SO, on that note of course someone is throwing a dinner party tonight and of course I am making the dessert!
Interesting enough they were asking for one of my recipes, and as soon as I mentioned "Well, I could always bring a pie.." They of course humbly accepted the offer and no longer needed my recipe. :)
On that note, I have had two very delicious sugar pumpkins hanging out in my kitchen for 2 weeks. Pumpkin is no doubt one of the easiest foods to cook.
Now usually I would show you how I baked the pumpkin before turning it into a pie but I will save that tutorial for another time. As it will mean lots of pictures, and I definitely need to bake more pumpkin anyways.
So today I wanted a change of pace. Instead of making a pumpkin pie, I settled on tarts. Why? Because they look pretty, I wanted a change and there is like 10 people going so it's much easier to bring 10 tarts.
I wasn't certain how my pie crust recipe would hold up to a pumpkin pie tart. The only time I have used them as tarts is when I make butter tarts. And they inevitably hold together from all the butter and honey in the filling. But a wet pumpkin pie filling? Not too sure.
Now I L O V E pumpkin pie. It's just barely sweet, spicy and so simple. Oh wait except for the 2 hours of baking time. I loathe the 30min of 425 degrees and the 1 hour of 350 degrees. But among that, I detest the burnt crust around the edge that no matter how many layers upon layers of tinfoil I apply, IT STILL BURNS.
SO. I was thinking a non bake pumpkin pie filling. Of course you can do the pumpkin custard idea and mix the pumpkin puree with mascarpone cheese and dollop it into tarts.
I didn't want to do that of course, mostly because my husband being lactose intolerant it's not fun to substitute things. Plus I didn't feel like hiking in the snow just to go get some goat cheese.
So of course, my idea was to use Gelatin. That's right, animal hooves are in your pumpkin pie! Better than corn syrup, and refined sugar. Gelatin is natural as long as it is organic. If you are opposed to Gelatin, feel free to use Agar Agar powder (not the flakes).
For the "whip cream" topping. Well I usually substitute coconut whip cream and still make the traditional dairy whip cream. Today, I decided to put the hate on all the dairy eaters and just make one cream. Cashew, cream with vanilla and cinnamon.
I figured since everyone can eat it instead of having all the substitutes I just made it simple and made one.
Yield 1 pie or 18 tarts
2 C Pumpkin Puree (plain no additives or spices)
1/2 C Honey, or agave nectar
2 tsp Real Vanilla Extract
2 tsp Vietnamese Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Dry Ginger
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1/4 tsp Cloves
1/8 tsp All spice
Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth.
In a small sauce pan 1 package of Gelatin over 1/2 C goat milk, coconut milk. Let stand 1 minute. Slowly bring the milk up to a simmer over medium heat and stir constantly until the gelatin is dissolved. About 3 minutes. Let cool slightly.
Pour the milk and gelatin into the pumpkin puree and process again until smooth.
Pour into pie or tart crusts and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.
*CAUTION - do not make the filling ahead of time and place in the fridge as it will set in the container and you will have to reheat it to deactivate the Gelatin. If you want to make the filling ahead of time, Omit the milk and gelatin on only add it when ready.
Tart Crusts
I used my double pie crust for the tart crust recipe. I just changed the steps to create tarts.
Prepare the Pie crust dough in a large mixing bowl. Increase the coconut flour up to 1/2 C as needed until dough is sticky and not wet.
Roll the dough out between two piece of parchment paper until 1/4 inch thick. Remove top layer of parchment. Using a 3-4inch circle cutter cut the dough and slowly lift up each circle with a spatula.
Place the circle of dough over a well greased muffin tin. Slowly press the the dough down to the bottom of each muffin cup.
Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Let cool for 3-5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.
Whipped Cinnamon Cashew Cream
2 C soaked raw Cashews
1/2 C coconut milk, water, or goat milk
1/2 C melted coconut oil
1/4 C Honey
4 tsp real vanilla extract
4 dashes of cinnamon
Soak the cashews in a bowl, covered with water over night or for 4 hours. Drain and rinse.
Place the soaked cashews in a blender with the milk or water and puree until very smooth. Add more liquid as necessary. (If you are using a food processor or less powerful blender it may take up to 10 minutes of blending to achieve a smooth texture. Otherwise, strain the cashew puree through a fine mesh sieve before continuing).
Add vanilla, honey, cinnamon, and puree. While blender is running, pour in the melted coconut oil in a steady stream until emulsified. If you have trouble getting the cashew cream to thicken, add coconut flour 1-2 tbs.
Refrigerate until firm and set. 1-3 hours.
