw onions!), sometimes a punch of cilantro... I could eat bowls and bowls of this stuff. For lunch, for dinner, for snack..okay but maybe not breakfast. That's when I need my pancakes.

I highly recommend you push this dish to the top of your 'recipe bucketlist' because it is mind-blowing-ly delicious. This Rainbow Thai Quinoa tastes wonderful slightly warm but also great cold from the fridge. Meaning it make great left-overs, if there is any.

Rainbow Thai Quinoa

Very lightly adapted from Ambitious Kitchen

Yield: 4 really large servings

Ingredients

For quinoa

• ¾ cup uncooked quinoa
• 1½ cup chicken or vegetable stock (or water + crumbled stock cube)
• 3 handfuls of baby spinach
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• ½ red onion, diced*
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• ½ cup chopped cilantro
• 1 green onion, diced
• 3 handfuls of roasted unsalted cashews
• A few squeezes of fresh lime juice, optional

For dressing

• ¼ cup all natural peanut butter
• 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon honey or agave
• A dash or vinegar (apple cider vinegar is fine)
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• Water to thin, if necessary
• A few cracks of freshly ground pepper

Directions

1. Cook quinoa with stock in a medium pot according to package. I brought mine to a boil over high heat, then turned down the heat to the lowest and cooked for 15 minutes. Let cooked quinoa sit with lid covered for 5 minutes. Add the baby spinach with quinoa and lightly mix together in pot. Cover pot with lid; the residual heat and steam will wilt the spinach.
2. Cut, shred, and chop all vegetables.
3. To prepare the dressing, mix all ingredients together in a small bowl or custard cup. Microwave for 10 seconds or so to melt honey and mix thoroughly. Add water by the tablespoon until dressing reaches desired consistency. A viscous but steady stream flowing off spoon is good.
4. Add sauce to quinoa and spinach mixture, gently mix to combine. 
5. Pour dressed quinoa into a large mixing bowl, add all vegetables and nuts, and mix until combined. Serve with a few squeezes of lime juice if desired.

*If your stomach is very sensitive to acidic foods, omit or cook onion. Or replace with shredded purple cabbage.

Love from Coconut Crumpet's Corner ♡

Cafe Gratitude

Cafe Gratitude Los Angeles

Cafe Gratitude is one of the most popular vegan/raw restaurants in greater Los Angeles. The vegan restaurant scene down there is much more expanded than here in Vancouver. I have never dined at a vegan restaurant before but have much interest in doing so. I took the opportunity to visit one during my vacation in Los Angeles; it would be an interesting experience for the rest of my family as well. It was my 'special day' that day, since my parents let me choose all the restaurants we would eat at for lunch and dinner. It started with a late brunch at Little Next Door and ended with a healthy, clean dinner at Cafe Gratitude. We are all vegetable-lovers so I figured a vegan dinner wouldn't be too much of a shock for them. 

After getting at mani-pedi at Marie Nails (which, by the way, I do recommend!), we drove down Beverly Boulevard to Cafe Gratitude. It is located outside of the busy Hollywood area in what appears to be a more residential area. We thought our GPS has brought us to the wrong destination, but it wasn't wrong! Cafe Gratitude is part of a tiny plaza that even has free (but limited) underground parking! Free parking in Los Angeles is nearly unheard of... Just watch for the bright blue A-fold sign that points to the garage entrance. 

My mom still needed a bit of coaxing before actually agreeing to eat at the restaurant. We walked into the cafe (not restaurant) side and asked to see the menu. The prices were decent and it was getting late so we asked for a table. There was a covered patio seating area that would've been a lovely place to eat; evening temperatures in Los Angeles are extremely enjoyable. Unfortunately, eating outdoors would have to wait for another time. Seating is a bit dim, especially as the sun begins to set. 

We were served water in unique glass bottles that matched the hippie-style of the whole restaurant. Now, descriptions of the dishes on vegan menus doesn't really do much more than listing all the vegetables used. Photos are much more effective in showing how the ingredients were transformed into a work of art, so I suggest taking some time to look at the photos on Yelp and Urbanspoon before visiting to get a sense of what interests you. I also asked our waitress for recommendations and what the most popular dishes are. She was very patient and kind to us newbie vegan diners while waiting for us to make decisions or taking our order. Oh, I've heard you're supposed to order by saying "I am..." then the dish name, cute huh? 

