Pumpkin Pie!

Pumpkin pie is one of my favorite things but since turning my baking vegan I have never attempted to make it. Old fashioned pumpkin pie usually had lots of eggs and evaporated milk, not exactly vegan. But since its such a staple dessert I decided to have a go at it.


I like my fall baked goods to be spicy and so I included cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Sometimes I feel like people overdo the cinnamon so I kept it to a 1/2 tsp but pumped up the ginger amounts for spice. For even more fall flavor I added molasses. The remaining usual ingredients were pumpkin puree, rice milk, vanilla, a touch of salt, and evaporated cane juice. A small amount of cornstarch worked to bind the mixture together, but I assume arrowroot would also work if corn cannot be consumed.


I also was interested in making a sugar alternative pumpkin pie with agave nectar. Because agave nectar is sweeter than regular sugar and also a liquid, I reduced the amount. But I found that no additional cornstarch was needed. Of course its best to bake your pie and let it cool completely before serving. Because I was recipe testing I poured the batter, which is a little thicker than old fashioned pumpkin pie, into little custard dishes. They turned out to be great single serving pies and awfully cute. I happened to have some cashew cream in my fridge and so I made a maple cashew whipped topping that went great with the pie. I'll post later about cashew cream and how to make whipped topping. It's pretty cool and makes vegan dishes creamy in a healthier way. I'm not a huge fan of fake substitutes or soy creamer/milk.