Vegan pumpkin pie

Vegan pumpkin pie

vegan pumpkin pie

I hope you have a relaxing weekend planned? We certainly do as the last three weeks have been really quite stressful for us due to all the building work we are having done, and the constant mess and chores resulting from it. On Friday, we were supposed to have our living room plastered, which we were looking forward to being done as that was the last task to be done this side of Xmas before we can move on with a proper clean-up and redecorate. Unfortunately, a Victorian house always throws one kind of curve ball or another. Once we ripped out the original skirting, which after 120 years has seen better days, we exposed a serious crack in the masonry wall behind it.

As the wall behind a skirting board that old is never really going to look ‘pretty’, I didn’t even notice there was a crack until my builder pointed it out. I really appreciated him bringing it to my attention and offering to fill it, as he could have just asked the plasterer to plaster over it and then just ignore my calls when the wall inevitably cracked at some point. He really came through for us in the end.

He reckons that the crack was caused by either an old or an ongoing leak in that area of the house, which also explains the massively saggy floorboards. What a pickle!! I really fear what our floor restoration expert will find when he lifts the floorboards in January. As he is a very busy man, all we can do is wait and hope that the leak isn’t a live one and a few new joists will resolve the situation. I do hope so! Man, Victorian houses do keep you on your toes, don’t they?

So as I am aware that a lot of you are probably anxiously prepping for Thanksgiving I’ve decided to do my own take on a Thanksgiving classic – pumpkin pie. While not being American and not having grown up in the pumpkin pie eating tradition, I am no expert, but I am really pleased with the taste and texture of what came out of the oven. The pastry is deliciously light and flaky and the filling rich, custardy and fragrant of spices. It’s such an autumn treat, I can totally see why it’s so popular! As the traditional pie of this type uses eggs to get that set custard quality, I’ve used silken tofu as it sets beautifully when baked, giving the pie that custard-like texture and its flavour isn’t detectable at all so don’t worry.

vegan pumpkin pie process

vegan pumpkin pie baked

vegan pumpkin pie close

vegan pumpkin pie cut

vegan pumpkin pie slice

makes
24 cm / 9.5"
PREP
30 min
COOKING
60 min
makes
24 cm / 9.5"
PREPARATION
30 min
COOKING
60 min
INGREDIENTS
PASTRY

  • 180 g / 1½ cups all purpose flour OR GF all purpose flour mix (I used Dove’s Farm)
  • ½ tsp sea salt
  • ½ tsp xantham gum (for GF version only)
  • 100 g / ½ cup solid (not melted) mild coconut oil, chopped up small

FILLING

DECORATION

METHOD
PASTRY

  1. Mix the flour, salt and xantham gum (if using a gluten-free flour mix instead of an all purpose flour containing gluten) in a large bowl or a food processor.
  2. Add chopped coconut oil and cut it into the flour using a pastry cutter (or two knives) or pulse in a food processor until you obtain a sandy texture that clumps together when you grab a handful, with no large lumps of fat left. To check for large lumps, shake the bowl or the food processor bowl – it will bring large bits of oil to the surface.
  3. While you can do this step in the food processor, I strongly suggest you transfer the mixture to a large bowl at this point and do this manually as then you have a greater amount of control. Slowly and very gradually trickle in some ice cold water incorporating it into the flour using a fork. Keep going until the dough is moist enough that it can be brought together by hand – clump a bit of mixture with your hand, if it sticks together (without being wet!) you’ve added enough water. I ended up using ¼ cup plus 2 tsp of water, but please go through the process as I described above instead of just adding the amount I added as different flours have different absorbency levels.
  4. Empty your bowl (or a food processor bowl) onto a work surface and bring all the dough together using your hands, but do not knead if you are working with gluten flour (overworking the dough will make the pastry tough). Form the dough into a flattened disc and refrigerate for at least 30-45 minutes.
  5. Gently and slowly roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface. You may want to do it between two sheets of baking paper as it stops the dough sticking to the bench. When it comes to gluten-free dough, you may find it easier (I did) to simply mould it to the inside of the tart tins with your fingers.
  6. Roll the dough into a large circle 2 cm / 1 inch bigger than the pie dish (I used a 24 cm / 9.5″ diameter pie dish). Roll the dough sheet over the rolling pin, place the rolling pin over the pie dish and unroll it gently. Line the dish and fold any excess you get at the edges under so that you end up with thick edges. Then go over the edge and crimp the edges by interlocking your index and middle finger on one hand against the index finger of your other hand (see photo). Pierce the bottom in several places with a fork.
  7. Heat up the oven to 160° C / 320° F fan forced (180° C / 355° F no fan) and place your pie in the freezer (or fridge, but freezer is better) for another 15 minutes or so.
  8. Remove the pie dish from the freezer, place a piece of baking paper (scrunch it up first to make it more flexible) at the bottom of the dish and fill with baking beads (or dry beans). Blind bake for 10-15 minutes.
  9. Carefully remove the beads and the baking paper insert and return the pie to the oven for another 10 minutes. Remove it from the oven and set aside while you make your filling.

