Grain-Free Vegan Cranberry Pie

by Valerie on December 2, 2013 · 3 comments

IMG_0497

Happy Monday after Thanksgiving to my U.S. readers – and happy Monday to everyone else.  I had a bad case of the Mondays today, which is unusual for me.  So let’s talk about pie instead.  Cranberry pie to be exact.  

IMG_0499

A pie which does not look like a pie, but nevertheless is made in a pie dish and not called a buckle, or betty or cobbler.  It all started when my friend Christina served a beautiful gluten-full Nantucket Pie at her Thanksgiving gathering. I had lots of dark chocolate and some raw Thanksgiving bars, so I was not sad I could not partake, but was tremendously curious.  I decided to go the grain-free route, as the original recipe calls for almond extract and I wanted to use almond flour in my pie adaption.  You will note the recipe does not have any starches or xantham gum – it makes for a denser, slightly crumblier pie, but I prefer the simplicity of fewer ingredients.  All things considered, the crumb in this pie is pretty fantastic, especially if you let the pie sit overnight in the fridge.

IMG_0501

Grain-Free Vegan Cranberry Pie (gluten-free, vegan, soy-free)
Inspired by
this recipe with help from this recipe from Shirleythis page from All Gluten-Free Desserts All The Time and this recipe from Iris, which gave me the idea to use coconut milk as part of my initial substitutions.

This is a non-traditional pie in every sense of the word – more like a cake crossed with pie that is not too sweet.  It is also non-traditional in terms of the lack of usual gluten-free ingredients to ensure a cake holds up – starches, gums or eggs.  That said, this is a rich cake and bakes up a beautiful golden brown, and is absolutely worth including at your holiday table.

  • Coconut oil, to grease the pie plate
  • 2 cups cranberries, fresh or frozen
  • 1/2 cup raw walnut pieces (or walnut haves, chopped)
  • 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons coconut palm sugar, separated
  • 1 1/2 cup blanched almond flour
  • 1/4 cup coconut flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • 3 tablespoons flax seeds
  • 1 1/4 cup coconut milk (from a can – I used regular coconut milk, not “light”)
  • 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease 9-inch pie plate with coconut oil.  Place the cranberries in the pie plate. Toss two tablespoons coconut pakm sugar and walnut with the berries.  In a large mixing bowl, place remaining coconut palm sugar, almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda and sea salt.  Mix dry ingredients until well-combined.  In a high-speed blender, blend flax seeds, coconut milk and apple cider vinegar until smooth and uniform (alternative: grind flax seeds in a coffee grinder and whisk with coconut milk and vinegar, or combine in a regular-strength blender).  Pour coconut milk mixture into dry ingredients.  Mix until incorporated into a thick batter.  Divide batter into fourths and drop each portion of batter atop the cranberry mixture, using wet hands or a spatula to smooth the topping over the cranberries into a mostly even layer. 

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown.  Allow to cool.  Either eat at room temperature or place pie in the fridge overnight. This will improve the structural integrity of the pie.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
General Disclosures & Disclaimers

{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Shirley @ gfe & All Gluten-Free Desserts December 2, 2013 at 10:53 pm

You know what one of the very best things about blogging is? We get to make our own rules! I love this pie that might not normally be called a pie and that you found inspiration from a friend, one of my gfe recipes, and from All Gluten-Free Desserts! Thanks for those sweet mentions, Valerie. :-) I can tell just looking at your photos how good this pie really is! I love that it appears to be more crust than filling. 😉

Shirley

Reply

2 DCCHughes December 3, 2013 at 9:45 am

So glad that your adaptation worked!

Reply

3 Donna December 11, 2013 at 11:44 pm

Yum! I’ve been waiting for this recipe. So great to see a grain-free option for a cranberry pie :) http://www.donnaandtora.com/

Reply

Leave a Comment

Previous post:

Next post: