(Part 2) Pie Series. Create Your Own Filling (fruit & custard)!

*I am brand new to making video like this.. SO please bare with me as I figure out the best flow/format or where to even look with my eyes haha! I may experiment with Asmr cooking classes or read only formats. Thank you for being part of this new adventure with me! -Brittany

Pie is one of those things you can learn to make just by following simple recipe templates!

Today I will teach you how to create your very own Custard or Fruit Pie. Both options are Vegan, Gluten Free & can be made sugar free! Watch both the class and read through this post to learn EVERYTHING you need to know about pie filling all in one spot.

Read through all the way so that you don’t miss all the flavor ideas and how to make them happen!

Be sure to check out my 3 part series on making pie.

Custard Pie

This custard base could not be easier to whip up! Its creamy and light and could fool anyone into thinking its loaded with Dairy & Eggs. It does contain canned coconut milk which can have a dominant flavor -however I have found that when you use enough spices, flavor extract ect. the coconut flavor vanishes. I recommend making this pie 8-24 hours ahead of serving to give it ample time to set up.

For dairy free /vegan whipped cream there are tons of ready made brands available now! Just be sure to let the pie set up fully before adding the whipped topping. For the fluffiest whipped cream add it shortly before serving.

Silk Heavy Whipping Cream (you pour it in a bowl and whip it up!)

Reddiwhip Coconut or Almond Milk Canned Whipped Cream

Vegan Truewhip (Tub whipped cream.) This one you cant even tell is vegan!

Create your own flavor Vegan Cream Pie Base

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Author: Brittany Angell

Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 10 MinInactive time: 6 HourTotal time: 6 H & 15 M

This creamy vegan pie filling can be modified in MANY ways. Be sure to read through the notes to understand the options. See the next cooking class for crust options (or use your own)! Keep in mind that this filling is not baked- so your crust will need to be no bake or baked in advance.

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp Butter Flavored Coconut oil OR Vegan Butter
• 1 1/2 Cups Full Fat Canned Coconut Cream (from a can) *Thick part only.
• 1/4 Cups Vegan Milk (the creamier the better) * see note below.
• 1/2 Cup of Starch (Tapioca, Arrowroot, potato or corn starch)
• 1/3-1/2 cup Sugar or Syrup of choice (Regular,Paleo or Sugar free sweetener)
• 2 Tbsp Extract of any flavor. (If using vanilla only 1 tbsp is needed)
• 1/4 Tsp Himalayan Salt. (or 1/8 tsp table salt).
• Up to 1.5 cups of any mix in such as Coconut Flakes, Banana slices, Pineapple chunks without their juice, Fruit, Chocolate Chips, ECT. (optional)

Instructions

1. Place your cans of coconut milk in the fridge at least 1 hour in advance  to make sure the creamy portion separates from the water. 
2. Prepare your crust (whatever you choose for that) and set it aside.
3. Add to a medium sauce pan your butter, Coconut cream & milk. Warm & whisk  over medium heat. Once mostly melted but not yet hot, add in the starch & sugar. Whisk continually while it thickens. Add in your mix in (if adding fruit that can be pressed it once its in the pan). While its thickening add your extract starting with 1 tbsp and adding more if you would like a stronger flavor.  
4. When it comes to a gentle simmer it will have thickened fully. Remove from heat and pour into your prepared pie shell. Press in any fruit if you want to at this point.
5. Cover and place in the fridge for at least 6 hours allowing it to solidify. For best results make the pie one day in advance before serving so that it has 12-24 hours to set up. 

Notes:

• For the coconut cream- the amount of cans needed will depend on the quantity of coconut cream in the cans.I always use good and gather (target brand) unsweetened coconut milk. (It currently is packaged in a blue can). If you use this brand only 1 can will be needed as its about 85-90% cream.
• For the milk- I usually just use full fat oat milk. However this is an area where you can get creative. You could add banana puree here, or orange juice, strong coffee, Bourbon. whatever your heart desires. For the creamiest results use half full fat milk + half a different liquid.
• I provided a range for the milk amount for an important reason. IF you use the full amount of sugar (1/2 cup) and its a syrup then you will need to cut back on the milk amount to 1 cup. If you use a granulated sugar (up to 1/2 cup) then its ok to also use up to 1 1/4 Cups of milk. The key is not exceeding the amount of liquid that the filling can handle so that it sets up nicely. Too much liquid will create a messy hard to slice pie.
• For the sugar: Feel free to use ANY kind. Everything from Can sugar, to brown sugar, Coconut Palm Sugar, Granulated Maple Sugar or Maple Syrup, Agave (honey if you are not vegan). For sugar free I highly suggest using Sukrin Gold Liquid "Honey" + 1/4 Tsp Liquid stevia. But, you can also use any granulated sweetener too. I tend to avoid erythritol due to its after taste and suggest Bocha Sweet or Alluose instead.
• For the butter- Butter flavored coconut oil or regular coconut oil will work best as they will help to firm up the pie. But melted vegan butter also works quite well too.
• For the extract: You may keep it simple and just use 1 tbsp of vanilla- but I encourage you to experiment here. Check out Olive nations huge assortment of extracts- I own and use many of them!
• Feel free to mix things in or not- just be cautious not to add anything too liquidy or juicy as that can throw off the liquid proportions in the recipe. If you add in pineapple chunks or other fruit dry them off with a paper towel first.
• Feel free to add any spices that you wish or zest from an Orange,Lemon or Lime!