After writing down our orders, the waitress or waiter will ask you the question of the day, which is written on a chalk board by the cashier. Our question was 'What are you proud of?' and served as an opening topic for our table to chat away some of the wait time for our food. It is a clever way for the restaurant to keep the atmosphere lively and the guests less focused on how long it takes for food to be made.

I am Warm Hearted ($13)

Cafe by Tao

Walking around Vegfest Vancouver, we walked by Tao Organic's booth and decided to give it a try. I've always wanted to try something there, but its location in North Vancouver is somewhere my family rarely venture out to.
I really expected more of VegFest and I was kind of disappointed with the lack of actual booths that actually served vegan food... there were about three. All the other booths were information booths about animals and humane societies, etc, which was great but many non-vegetarian/vegan Vancouerites probably would not stop by those booths.
Cafe by Tao had a few of their menu items displayed for people to order at their booth. The items included Rawkin Pizza, The Real Lasagna, Gaia Burger, and the Falafel Wrap. Keep in mind that these items are all vegan, raw, and wheat-free. Love!
I ordered the Rawkin Pizza and the Falafel Wrap. If you want to try a raw vegan lasagna, I have a recipe for you!

Rawkin Pizza

The Rawkin Pizza is a wheat-free sprouted buckwheat crust topped with dill nut cheese, sweet chili sauce, chiffonade kale, julienne carrots, cauliflower florets, and marinated mushrooms. Let me just say, that crust is really good. It's not your usual raw vegan cardboard pizza crust. It is a thin crust, seasoned well with indian spices like cumin. The marinated mushrooms were fantastic too, as they had a salty flavour with some tanginess. I will have to try to make a marinate like this and share it with you guys in the future. Because we were at the festival at a later time, they reduced the menu prices slightly, so this slice was around $2 (i don't quite remember).I know gourmet raw foods take at least one day advanced to prepare as the dehydration process can take any time from 24-48 hours. Therefore, I think this was worth the price I paid.

Falafel Wrap

The falafel wrap is actually much more flavourful than it seems. Its "wrap" is the lettuce which consists of tomato, alfafa, cucumber, nut cheese and their famous falafel all wrapped inside. I really appreciate how the wrap didn't come apart because of the lettuce's delicate nature. The toothpick with the dried olive and cucumber really helped stabalize the burger from falling apart in your hands.

I would make a trip to their actual cafe in North Vancouver one day, perhaps after skiing up on Grouse Mountain in the area? I'd like to try more items, like their soups and mesquite cakes! 

Lots of Nuts,

Peanut Crumpet xo

Whistler Sunday Farmer's Market

I love farmer's markets. Brightly coloured produce, unique goods, and happy locals make it a very pleasant way to purchase groceries or just kill time. It also makes for a fun activity when on vacation, especially if a kitchen is available to use where you're staying. After my trip to Honolulu, I make sure to drag my family to a farmer's market if there is one in the city we're visiting. Okay, I failed to do so in Los Angeles but...

Follow the Whistler Sunday Farmer's Market sign!

On this sunny Sunday (ain't called Sunday for no reason!), I marched my family to the base of Blackcomb Mountain to visit the farmer's market. Since we were staying in a vacation condo and often cooked or barbequed our meals, I had an excuse to actually buy produce. I told my mom to only pack as much food as we needed for the first two days so we could spontaneously purchase groceries to cook dinner on Sunday. We bought corn for grilling, which is the most delicious way to eat corn on the cob, baby summer squash, and blackberries for munching. The corn was pretty expensive, but not many stands sold it. I believe we bought it for 50 cents each or a little bit more than that. The summer squash was about $2 a pound. The blackberries were of the best value; $4 for a heaping paper basket of giant, plump, fresh, blackberries. The blackberry season just started and first of the crop is always the best. 

Fresh Local Berries

At the very end of the market, there is a stand that sells blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, cherries, and strawberries for 3 for $10, which is the cheapest at the market. They were out of raspberries when I passed by at 11:30am and said another shipment would arrive in the afternoon. I would recommend purchasing at this stand if you're interested in buying local berries from Pemberton.

