Monday, 21 July 2014

Gluten and Dairy Free Pumpkin Pie with a Coconut Macaroon Crust!

Pumpkin pie is something that has always intrigued me. Here in New Zealand pie is usually always savoury, where as this is not the case in many other countries. We do have apple pie but aside from that no other sweets. Pumpkin pie Is a traditional American Thanksgiving dessert. This is my twist on a sweet pumpkin pie made with a coconut macaroon crust. This is gluten and dairy free. ENJOY
Macaroon crust ingredients:
3 cups shredded unsweetened coconut (may need more depending on the constancy of the egg white.
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tbsp corn flour
1/4 tsp salt
4 egg whites, plus one additional egg white, separated (reserve 4 yolks for filling)
1 tsp vanilla
Pareve pumpkin filling:
2 cups pumpkin puree (Made from half a pumpkin)
1 cup full fat coconut milk
2 eggs, plus 4 reserved yolks from crust
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
Pinch ground cloves

To make coconut macaroon crust:
Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius. In a mixing bowl, stir together coconut, corn flour, sugar and salt until thoroughly combined.
In a separate bowl, whisk together 4 egg whites and vanilla until frothy.
Pour egg mixture into coconut mixture and allow to sit for 20-30 minutes.
Generously grease a 9 inch pie dish (I used an 8inch cake tin) with non-stick cooking spray and evenly press in the macaroon crust mixture.
Cover edge of the crust with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, whisk remaining egg white with ½ tbsp of water.
When crust has finished baking, remove from oven. Brush crust with egg white to create a seal. After brushing on the egg white, put the protective foil back around the edge of the crust.
Bake for an additional 10 – 15 minutes till the crust is golden brown.

To make filling
Cut the pumpkin into even pieces, removing the inside seeds etc and bake for an hour at 180 degrees with a dash of olive oil. Leave to cook and scoop pumpkin from the skin and into a blender to make the puree. I used half a pumpkin, which made 2 cups of puree, may vary depending on the size.
Increase oven temperature to 200 degrees.
Place all of your filling ingredients into a blender and blend until creamy and smooth, about 60 seconds. I’ve found this is the best way to create a smooth, evenly mixed filling. Alternatively, you can pour the ingredients into a large mixing bowl and blend with an immersion blender or a whisk, just make sure all ingredients are very well incorporated.
Pour the mixture into a saucepan and heat over medium for 9-10 minutes, until just starting to thicken and bubble around the edges.
Remove foil from the edges of your macaroon pie crust. Pour the mixture into your prepared macaroon crust and smooth the top with a spatula. This recipes is written for a deep 9 inch pie dish, but you can use it to fill two smaller shallow pie dishes if you prefer. Fill to the top of the crust.
Tent the pie with foil, making sure to leave plenty of space between the surface of the pie and the foil, otherwise you will ruin the top of your pie filling.
Carefully place the pie onto the centre rack of your oven. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove foil tent and reduce heat to 170 degrees. Bake for an additional 35 minutes, or until the filling sets and only jiggles slightly. If the edge of the crust is getting too brown for your liking, you can carefully cover the edge of the crust with foil-- just be sure not to touch or mess up the top of the custard.
Turn off the oven and crack the oven door. (i use a wooden spoon to prevent the oven door from closing all the way). Allow the pie to cool slowly in the oven for 1 hour – this will help prevent the top from cracking.

Remove pie from the oven and allow to cool completely to room temperature (about 3 hours) or chill in the refrigerator before cutting and serving. Keep leftovers refrigerated.

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