As I sit here, I am getting ready to embark on my fourth week of the dairy-free life. Now here's the thing, I am starting to feel spectacular, my friends. In reality, I have always felt bad, I didn't know any other normal, that is, until this last four weeks opened my eyes to just how much my entire existence has been affected by being a state of constant allergic reaction and subsequent autoimmune disease malfunction.
The change is remarkable.
So that said, abstaining from dairy is not some big horrible task to me. Rather, I relish it! I've lost a respectable amount of weight in the last two weeks without even trying, my energy level has exploded, and I don't feel like I have the flu every. single. day. It's amazing!
So all that celebratory blathery aside, I thought I would share one of the first no dairy desserts I whipped up, a coconut cream pie.
Oh, I would so love a slice of it right now! The crust is flaky, the filling is creamy and flavorful, and the whipped coconut cream and toasted coconut on the top sends the pie to another level of YUM!
To start with, the secret time cutting method to many of the pies that I create is this:
I've shared the no roll pie crust on my blog a few times before, and I am going to keep sharing it, because it's just a freaking awesome recipe!
Yes, sometimes I make a standard pie crust, but in most cases, the no-roll version is my go to.
So, the first thing that I did was whip up and bake a pie crust. Easy peasy.
While the crust was cooling, I got to making the filling. It's sorta a custardy thing, lots of whisking and whatnot, but not a super hard task to execute.
After I got the filling cooked right, I set it aside to cool a bit (around fifteen minutes or so), then I poured it into the pre-baked crust, covered it with plastic wrap, and put the pie into the fridge to chill for a spell.
I'm thinking a minumum chill time of an hour.
Once serving time arrived, I cut lovely slices of pie, added respectable amounts of whipped coconut cream to the top, and sprinkled some toasted coconut over the whole thing.
Holy tropical treat is this pie good.
In fact, I think I should whip up another one. It seems like a wise thing to do.😉
Dairy-free Coconut Cream Pie
1 baked pie shell, cooled completely
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
4 egg yolks
pinch of salt
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 14 ounce can full fat coconut milk
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
2 TBSP room temp vegan butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extractTopping
Coconut whipped cream and toasted coconut
Instructions:
In a saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, egg yolks, and salt. Slowly whisk in the almond milk.
Place the saucepan over medium heat and whisk in the coconut milk. Cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture begans to bubble. Cook and whisk for 1-2 more minutes until the filling gets thick and coats the back of a spoon.
Remove from heat and stir in shredded coconut, vegan butter, vanilla and almond extracts. Let the filling cool for at least fifteen minutes, stirring it occasionally.
Pour filling into cooled pie crust, cover with plastic wrap, and chill in the fridge for at least one hour.
To serve, top each slice with a flourish of whipped coconut cream (I used coconut Reddi Wip) and a sprinkle of toasted coconut.
Enjoy
And as most of the time, all of the images in this post were taken on the author's already full of images of all sorts of dairy-free creations iPhone.