Custard Pie Flavor Ideas

Chocolate cream pie: Use the full amount of sugar and milk & whisk in cocoa powder to taste. Go slow- 1 tbsp at a time to reach the desired flavor. You could even amp up the flavor by adding in some raspberry or cherry extract and topping the pie with whipped cream and berries.

Pineapple Coconut Cream Pie (thats what I have pictured here: use 2 tbsp of pineapple extract & stir in one cup of coconut flakes (sweetened or unsweetened ). Topped with whipped cream and toasted large coconut flakes.

Baileys Irish cream pie: Add 1 Tbsp of cocoa (or more to taste) to the pie. Instead of using milk use Dairy Free Baileys Irish Cream. Start with less sugar and add it to taste.

Bourbon Banana Cream Pie: Sub out 1/4-1/2 cup of the milk for bourbon. use 1 Tbsp of vanilla extract. Cut up bananas and line the bottom of the pie crust with them and cover with custard. After chilled add whipped cream and fresh bananas to the top.

Lemon (or lemoncello) Cream Pie: Sub in some lemon juice (to taste) in place of the milk. Add the zest of 1 lemon. (Lemoncello could also be subbed in for half of the milk too). Add a little food coloring or turmeric for yellow color. Top with whipped cream and fresh sliced lemons.

Cookies & Cream Pie: Make the recipe as called for with 1 tbsp of vanilla and 1/3 cup of sugar. Stir in chopped up or finely ground gluten free oreos. (the amount is up to you!). Cover with whipped cream and some cookies on top.

Mint Chocolate Chip Cream Pie : Add Mint extract (starting with only 1/2 a tsp. its strong- add it little by little.) Stir in mini chocolate chips or grated chocolate (the quantity is up to you) a little green food coloring or matcha can be added for color. Top with whipped cream and shaved chocolate. This one would taste amazing with an oreo cookie pie crust.

Matcha Cream Pie: Whisk in matcha powder starting with 2 tsp- adding it just a little at a time until you reach your desired flavor and color. Top with whipped cream. Use only 1 tbsp of vanilla.

Ube Cream Pie: Make the pie with 1 tbsp of vanilla. Add Ube extract 1/2 tsp at a time. Until you reach the desired flavor. Most ube extracts contain purple food coloring. Top with whipped cream.

Key Lime Cream Pie: Sub in a portion of the milk (1/4- 1/2 cup) of the milk with lime juice. Add the zest of 1 lime. Omit the vanilla extract. Top with whipped cream, lime slices and or lime zest.

Cherry cream pie: Make the recipe as posted only using 1-2 Tbsp of cherry extract. Fresh pitted and sliced cherries can be added. You can also use some red or pink food coloring if you want to. Top with whipped cream and more cherries. This could taste great on all kinds of crusts but I would personally make an oreo crust!

Baklava Cream pie: Use Pistachio extract instead of vanilla. Add a little green food coloring. Use honey as your sweetener. Finely chopped pistachio nuts and or walnuts can be added to the pie or sprinkled on top! drizzle honey over the top of the pie after it has set.

Fruit Pie

Here are some important tips before we dive in:

• When it comes to making fruit pie I like to precook any that call for apples or pears and cranberries to make the oven time shorter. BUT I do not suggest doing that for berries, peaches or stone fruits as they can get overcooked and mushy!

• If using apples add 1 tbsp of lemon juice to help prevent them turning brown.

• Add some granulated sugar, a pinch of salt and spices if you wish. You will need more or less sugar depending on the tartness of the fruit and your preferences. This can range anywhere from 1/4-1 cup of sugar! Remember that if you are using a keto granulated sugar less is more. Start with 1/4 cup and give it a taste and go from there. Avoid using liquid sweeteners here as it will throw off the thickness of the filling.

• My favorite Sugar Free Sweeteners for Fruit pie are Bochasweet or Granulated Alluose as they don’t have a cooling after taste like sugar alcohols have.

• When it comes to the starch options you can use: cornstarch, tapioca. arrowroot or potato starch.

• When it comes to all purpose flour you can use regular (wheat based) all purpose flour OR for the best gluten free results use a Cup for Cup , Measure for Measure or 1:1 gluten free flour blend. This is NOT the same as gluten free all purpose flour and they will work best since they have added gums to match the thickening abilities of gluten. If you avoid gums then your next best choice is to stick with the starch option.

• For the sake of keeping things as simple as possible I suggest using only FRESH fruit here. Frozen adds more liquid and may throw off the thickness of the pie- especially berries. There are recipes that exist of course calling for frozen fruit with the amount of starch or flour needed- so I would refer to them if you wish to go that route.

