Blue Pumpkin Pie (vegan)

By andreajayros

3 years ago on Thanksgiving I received the message from my adult kids back east that they were outside being thankful playing wiffle bat attack frisbee. They never disappoint.

Ingredients

• alternatively:
• 2 & 1/4 cup roasted blue pumpkin (cut, cover in olive oil and roast for 40 minutes at 350', cool scoop and mash)
• 1/2 cup natural cane sugar or brown sugar
• 1/4 cup full-fat coconut cream, softened
• 1 tbsp Earth Balance, softened
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 3 tbsp arrowroot powder (or organic cornstarch)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• pinch of ground cloves
• 1 (10.5 ounce) package silken tofu, drained
• 2 & 1/4 cup roasted blue pumpkin (cut, cover in olive oil and roast for 40 minutes at 350', cool scoop and mash)
• 3/4 cup raw sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust

Preparation

Step 1

Filling: In a small bowl or mug, whisk together the maple syrup and arrowroot powder (or cornstarch). In a large bowl, whisk together all ingredients, adjusting spices to taste.
To bake: Scoop the filling into crust and smooth. Add cut-outs on top. Bake for 45 mins at 350F. Remove and cover crust edges with tinfoil or crust shield. Bake for another 15 mins. Place on cooling rack for 1 hour. Transfer to fridge to set for a minimum of 3 hours or overnight. (this is very important!)

Tips and tricks: 1) The dough should NOT be chilled, but rolled immediately. 2) Using full-fat coconut cream (from the top of the can) yields in a richer and creamier filling (I couldn’t detect the coconut taste much), but feel free to use almond milk. 3) The pie must set in the fridge for a minimum of 3 hours before serving. The longer it chills for, the more it firms up.

*alternatively:
Preheat an oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
Place silken tofu, pumpkin, sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and clove into a blender. Puree until smooth. Pour into the pie crust.

Bake in the preheated oven 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and continue baking until a knife inserted into the mixture comes out clean, about 40 minutes more. Cool before serving. Use the coconut milk to make whipped cream for the topping.