Baked Samosas (Top: Pemerton Potatoes, Bottom: Yam)

Besides fruits and vegetables, we also bought a few prepared goodies to try during dinner that night. Our first purchase was two baked samosas from an Indian-owned stand. We got one with yam and veggies and another one similar but featuring Pemberton-grown potatoes instead of yam. Both were vegan and served with mango chutney. When we were paying for the samosas, another couple (who I believe were also Indian) came by to pick up two to take with them on a hike. They turned to us and said "These are the best samosas ever!" Our samosas were part of dinner that night, reheated in the oven and cut into four sections so each of us could try both. Unfortunately, my family didn't really enjoy these as they were very dry. The mango chutney was thick and sticky so it wasn't convenient to spread or dip. I appreciate that there are many healthy vegetables in these and are baked instead of fried, but I think I would rather put my three or so dollars to try something else. 

Fruit Pocket Pies

Dessert that night was purchased from a stand selling square-shaped, fruit-filled pocket pies at the very end of the market. We chose the blackberry version. I believe they were $5..? This pie was so delicious. The blackberry filling was prominent and not too sweet, and the crust was super flaky. It was a large enough pie to share between four people and each get a two inch square. Highly recommend eating this pie warm, and maybe with a scoop of vanilla ice cream ;) Or you can gobble this up on the spot right after buying it, that works too.

Aussie Pie

On the way out of the market, a stand selling Australian hand pies caught my mother's eye. She said we didn't have enough food for dinner and wanted to pick up one more food item to share. We had quite the difficult time deciding which flavour to get but ended up settling for the original. It was also around $5. We saw many people eating them while strolling through the market. They are sold hot and ready-to-eat or cooked but cooled down to bring home and heat through when you wish to eat it. We got the later one since it would be a good half a day before we would eat it. The original aussie pie is filled with ground beef. The size of the double-crusted pie is slightly larger than a muffin. This was actually really tasty! The filling was well seasoned and the crust was super, super, super, super, SUPER soft, tender, and buttery. The whole thing was melt-in-my-mouth. I don't know how many calories one quarter of that pie had, and I don't want to know, but I do know it was worth trying. I know there is a food truck in Vancouver that sells aussie pies, and I'm curious to know if the pies are similar. Hmm...must find a time to give it a try...

At the Sunday Farmer's Market in Whistler, there is everything from produce stands, ice cream, baked goods, stone oven pizza, artwork, dog treats, onomoyaki, plenty of food samples, and live music. I remember stopping to try goat cheese (which I actually tried the exact stand at the Winter Farmer's Market in Vancouver), looking at leather bibs for babies, eating root chips, and looking at a rainbow of carrots, beets, and chard. My family was blessed with beautiful weather during our time in Whistler and the farmer's market was a good place to take advantage of the nice weather. The Whistler Farmer's Market is a great place for foodies and families to visit. The market also happens on Wednesday, if you're not around on Sunday. 

Love from Coconut Crumpet's Corner ♡

Ingrid's Village Cafe

Ingrid's Village Cafe

In the middle of the Village Stroll in Whistler lies this tiny cafe that is loved by both locals and visitors alike. Although I walk past this cafe at least six times a day, I would have never thought to go in if it weren't for the good reviews seen on the Internet. The cafe is not very noticeable as there's no big sign displaying their name and their small patio section is attached to three other restaurants. Look for the 'home cooking' neon lights or an A-frame sign that says stuff like "vegan! hot chocolate!" (Sorry, that's all I remember...), or a patio full of people enjoying burgers out of plastic red baskets.

Garden Veggie Burger ($6.95)

I got the Garden Veggie Burger which is a patty of shredded vegetables in a multigrain bun with lettuce, tomato, cucumber, red onion, green bell pepper, shredded carrots, alfalfa sprouts, avocado, salsa, and mayonnaise. This was an absolutely massive burger. Tall and thick! 

The patty was labeled is gluten free and vegan but it also was 'with mozza'. I'm not sure if mozza meant mozzarella cheese, so if you're vegan you may want to double check with an employee. And also tell them 'no mayo' (which I forgot to do...) When eaten, I thought the patty was a bit too wet, being on the verge of tasting undercooked. The mushy texture made the feeling rather strange. As with most vegetarian burgers or low-fat meat patties, the flavour relies heavily on spices. Which is healthier because the spices substitute the lard's job of providing flavour. But for those new to vegetarian burgers, just be prepared. Let's just say the Garden Veggie Burger looked appealing but the taste was rather anticlimactic. The Superior Veggie Burger made of lentils and vegetables could potentially taste better as apparently, Ingrid's is famous for that.

