Raw Vegan Macadamia & Coconut Banana Cream Pie

This creamy pie is entirely dairy, soy, gluten and refined sugar free, but stunningly delicious. It is banana cream in its simplest form but you could certainly add chocolate, berries or even passionfruit for a fun twist.

Makes one 8-inch pie

INGREDIENTS

• 225 g raw macadamia nuts, unsalted (approx 1 1/2 c, heaped)
• 1/2 c coconut oil, melted
• 100 g dry figs, fresh dates or a combination (approx 6 figs or 7 dates)
• scant 1/4 c lemon juice
• 1 ripe banana
• 1/2 c coconut milk
• 1/2 c rice or nut milk, no added salt
• 2 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 1/2 tsp flakey sea salt, or less to taste

To assemble:

• 2 – 3 just ripe bananas
• 1 Raw Salted Caramel Macadamia Pie Crust
• whipped coconut cream
• shredded coconut, optional

METHOD

Prepare Raw Salted Caramel Macadamia Pie Crust or any other crust you prefer and press at least 1.5 inches [4 cm] up side of a lined 8 inch [20 cm] removable-base tin. Refrigerated until needed.

Remove stems from figs and pits from dates, soak in warm water 15 mins, drain.

Blitz macadamia nuts to a rough paste. Add coconut oil, blend to a smooth paste. Add figs/dates, blend until very smooth. Add lemon juice and one banana, blend smooth. Add milks, vanilla and salt, blend until well combined.

Slice two bananas on an angle. Layer banana slices, half of filling, banana slices, remaining filling and smooth top. Refrigerate 2 hours or freeze 1 hour.

Slice half a banana on an angle, place on top of pie leaving a border around the edge, top with half the whipped coconut cream and smooth to cover slices. Refrigerate further 2 hours or overnight.

Decorate top with additional sliced banana, remaining whipped coconut cream and shredded coconut if desired. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

COOK’S NOTES

• If you are not on a raw diet feel free to use a baked pie crust of your choice.
• This recipe used to instruct you to soak about a third of the macadamias but I prefer it without soaking them at all as macs don’t soften like other nuts when soaked.
• Yes, you could replace the macadamias with cashews that have been soaked 4 hours and drained. In theory you could use something else like almonds or walnuts but will need to soak them for at least 12 hours and the filling may not be as smooth.

vegan // gluten free // dairy free // refined sugar free