FILLING

  1. Place all the filling ingredients in a food processor and blend until super smooth.

ASSEMBLY

  1. Fill the pre-baked pie crust with the filling.
  2. Bake at 160° C / 320° F fan forced (180° C / 355° F no fan) for about 35-40 minutes, until the edges look set but the centre can still be a little soft. Cool the pie completely before cutting or decorating.
  3. Once cool, dot with thick dairy-free yoghurt or whipped coconut cream and dust with cinnamon.

NOTES

SHARE
NUTRITIONAL INFO
calories
202
10%
sugars
10 g
12%
fats
11 g
16%
saturates
6 g
30%
proteins
3 g
7%
carbs
23 g
9%
*per serving
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5.0
8 reviews, 22 comments
REVIEWS & QUESTIONS
The best vegan pumpkin pie recipe I've tried ( and I've tried a fair few! ) a much nicer texture with the tofu than all the recipes that rely on cornstarch. thank you ☺️
    Ania
    Ania:
    Aw, thank you for your kind words, Robyn. I have come to exactly the same conclusion - too much cornstarch does not produce a very nice mouthfeel in my opinion. I am so pleased to hear that you enjoyed it and thank you for taking the time to let me know. x Ania
Anna:
Thank you so much for this recipe! I made it a while back for a Friendsgiving and everyone loved it, I was so happy to find a good pumpkin pie recipe that everyone at the table could enjoy :)
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks so much for your kind words, Anna! I am delighted to hear that you and your friends enjoyed this recipe and that everyone could partake. And many thanks for taking the time to write this review - that's really thoughtful and helpful, thank you. x Ania
Christina:
I’m trying this recipe out today, and it will be eaten tomorrow evening. What’s the best way to keep it fresh for tomorrow? Fridge? Counter? Thank you!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Christina,
    Sorry for a late reply - it was my birthday yesterday so I took some time off. It's probably too late but air-tight box on the counter provided the room is cool would be my preference. Hope you've enjoyed the pie. x Ania
Izzy Davis:
The perfect recipe to use up pumpkin! So delicious! I used some of the pumpkin from when we were carving them at Halloween so that it wasn't wasted (and gave me an excuse to make this yummy recipe all in the name of saving food waste!)
    Ania
    Ania:
    Totally, good thinking and what a pleasant way to 'dispose of' waste ;) I'm so happy you enjoyed it! x Ania
Maria:
I'm not that keen on tofu, so instead I used blended millet (pre-cooked in oat milk with all the spices). It was absolutely delicious, and a nutty butter is a really nice addition to the flavour.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Great to hear that you enjoyed it, thank you! Ania
Kelsie:
I made this for Christmas Day - it was my first time using silken tofu for a dessert which was exciting! I was surprised how custard like it was! It was perfect!
I had a lot of trouble with the pastry though. When I refrigerated it, it just broke in pieces when I tried to roll it out. It seemed much better once I kneaded it all together again and when it was warmer but then of course it was very soft and difficult to put in the flan pan. I also blind baked it a lot longer than the recipe called for, but it still had a slightly gummy texture in the base, which I didn’t like so not sure what I did there.
But overall it was really tasty and I was inpressed! I will definitely be saving the recipe for future use 😀
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Kelsie,
    I am happy to hear that you liked the filling. I am a big fan of silken tofu whenever I try to recreate a custardy texture, it works really well IMO and I am happy that you agree.
    It sounds to me that you pastry might have benefited from a touch more water. You don't say whether you've used wheat or gluten-free flour mix, but gummy texture is certainly not right. The texture of the pastry should be flakey and crispy. Making pastry well requires a bit of practice so I am happy to hear that you plan to make it again. I hope you'll be pleased with your next attempt. x Ania
Kelsie:
