Raw Coconut Cream Pie

Turns out that this little pie is becoming a staple around here. I love the creaminess of the filling and how it complements the sweet crust. Everything in it mixes perfectly and it really does satisfy any cream pie craving that you might have.

When I first starting making this recipe, I followed the directions explicitly. Now I find that it doesn’t really matter much and you can change things up enough to call it your own!

Originally, the I followed the recipe from this book.

Now I kind of follow what’s in my head. I don’t like it quite as sweet and I like powdered vanilla rather than extract. I also cut back on the salt but add more coconut meat (the best part). The collection of goods that you’ll need to get this one done looks like this:

Notice here I’ve got:

• 2 young Thai coconuts
• ¾ cup Raw Coconut oil
• 2 Tbs Lecithin granules
• Unsweetened raw organic coconut flakes
• Chef’s grade organic vanilla powder
• Celtic Sea Salt
• Bag of Deglet Noor Dates

Tools:

Cuisinart for processor, small food scale and a Vita-Mix blender. I don’t know how you’d make this recipe without these tools.

Let’s get creating!

The first thing you’ll need the Cusinart for is to make date paste. I weighed out 8 ounces of Deglet Noor dates before dropping them one by one into the running Cusinart. Because these puppies are so dry, they tend to chop up rather than mush up. You want them mushy, thus you might need to add a bit of water. I added about 1 Tablespoon’s worth.

After scraping the food processor, I got out just about what I put in (water probably made the difference). ½ this paste you’ll use for the crust, the other half to sweeten the filling.

So, move four ounces back to the food processor and add at least 2 cups coconut flakes. At this point, you’ll want to also add about 1 (small) teaspoon vanilla powder and just a pinch of salt. Now we want to process the flakes to mix with the date paste so that it becomes just a little sticky.

I had to add a little water (maybe a teaspoon’s worth) to get it to stand up like that. At this point, it’s really to move to the pie container. As it turns out, we have some perfect size salad bowls that double as a pie ‘tin’ for this pie.

The secret to working this crust together is to start on the sides. Using one hand, press the mixture into the side of the pan and with the other hand, make sure it doesn’t exceed the height of the bowl. You’ll probably work around the pie a few times getting it just right. When the sides are well formed and just the right thickness, you work on the bottom with whatever is left over.

Now set that aside for a few moments because we’re now going to whip up the filling.

The best part of the pie is the meat! Here, I’ve got just over a cup of meat that I’m going to mix in. This is what I scraped out of those two Young Thai Coconuts. Notice that there is a bit more coconut water than what we’ll use.

To the blender, add two cups coconut water (at room temperature), the meat (shown above), ¾ melted coconut oil, at least 1 teapsoon powdered Vanilla, a big pinch of Celtic Sea Salt, the last 4 ounces date paste and 2 Tbs lecithin granules.

Blend.

When you start bending, you’ll notice that the top of the mixture will be quite viscous. As the oil really goes to work, the mixture will thin out and almost start dancing in the blender before you’re minute (of counting) is up.

The unfortunate part is that there are a lot of bubbles in the final solution. I try to gently shake some of them out, but when you pure it into the crust, you’ll get bubbles!

If you’re careful, you can use gravity to remove some of the bubbles. After pouring the mixture into the crust, I gently jiggle the pie so as to make the bubbles rise to the surface. Then I lift the pie a couple millimeters off the counter and let it drop. If it were a metal pan – like a spring form – I’d lift it higher and work it thoroughly until all the bubbles rise and pop. But in this case, I’ve got a ceramic bowl that I have to be really careful with. Thus it’s a delicate process of working the bubbles out for me.

At this point, it goes in the fridge long enough for the coconut oil to congeal and the lecithin to setup. Most the time I simply let it sit overnight.

Oh, and don’t forget about the extra coconut water that you might have. If you don’t simply drink it, make ice cubes!

These ice cubes are great for making sorbet!  See my Blueberry Coconut Sorbet, you won’t be sorry!