Pie Testing & Competition

With the family beach week coming the first week in August, and our 10th annual (maybe 11th) pie competition, I decided to start testing some pie recipes to figure out how to make a diary-free pie that I could eat that would also win over the judges, expected to range from age 4 to 25.

To start, I asked my friend Meg to do some research as she has an awesome food/life blog (www.megbollenback.com) and knows of lots of places to look for these recipes.  She sent me a list of links (bored at the airport on the way to vacation I'm guessing) so I looked through and found some I liked and wanted to try.

Up first was testing fillings.  I tried the recipe from Oh She Glows first for the Chilled Dark Chocolate Pie following the recipe closely, in a regular graham crust for my co-workers at our summer curriculum project.  The chocolate filling was dense, but cut easily when left in the fridge for 2 hours before serving, then served with cut up cherries on top.  Delicious, but possibly too rich for the little kids to earn a vote.

Round 2 I decided to modify the first filling to get it less rich with using all of the coconut milk (white cream and water).  It made too much filling (which makes a great pudding in the fridge), but was only slightly less rich.  Also, because I forgot about a crust, I ended up finding this recipe online for a simple no-roll crust and just used some almond milk to keep it diary-free.

The crust was a bit salty for me, but with the chocolate it was ok, however it was way too crumbly.  And of course, I forgot to take pictures.

Ran out of time to try more recipes due to moving CP to PA for grad school, so I decided to wing it at the beach.

Here's what I did:

Pie 1: competition

Graham Crust - store bought

Filling below

Coconut whipped cream

Strawberries

Pie 2: non-competition

Pecan-date crust

Filling

Coconut Whipped Cream

Strawberries

Crust: (http://minimalistbaker.com/6-ingredient-vegan-chocolate-silk-pie/)

·       1.5 cups raw walnuts (I used pecans)

·       1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

·       1 heaping (packed) cup pitted dates, soaked for 10 minutes in warm water and drained

1.     Prepare the crust by pulsing walnuts and cocoa powder in a food processor until it reaches a fine meal. Remove and set aside.

2.     Place soaked dates in the food processor and process until small bits remain and it’s sticky. Add back in the walnut-cocoa meal and process until well combined.

3.     Transfer to a glass pie pan lightly oiled with coconut oil. Alternatively, place parchment in the bottom for easy removal. Place a piece of plastic wrap over the crumbs and press with your hands to form a uniform crust that goes up the sides. Pop in the freezer to set.

 

Filling

For the filling:

·       1 bag dark chocolate chips (about 340 grams)

·       1 (15-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk, chilled in fridge overnight

·       Liquid sweetener, to taste (optional – I used 2 tbsp maple syrup)

·       Pinch of salt

·       1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

4. For the filling: Chill can of coconut milk in the fridge overnight so the cream can solidify. When ready, open the can and carefully scoop out the solid white coconut cream into a pot, discarding the water. Add chocolate chips and stir until combined. Heat over low-medium heat until most of the chocolate is melted. Remove from heat and stir in the optional sweetener, salt, and vanilla until smooth.

Read more: http://ohsheglows.com/2013/07/06/chilled-dark-chocolate-pie-with-toasted-almond-crust-and-strawberry-vanilla-compote/#ixzz3hlSNJ2UD

Coconut Whipped Cream

http://minimalistbaker.com/how-to-make-coconut-whipped-cream/

Ingredients

·       1 14-ounce can full fat coconut milk 

·       1/4 - 3/4 cup icing/powdered sugar 

·       1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

1.     Chill your coconut cream or coconut milk in the refrigerator overnight, being sure not to shake or tip the can to encourage separation of the cream and liquid.

2.     The next day, chill a large mixing bowl 10 minutes before whipping.

3.     Remove the coconut cream or milk from the fridge without tipping or shaking and remove the lid. Scrape out the top, thickened cream and leave the liquid behind (reserve for use in smoothies).

4.     Note: if your coconut milk didn't harden, you probably just got a dud can without the right fat content. In that case, you can try to salvage it with a bit of tapioca flour - 1 to 4 Tbsp - during the whipping process. That has worked for me several times.

5.     Place hardened cream in your chilled mixing bowl. Beat for 30 seconds with a mixer until creamy. Then add vanilla (optional) and powdered sugar and mix until creamy and smooth - about 1 minute. Taste and adjust sweetness as needed.

6.     Use immediately & spread over the chilled chocolate filling, or refrigerate - it will harden and set in the fridge the longer it's chilled. Will keep for up to 1 - 2 weeks!

Cover the top with sliced strawberries.

With competitors and some judges

I thought they were delicious and many people were amazed they were dairy free (that whipped coconut cream is delicious!), however due to the usurping of the older generation of judges (ages 15 and up), my pie only got 3rd place.  The winner was a pie made for the judges (ahem, cheaters) with pudding, whipped cream, rainbow sprinkles and minion twinkies on top.

I'll have to try again next year with some other recipes!