Vegan Bourbon Laced Pumpkin Pie with Walnut Crumble
It’s funny that I should decide to make a pumpkin pie this year, because to be honest I never really liked it. I don’t know if it was the texture (gross!), a subconscious aversion because of my pumpkin allergy (which only ever manifested as as a skin and eye reaction, never once through consuming pumpkin products) or the fact that there were just so many more delicious options available in the pie arena. But it was always a pie I had no problem passing up. Until this year, that is.
This pie was actually a last minute addition to the menu. I had a vegan pal joining for Friendsgiving, and realized it didn’t look as if we’d have any vegan dessert options. Despite it being a potluck, I’m used to making the whole Thanksgiving spread and was feeling underwhelmed only making three dishes (something about the thrill of the scramble). So I added this pie to the list. Besides mass amounts of butter in the crust, many fruit pies are already vegan. Pumpkin, however, is often the exception. Many pumpkin pies use gelatin in the filling (which is probably what creates the gross texture I alluded to earlier). This pie does not. Instead it contains cashews, a flax “egg” and a wee bit of almond flour to ensure it solidifies. The bourbon really comes through and the pie is just the right level of sweetness, a lovely dessert accented with whipped coconut cream but also a perfectly justifiable breakfast.
Vegan Bourbon Laced Pumpkin Pie with Walnut Crumble
Adapted from Allyson Kramer’s Recipes
Ingredients:
- Your favorite vegan pie crust*
- 1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked for at least 1 hour and then drained
- 1/4 cup bourbon
- 2 tbsp flaxseed meal mixed with 4 tbsp water
- 3/4 cups organic granulated sugar
- 2 cups canned pumpkin
- 1/4 cup +1 tbsp light coconut milk
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp cloves
- 1/4 tsp cardamom
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 2 tbsp almond flour
For topping:
- 1/2 cup walnuts, pulverized in food processor until crumbly
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tbsp organic granulated sugar
*I used this recipe, but found it to be way too salty; I had to essentially add more of everything, which threw my ratios off resulting in a rather dry pie crust. I think it would have been fine had I just used 1/4 tsp salt, but if you have a favorite crust recipe I recommend using it!
How-T0:
- Preheat oven to 375 °F. Combine bourbon and soaked cashews in food processor and let blend until very smooth, about 7-10 minutes. This is a good thing to do while you are rolling out and shaping your pie crust. Make sure the cashews are extremely smooth before proceeding.
- Once cashews are very smooth, add in prepared flaxseed slurry and continue to blend until well combined. Add sugar, pumpkin, coconut milk, spices, salt and almond flour and mix well. Spread into baked pie shell and cover edges of crust with foil or pie shield. Bake for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine all ingredients for topping into small bowl. After pie has baked 15 minutes, sprinkle topping onto pie and bake an additional 45 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and let cool one hour and then transfer to fridge and let cool completely before serving.- Slice it up and serve with whipped coconut cream!
