Pumpkin Pie

~ Paleo, NSA, Vegan ~
Today I will be experiencing my first ever real American Thanksgiving with B & his whole family in Milwaukee, Wisconsin – which includes 2 parents, 4 brothers, 3 significant others, 3 nieces, 2 huge shaggy dogs and 1 puppy! So before the mayhem begins I’m taking a sneaky time out to share with you my paleo and vegan pumpkin pie recipe.

I love a house full of people, it reminds me of Christmases at my Granny’s house with my 14 cousins and 10 aunts and uncles – yes there were a LOT of presents! Judging by the number of gifts I saw under the tree this morning Thanksgivemas in the Lehnerer household will not be any different! B’s eldest brother arrived a day ago & spent yesterday sledding with the girls. I was so excited when I found out they had sleds! There’s something about snow that makes me feel like a child again – she says looking longingly out the window, the snow falling and wondering whether there will be time for sledding before the football starts…so let’s wrap this up shall we!

Despite sounding like it might be healthy, traditional pumpkin pie is usually packed full of sugar and requires flour and more sugar to make the pie crust. This dessert lends itself easily to substitutions though and so I came across several, healthy paleo recipes without trouble. In fact there are so many pumpkin paleo-inspired recipes out there that I decided to make some energy bites as well to cheer up a friend who’d not been well (recipe to come soon!).

The substitutions are simple; replace flour with ground nuts, sugar with honey, egg with flax-egg and whipped cream with coconut milk and you have a tasty dessert so packed full of nutrients that you don’t need to feel guilty for having seconds! 

Not only is this dessert ridiculously easy to make (check out the 6-step process) but it will leave your house smelling like Christmas and have your guests’ taste buds watering in anticipation!

Stage One – The ‘pie crust’

Stage Two – The filling

Ingredients
The crust

• 1 and 1/2 cups mixed almonds and pecans ground in a food processor until fine like flour
• 3 Tbsp coconut oil
• 1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground flax seed to 3 tbsp of water
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

The filling

• 1 can (15 oz or 2 and 1/2 cups) pumpkin
• 3 flax eggs
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ground cloves, ginger & nutmeg
• 1 tsp vanilla powder
• 1/2 cup coconut milk to thin

Method

• Preheat oven to 350 C
• With your hands mix the crust ingredients all together in a bowl
• Press the crust mix into a 9 inch pie crust tin & put in the oven for roughly 15 minutes
• Combine all the filling ingredients in a bowl (except the coconut milk) and then blend in a food processor. It should have a fairly thick consistency so that it is not easily pourable. Add the coconut milk to thin it out slightly.
• When the crust is starting to brown remove from the oven and then pour the filling over top.
• Return to the oven for 45 minutes or until the center is no longer wobbly.
• Top with whipped coconut cream and chopped pecans and enjoy!

For the coconut whipped cream use a can of full fat coconut milk. Place it in the fridge overnight or for at least a few hours. Take the can out and tip it upside down, all the cream will have sunk to the bottom (genius!) Scoop the cream into a bowl & whip using an electric hand whisk adding a tsp of vanilla extract to sweeten. Dollop on top of your slice of pumpkin pie & enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving from snowy Wisnconsin!