A short mention for the toppings: I'm glad the avocado was thickly spread on the bottom bun; nothing worse that looking forward to some creamy avocado but just getting a tiny sliver. However, the alfalfa sprouts were a totally different story. There are like three sprouts sticking out in the photo, and that's about how much was actually in the burger. Smaller than a pinch. -insert unimpressed face here- All the other vegetables were (I think) present in the burger. Even though the whole patty is made from vegetables, I like to include as much veggies into each meal as possible. Can't go wrong with more cellulose right?

Ingrid's Village Cafe is a great place to pick up a breakfast wrap or a simple soup and sandwich lunch for under $10 inside the village. Sandwiches, burgers, and wraps are all built to order. The prices are extremely reasonable and affordable, great for a day where you don't feel like spending a ton of money to dine at some fancy five-star restaurant or just need something quick and easy. I would love to come back and try some of their other items. Maybe their daily soup or the new Avocado Breakfast Wrap. Ingrid's is like Subway, but with more exciting choices.

The menu and prices can be viewed on their website. 




Love from Coconut Crumpet's Corner ♡

Raspberry Chocolate Mousse Raw Vegan Tart

Raspberry Chocolate Mousse Raw Vegan Tart

Raspberries and chocolate, a dreamy combination of sweet and tart. My family is down to the last few raspberries from our trip to Krause Berry Farms so I took the opportunity to incorporate them into some kind of chocolate dessert. This recipe is a no bake, super easy, and uses minimal equipment. It's a tart that looks extravagant enough to bring to a dinner party. No one has to know it is vegan and can also raw!

Raspberry Chocolate Mousse Raw Vegan Tart

I managed to put this tart together in one hour, the pressing in of the crust taking most of that time. It sat in my fridge while my mom took us grocery shopping for our upcoming 'glamping' (glamorous camping) trip. By the time we returned home with an entire cooler of food for the barbeque, I was hungry and ready for a sweet snack. So hungry that I forgot to sift icing sugar over the tart to make it prettier. All that was on my mind was "photograph then eat". Oops~ Natural animal instincts, okay?

The vegan mousse is quite impressive. If made with a stronger machine like a Vitamix, the texture could become a lot smoother. My 'antique' food processor did an okay job but I could still feel a few clumps of mac nuts. I was so surprised as to how airy and light the mousse is! Looks like real mousse and feels like it. It's amazing what nuts can turn into whether it be a custard for Nanaimo Bars or a crust for a Banana Cream Pie, nuts are a healthy and satisfying alternative to highly processed store-bought food with zero nutrition and who-knows-what in it. Plus, it's been loving made with your own hands and effort~

Raspberry Chocolate Mousse Raw Vegan Tart

Next time I make a this tart, I'll have to either make the sides shorter or double the mousse filling. The final product will look more 'normal' and less like a boat (as my mom described it as). But aesthetics aside, this is absolutely delicious. I couldn't stop eating after one slice and helped myself to another. The chewy and naturally sweet crust is just as good eaten alone. This wetter version of the crust used in my Nanaimo Bars holds its shape a lot better and doesn't crumble at all. I can imagine it working beautifully in mini individual tarts.

The overall tart is very lightly sweet with no refined sugars whatsoever. Most Asians prefer less-sweet desserts so this tart suits those with that preference. As for myself, I would probably add a tad bit more honey and cocoa into the mousse to give the dessert a more robust flavour. I mean, if you're going to eat dessert it might as well be one that truly satisfies your craving for glucose. 

When in a rush and need a delicious and nutritious dessert, try making this Raspberry Chocolate Mousse Tart! It won't disappoint any taste buds ;)

Click below for the recipe

Easiest & Fastest Vegan Pie Crust

Wow, I really seem to be venturing into Peanut Crumpet's land of veganism. Not because I am a vegan, but simply because Coconut Crumpet enjoys the wholesomeness of vegan recipes~ I still have a lot to learn from Peanut Crumpet; she has some awesome possum recipes. Be sure to check them out in our collection of recipes!

