Recipe: Pumpkin Pie and Coconut Whip Cream

This Thanksgiving, Adventist Health’s Chef Nina Curtis is giving the turkey a run for its money with five delicious vegan recipes that you won’t want to miss. For dessert: Vitaliz Café Pumpkin Pie and Coconut Whip Cream.

This fresh twist on a Thanksgiving classic uses coconut cream for an extra creamy and delicious filling and whipped topping. It’s the perfect endcap to your Thanksgiving dinner, or you can save a slice for later in the evening… or do both!

Vitaliz Café Pumpkin Pie and Coconut Whip Cream

Yield: 8 servings

Pumpkin Pie Filling Ingredients

• 1 15-ounce can organic pumpkin
• 1 cup coconut cream*
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons organic corn starch or kuzu root
• 2 ½ teaspoons pumpkin spice
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/16 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 9-inch frozen pie crust* (we used Wholly Wholesome)

Coconut Cream* Ingredients

Coconut cream will be used in both the pie filling and coconut whip cream topping.

• 2 16-ounce coconut meat packages, thawed or the ‘meat’ of two fresh young Thai coconuts (we used Copra Coconut meat brand)

Instructions

For coconut cream, thaw the coconut meat package. Once thawed, reserve coconut water in package and set aside.

Place coconut meat in a blender vessel and blend until completely smooth. You will need to blend, stop, push coconut meat down in vessel with a spatula and keep blending until there are no solid coconut pieces left. It should be a smooth cream. Store in a glass container in the refrigerator until needed for the pie filling and the coconut whip cream.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and take your pie crust out of the freezer to thaw.

Place pumpkin, sugar, cornstarch, pumpkin spice, vanilla extract and salt in a blender vessel and blend until smooth. Add 1 cup of the coconut cream and continue to blend until creamy.

Place pumpkin pie filling in thawed pie crust. Make sure the filling is evenly distributed.

Bake for 1 hour. Test with a toothpick in the center of the pie. The center might still be slightly ‘jelly’, but the filling will congeal as it cools. Cool on a pie rack and then place in refrigerator for 2 hours.

Coconut Whip Cream

• 1 cup coconut cream*
• Reserved coconut water (about ½ cup)
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon aqua faba (water bean) liquid (this is the water from a can of chickpeas)
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch of sea salt

Place coconut cream in blender vessel, add coconut water, maple syrup, aqua faba, vanilla extract and salt. Blend until you have a creamy whip.

If you want to ‘pipe’ the coconut whip cream on your pie, place in pastry bag with tip and let chill in refrigerator for 1 hour.

If you want to ‘dollop’ the coconut whip cream on your pie, place in glass container and let cool in the refrigerator for an hour before serving.

Voilà!

Happy holidays,

Chef Nina

About the author: Chef Nina Curtis is the director and executive chef at Adventist Health’s Vitaliz Café in Roseville, California. Follow her @botanicalchef on social media.