• Typically a fruit pie contains 6-8 cups of fruit. I have included how much starch or flour is needed per cup or for 8 cups total.

• If you want to make a pie using more than one type of fruit- simply look up the amount of flour or starch needed per cup for the fruits you can chosen and add up the amounts. For example. An apple blackberry pie. Say we want to do 4 cups of each type of fruit. For the apples we need 1/2 tsp per cup. so 1/4 Tsp. x 4 cups = 2 Tsp. Then for the blackberries we need 1 Tbsp per cup. 1 Tbsp x 4 cups = 4 tbsp. So our final starch amount is 4 tbsp + 2 Tsp.

• The fruits level of ripeness (making them more of less juicy) may affect results a bit.

Flour / Starch amounts to use with fruit pie.

APPLES
Starch: 1/2 tsp per cup OR 1 tbsp + 1 tsp per 8 cups.
Gf Cup for Cup blend : 1 3/4 tsp per cup OR 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp per 8 cups.

RIPE PEARS

Starch: 2 Tsp Starch Per Cup OR 1/3 Cup per 8 cups.

Gf Cup for Cup blend: 3 Tsp per Cup OR 1/2 Cup per 8 Cups

RASPBERRIES & BLACKBERRIES

Starch: 1 tbsp per cup OR 1/2 cup per 8 cups.
Gf Cup for Cup blend : 1 tbsp + 1 tsp per cup OR 1/2 cup + 2.5 tbsp for 8 cups.


BLUEBERRIES
Starch : 2.5 tsp per cup OR 7tbsp for a 8 cups.
Gf Cup for Cup blend: 1 tbsp per cup OR 1/2 cup per 8 cups.


CHERRIES
Starch: 2.5 tsp per cup OR 7 tbsp for 8 cups.
Gf Cup for Cup blend: 1 tbsp per cup OR 1/2 cup for 8 cups.

STRAWBERRIES + Rhubarb (half & half amounts)

Starch: 1 tbsp + 1/4 Tsp per cup OR 1/2 cup + 2 tsp per 8 cups.

Gf Cup for Cup blend: 1 tbsp + 1/2 Tsp per cup OR 3/4 cup per 8 cups


PEACHES & STONE FRUIT
Starch : 2.5 tsp per cup OR 7tbsp for a 8 cups.
Gf Cup for Cup blend : 2.5 tsp per cup OR 7tbsp for a 8 cups.

FRESH or FROZEN CRANBERRIES (best mixed with other fruits- and only used as 1/4 of the filling- more sugar will be needed to balance tartness- the amount of starch/flour is a bit higher to balance the sugar amounts)

Starch: 3/4 Tsp per cup OR 5 Tsp for 8 cups.

Gf Cup for Cup blend: *I have not tested this version out.

CONCORD GRAPES (Seeds & skin removed)

Starch: 1 1/2 tsp starch per cup OR 3 tbsp starch per 8 cups

Gf Cup for Cup blend: 1 tbsp starch per cup OR 1/2 cup per 8 cups.

SEEDLESS RED GRAPES (skin is optional)

Starch: 3/4 Tsp Starch per cup OR 6 Tbsp starch per 8 cups

Gf Cup for Cup blend: 1 Tbsp per cup OR 1/2 cup per 8 cups.

FRESH PINEAPPLE (not canned)

Starch: 1 tbsp per cup OR 1/2 cup per 8 cups

Gf Cup for Cup blend: 1 tbsp per cup OR 1/2 cup per 8 cups

Fruit Pie Flavor Ideas

• Caramel Pear Cardamon Crumble Pie: Add to your pears some cardamon. (go easy its strong) Add 1/4-1/2 cup of Warm Caramel to the fruit filling. Drizzle more caramel on top then layer with crumb topping.

• Concord Grape Pie: This is my favorite flavor- and preparing the grapes properly is important. Read other blogs on how to do this. Once the grapes are prepared you mix them with flour or starch and cover with a top crust or crumble and bake.

• Nutmeg Pear Crumble Pie: Add a bit of nutmeg to your pear pie. Top with Crumble.

• Nectarine Pie: Just like a peach pie only using nectarines. Top with a regular crust or crumble.

• Peach Ginger Crumble Pie: Add fresh grated ginger to your peach pie filling. 1 tsp-1 tbsp at the most. Top with crumble.

• Fruits of the Forest : This one is made with sliced Apples, Figs and Rhubarb.

• Apple Pear & Hazelnut Pie: Add toasted hazelnut pieces to your filling. (walnuts & pecans are great too!)

• Toffee Apple Pie: Add premade toffee to your pie chopped in small pieces. Coconut secret is my favorite vegan/paleo brand!

• Apple Fig Pie : add Chopped fried or fresh figs to the filling. No additional starch/flour is needed for their quantity.

Tag me at @bakingangell on Instagram or Tiktok to show me your creations!!

Feel free to comment below with further questions or tips that you would like to share!