Poor Coconut Crumpet has been admiring the summer sunshine...from indoors. After spending all day in the house, I had the sudden urge at 8pm to make pie and started Goggling recipes for inspiration. My experiences with pie crust haven't been so pleasant. Even when I follow a recipe exactly, making sure the butter is cold and cutting it in with a pastry blender, there is always something that isn't quite right. Whether it be a really hard end product, too greasy, or shrinkage, my pie-making skills are far from stellar.

Since I have already pulled out my museum-artifact of a food processor to make my family-pleasing Vegan Nutty Nanaimo Bars (YOU MUST MAKE THESE!!), I figured it'd be the perfect opportunity to try using it to make pie crust dough. After watching Chef John of Food Wishes' video on Youtube, I was convinced I needed to try it for myself. I have inserted the video at the end of this post so you can visually see the steps and consistency at each step. He's videos are super lively; his happy voice shows he actually enjoys his work. In an essence, this is the fastest and most fail-proof way I have ever completed a pie crust. Ever.

Making Peach Basil Hand Pies

In his recipe, he uses frozen butter, but since I tend to gravitate as far as possible from butter, I decided to try using frozen coconut oil. The changing states of coconut oil continue to amaze me; it can be used in place of butter in every possible recipe I can think of. Melted, softened, or frozen, just like butter. It's magical! The only difference is that since it's currently summer, the coconut oil only needed to be blitzed for about 30 seconds to become pea-sized crumbs rather than the 1 minute for butter, as it softens at room temperature. Coconut oil is a translucent white colour so you'll have to look closely to see if the pieces are small enough. Beware that coconut oil melts fast so be sure to also work quickly when molding mixture into a ball.

Although the food processor method helps me successfully put together a dough, I'm still not very good with handling it. The fact that coconut oil changes state so quickly doesn't really make things any easier either. If using coconut oil in place of butter, be sure to let the dough sit at room temperature for at least half hour after fulling chilling in the fridge to let the centre become pliable. Essentially, we're waiting for the bits of coconut oil inside to soften so it doesn't crumble once you try and roll it out. Roll the dough out between two layers of plastic wrap or parchment paper to ensure the dough doesn't stick to everything.

The flaky layers of Vegan Pie Crust

So how does this pie dough turn out when baked? I used this dough to make Peach Mini Galettes and Hand Pies. The result was phenomenal. An definite improvement from my previous attempts at pie crust. The crust is sturdy, fragrant, and just as crispy and flaky as the video shows. It is a tad bit greasy to the touch because the clumps of coconut oil melt as it bakes in the oven, but it is unnoticeable when eaten. I normally don't care much for flaky pastries but this was so. insanely. good. Worth every second of my time to shape, chill, and put together the pastries. Never again will I use butter in my pie crusts.

Easiest & Fastest Vegan Pie Crust

Adapted from Food Wishes

Yield: 1 layer pie crust

Ingredients

• ½ cup coconut oil
• 2 cups all purpose flour, divided
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• A few grinds of Himalayan pink sea salt
• 6 tbsp ice water

Directions

1. Put measured coconut oil into a silicon mold and place in freezer until completely frozen. Remove from mold and cut into half-inch cubes. Keep cubes in freezer until ready to use.
2. In a food processor, pour half of the flour in. Add the cubed frozen coconut oil. Pour other half of the flour on top. Your frozen coconut oil should now be sandwiched between two equal layers of flour. 
3. Add sugar and salt into the food processor. Pulse in short intervals until coconut oil becomes pea-sized pieces. This took about 30 seconds.
4. Drizzle ice water over crumbly flour mixture in food processor. Pulse in slightly longer intervals until mixture becomes fine crumbs. Like the texture of almond meal.
5. Thoroughly scrape down the mixture, making sure to scrape off any wetter parts from the S-blade and bottom of food processor. 
6. Pulse a few more times just to incorporate. Press mixture between two fingers to see if it becomes a dough. If so, pour mixture onto a clean surface (I used a silicon baking mat) and press with hands to make a ball. Flatten slightly into a disk and wrap with plastic wrap and chill in fridge for at least 1 hour, no more than that or, due to the characteristics of coconut oil, the dough will be rock solid to the core. You want it to still be soft enough to roll out. Use this versatile pie crust for both sweet or savoury pies, galettes, or tarts.

Video instructions on Food Wishes

 
Love from Coconut Crumpet's Corner ♡