Raw apple cream pie

Raw apple cream pie

If I had to pick one flavor of pie to eat for the rest of my life, it'd be apple. Kind of boring, I know - but the combination of flaky crust, juicy apples and freshly ground cinnamon makes me salivate just thinking about it. I am literally drooling all over my keyboard right now. Ok, I'm not literally doing anything over my keyboard right now, except for typing - but you get the idea. Apple pie is good. Damn good.

Since real apple pies don't exactly make my guts feel the greatest, I decided to make a raw version to satisfy my craving. I couldn't decide between a traditional apple pie, or a creamy version, so I went for the latter. Because cashew cream makes everything taste better. So much better.

Raw apple cream pie

If you'd prefer this to be more like a traditional apple pie, omit the cashew cream and make date caramel instead of date syrup. You can do this by reducing the water in my date syrup recipe to 1/4 cup. At this point, you should all be well aware of my dislike for sweeteners in raw desserts. So - as always - if you'd prefer something sweeter, replace the nut milk in the cashew cream with a raw liquid sweetener of your choice.

RAW APPLE CREAM PIE

1/2 cup cashews
1/4 cup raw nut milk
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 cup almonds
1/2 cup walnuts
3-4 medjool dates
1-2 apples, peeled
3-4 tbsp date syrup
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon


Place the cashews in a small bowl; cover with water and let soak for 6-8 hours, or overnight. After they've soaked, drain the water and add the cashews to the container of a high speed blender, such as a Vitamix. Add the nut milk and lemon juice, and blend until smooth; about 30-45 seconds. Transfer the cashew cream to a small, air tight container and store in the refrigerator.

Lightly grease two 4" tartlet pans with coconut oil; set aside. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the S blade, blend the almonds and walnuts into a fine meal. Add the dates and blend for 30-45 seconds; if you want a crumble like crust, add 3 dates; for a dough like crust, add 4 (my dates were slightly larger than circus peanuts). Divide the dough between the prepared tartlet pans and press into the edges. Wrap pans with plastic and chill in the refrigerator for 30-45 minutes.

Just before you're set to remove the ingredients from the fridge, prepare the apple filling. Chop the apple(s) however you'd like. Toss them in a small bowl with the date syrup and cinnamon. To assemble the pies, spread half of the cashew cream onto each pie crust. Divide the apple topping between each pan, then serve. Pies can be kept frozen, in a freezer safe container, for up to 6 months. Before eating, remove from freezer and let thaw for 20-25 minutes.

Yield: 2 4" pies

20 comments:

  1. Yum! What a great spin on apple pie! Bookmarking this for the next time the craving strikes.

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  2. Mmmm this looks so good- I am thinking I would love both the Cashew Cream and Date Syrup on the super cute mini pies - Great pics too!

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  3. OMG yum! This looks so beautiful and delicious! Bookmarked for sure! This would be a lovely Thanksgiving dessert :) Perfect raw version of a classic!

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  4. these looks absolutely stunning. this is the first dessert i've seen in a long time that i would actually eat. no sugar AT ALL except from fruit. these are magical.

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  5. Oh, my goodness! This looks so delicious. I totally get your feelings on apple pie. There's a reason why some things are classic!

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  6. I need to try this cashew cream. Actually, I think this is maybe the first time I've seen a cashew cream recipe. It's so cool how cashews can be used to make so many vegan substitutes!

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  7. What a great recipe thanks!I have never tried date syrup before but it sounds great, I am definately going to try.

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  8. Awesome idea! I love apple pie too! Definitely not boring - A good apple pie is amazing :D I really need to try a raw version - this looks so good!

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  9. I need to make more raw desserts. So many raw recipes are heaped with coconut oil — so glad this one isn't. Low sugar works for me.

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  10. Are you kidding me?! These look like the most delicious pies in the entire universe. Holy. Smokes. I have never tried a "raw" baked dessert, but it looks like this will be a good place the start!

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  11. I just found you from Miss Cara's blog. So glad she did a guest post because it led me to your beautiful blog. These are beautiful!

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  12. This pie sounds delicious! I can even smell the cinnamon in it!

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  13. Yum! I have to admit, I've been slightly scared of raw desserts, but this one looks like something I could try!

    I also wanted to let you know I have awarded you with a Kreativ Blogger award, from one food blogger to another. You can head over to my site if you want to see the little shout-out I've given you :)

    Keep up the amazing work!!

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  14. AnonymousJune 09, 2012

    Looks delicious! Great photos , I could almost smell those apples!

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  15. Seems delicious!

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  16. This looks amazing. Thanks so much for sharing. I can't wait to try it!

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  17. hey may i know when you mentioned that the pies can be kept frozen,did you add the apple filling onto it &freeze together or just add the apple prior to serving ? :) won't the texture of apples change after freezing it ?

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    1. It doesn't really matter. I prefer freezing the entire pie because the thawing process softens the apples.

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  18. I just made again for the zillionth time...the fam loves it! I could never get the pies to come out of the tins, even with the oil. I no longer care about presentation so I put them in whatever. For my toddler's school lunch, I put into a little container. The teachers report he gets all kind of excited when he sees what's in there:)

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