Oh I am so excited to try this recipe! I knew I had seen it somewhere made with silken tofu! All others seem to use coconut cream and cashews or chickpeas and I just wasn’t keen on that. I haven’t heard of ‘firm’ silken tofu! Could it just simply be called silken tofu here?
And how much pumpkins will I need to steam to equal to the amount in your recipe as I don’t want to and can’t use canned stuff here 😀
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Kelsie,
    That's brilliant to hear, I hope you will enjoy it. I am sorry but I cannot quite remember how much raw pumpkin it was and I made no note of it as most people use canned stuff. I think about 500 g, but I may be a bit off the mark. Ania
Patricia A. Essex:
I buy Pumpkin Puree from Ocado in the UK, Tesco also sells it!! Works fine every time,
    Ania
    Ania:
    Good to know, Patricia - thanks for sharing. I did have a look in both Waitrose and Tesco and I could not find it, but perhaps it wasn't in the tinned food section - I shall have another look. Ania
Patricia A. Essex:
I forgot to buy Almond Butter so used a slightly smaller amount of smooth peanut butter and it was delicious anyway!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Great to hear, Patricia! Good swap and I am glad that the texture wasn't much affected. x Ania
Patricia A. Essex:
Hi Ania,
I love Pumpkin pie and make it sometimes with my own recipe. However, seeing yours I thought I would give it a try....O M G !!! I cannot give you large anough Cudos for this pastry!! I'm thinking soft shortbread...delicious, tasty and scrumptious!! I would never have thought of making pastry with Coconut oil even though it's a staple in my kitchen.
I have shared it on a vegan sirte that I belong to so I hope that is OK with you. Absolutely the BEST pastry I have ever made or eaten!!
Thank you so much for your kind sharing.
....The pumpkin part was lovely too by the way ......
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hello again, Patricia :) I am so pleased to hear that you enjoyed my vegan version of shortbread pastry. I found that coconut oil is by far the best for this purpose and especially when refined / cooking (not extra virgin) coconut oil is used as it doesn't have that coconut taste that some people dislike. I am so glad you liked it so much and thank you for sharing with your fellow vegans! I'm honoured x Ania
Kimiko:
Hello! I was just wondering what purpose the almond butter serves in this recipe. Is it for flavour, texture, both, fat, or another reason? Thank you!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Kimiko,
    Almond butter is used for fat and therefore it contributes to the correct texture. I hope it helps! Ania
Verena:
Yay, thank you Ania, finally a vegan pumpkin pie without coconut cream in the filling! Can't wait to try it :) Do you think it will work if I use homemade pumpkin puree made out of roasted pumpkin? Pumpkin puree isn't readily available where I live.
    Ania
    Ania:
    You are welcome, Verena! I do hope you'll enjoy the outcome! Yes, it will totally work - this is what I did, in fact, as there is no pumpkin puree in the UK either. I steamed my pumpkin and blended until smooth without adding any extra moisture. I hope that helps! Ania
Louzia:
Dear Ania, the link in your ingredients says 'essence' not extract and when you click on it it takes you to an Amazon listing for imitation vanilla...
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Louzia,
    I am not sure why that this as when I click on the link I get taken to vanilla extract (I corrected the wording on the ingredients list) - it must be some affiliate link trickery based on geographical location and unavailability of the product maybe..? Not sure. Ania
Sally:
If you turn all the taps off then monitor your water meter it can give you an indication that there is a leak if it keeps on ticking over. It all sounds a bit horrendous. Keep up your spirits.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks Sally, that's a good idea - will try that. Yeah, it's been a bit testing although nothing major has gone wrong. Glad we are more than half way there...! Ania
Dianne:
Why use immitation vanilla?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi. I used pure vanilla extract so not sure why you refer to it as 'imitation vanilla'? Ania
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