Phew, I am barely making it to post this tonight. I literally just finished it, as it requires 3 hours of chill time.

This recipe was originally inspired by a recipe for lemon pie in the book Soy Not “Oi!”, but I ended up changing it quite a bit once I realized it was going to taste better and be a better consistency the way I wanted to. It’s still somewhat runny, but is incredibly delicious, if I may say myself (I just tasted it!) I am bringing the rest (I made 2!) to school tomorrow so they can all try it and give me feedback on it, as well.

Pina Colada Pie

Makes 1 pie

Ingredients:

Pie crust:

• 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup unbleached white flour
• 1/2 tsp vegan sugar
• 3 tbsp cold Earth Balance
• 3 tbsp non-hydrogenated organic vegetable shortening
• 2 tbsp cup cold water

Pie filling:

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 tbsp cup cornstarch
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 cup pineapple juice
• 3 teaspoons arrowroot
• 3 tsp water
• 2 tbsp Earth Balance 
• 1/2 cups boiling water
• 1/2 tsp agar agar powder

Whipped cream:

• 1 can coconut milk (I used Goya brand), placed in the freezer for at least an 1 hour before use with the white cream scooped out only, not the rest of the clear liquid.
• 1 1/2 cup vegan powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup organic non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening
• 1/4 tsp vanilla

To make the pie Crust:

1. Place flours and sugar in a food processor. Give it a quick whir to combine together.
2. Add 1 tbsp of shortening, quickly pulse, and continue to add the shortening 1 tbsp at a time until you’ve put in 3 tbsp.
3. Follow the same method with the earth balance as above.
4. With the processor running, open the little opening thing on top and slowly pour in the water.
5. Smoosh into a round disk shape, and wrap in plastic wrap.
6. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes to 2 hours.
7. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
8. Roll out the dough into a thin round layer on top of plastic wrap.
9. Carefully place on top of a pie pan and shape the crust with your fingers around the edges of the pan.
10. Bake in the oven 7-12 minutes until golden and crispy looking and not mushy when touched.

To make the pie filling:

1. In a saucepan, add sugar and cornstarch.
2. Stir in the coconut milk and pineapple juice.
3. In a separate cup, whisk the arrowroot and water together. Add to the other ingredients in the saucepan.
4. Add the margarine and boiling water over the Earth Balance so it melts.
5. Heat on medium heat on the stove until just starting to thicken, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon.
6. Once starting to thicken, add in the agar agar powder and immediately start to whisk until combined. Be careful to whisk a.s.a.p after placing it in the saucepan and whisking all around the pan or you may end up with agar agar clumps throughout. It will thicken very quickly after this step.
7. Shut off the heat and continue to whisk for a bit.
8. Pour into the pie shell you made and refrigerate for 3 hours before piping the whipped cream on top.

To make the whipped cream:

1. Place the coconut milk can in the freezer for at least 1 hour before using.
2. Open the can and scoop out the solid cream with a spoon. Use the remainder of the watery coconut milk in a smoothie or whatever else you think you’d like it in.
3. Add in the powdered sugar, shortening, and vanilla. Mix with a rubber spatula until combined.
4. Use a handheld electric mixer and whisk in circles until peaks form.
5. Place in the refrigerator until ready to use/place on top of the pie, or for at least an hour until it’s more solid. I like to place it in a ziploc bag and cut the tip and squirt it out in little round globs.
6. You will have extra left depending on how you choose to decorate the pie, so use every last bit of that for other delicious reasons!

Oh, and here’s an interesting wikipedia article on the history and other fun facts about one of the ingredients I used, agar agar.

See you tomorrow for another entry for Vegan MoFo 2014!