Cardamom Laced Apricot Blush Cream Pie
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~ raw, vegan, gluten-free ~
For this dessert, I used one of my favorite pans… an 8″ deep dish tart pan. I have never hidden the fact that I LOVE kitchenware. Dishes, measuring spoons, measuring cups, baking pans, molds, ooooh the list goes on and on. I am a fan of all of them, and my pantry shows it. (blushes)
Apricots were the driving force for this recipe, but I couldn’t resist sneaking in a little cardamom. Cardamom’s flavor profile is complex. Not only does it have a mildly sweet flavor, but it is also heavily fragrant with a perfume that gives it a warm, resinous aroma.
Both of these attributes enhance both the sweetness and the tartness of fresh apricot. Keep in mind that a little goes a long way. I used 1/2 tsp in my recipe, but I recommend starting with 1/4 tsp and build up from there if desired. You can always add but can’t take away.
For this recipe be sure to use ripe apricots. They are easier to digest, and they have a higher level of sweetness. Always taste test the apricots when adding them to the recipe. If they aren’t very sweet, you may need to adjust the amount of sweetener.
If you are new to creating raw desserts that are cashew-based, you will notice that the ingredients list calls for 2 cups of cashews. They need to be soaked, and this is a step that can’t be skipped. This will help to soften them, so they blend into a creamy batter. Two cups of cashews, once soaked will swell up to about 3 cups of cashews. This is normal and what we want.
For this dessert to thicken and hold the structure, I used coconut oil and lecithin. Both are paramount ingredients in making this dessert successful. Without them, you will have pudding, and nothing is wrong with that, but if you want a pie-like texture, please use them. In the ingredient list below I created links to where you can use either the soy-based powder form or a sunflower based liquid lecithin. Either one is fine. I don’t recommend omitting it or substituting.
This dessert will bring a decadent finish to any meal. The crunchy, almond crust is made up of ground-up almonds, oats, and cacao, which holds the creamy, silky texture of creamed cashews and fresh ripe apricots that are then faintly laced with a pinch of cardamom. Yep, it’s official, that was one heck of a run-on sentence. lol
Ingredients:
Yield 8- 10″ deep Quiche pan
Crust:
- 1/2 cups rolled, gluten-free oats
- 1 cups raw almonds, soaked & dehydrated
- 2/3 cup shredded coconut
- 1/4 cup raw cacao powder
- 1/8 tsp Himalayan pink salt
- 1/2 tsp liquid stevia
- 1/4 cup coconut butter, softened
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 Tbsp maple syrup
Cheesecake filling:
- 2 cups of raw cashews, soaked for 2 hours
- 6 ripe organic apricots, skinned and deseeded
- 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp maple syrup
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp liquid stevia
- 2 tsp liquid vanilla
- 1/4 – 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/4 tsp Himalayan pink salt
- 3 Tbsp sunflower lecithin powder or liquid
- 3/4 cup coconut oil, melted
Topping:
- 8-10 semi-firm organic apricots
- 1 Tbsp maple syrup
Preparation:
Crust:
- In the food processor, fitted with the “S” blade, pulse the oats and almonds into small pieces. Add coconut, cacao, and salt, pulse together. Now add the stevia, and coconut butter, water, and maple syrup processing until well combined.
- Process all ingredients until the crust starts to rise on the sides of the bowl. Be sure to stop and scrape the sides down.
- Lightly grease the pan with coconut oil or line with plastic wrap.
- Distribute the crust evenly on the bottom of the pan, using even and gentle pressure. You can either make the crust just on the bottom of the pan, or you can also bring it up the sides. It is up to you.
- Set aside while you make the batter.
Filling:
- After soaking the cashews, drain and rinse.
- Add to a high-speed blender; cashews, apricots, maple syrup, lemon juice, stevia, vanilla, cardamom, and salt. Blend until creamy. This can take 3-5 minutes depending on your machine. Step occasionally to test for grittiness. Feel grit? Keep blending.
- While the blender is running and a vortex is formed, drizzle in the coconut oil and lecithin. Resume blending until all is well incorporated.
- Pour the batter into the pan. Lightly tap the pan on the countertop to help work out any air bubbles that may be trapped in the batter. Be careful; sometimes it can “burp” and spray little batter droplets on your shirt. :)
- Place in the fridge overnight to chill or in the freezer.
Topping:
- The number of apricots needed will depend on the size of apricots that you have available to you. I recommend always buying a few more than what you think you might need. Or cash in that favor that your partner owes you if another trip to the store is needed. :)
- Wash and dry the apricots. Follow the natural seam in the apricot and cut it in half. Remove the pit. Lay the apricot cut side down on a cutting board. With a sharp knife, cut 1/4-1/2′” slices at a slight angle. If the apricots are really ripe, the slice may need to be a bit larger, so it holds up to being arranged on the pie.
- After all the slices have been made, use the larger slices for the outside rim of the pie and as your circle closes in, go down in size on the apricot slices.
- As you place the slices on the pie, overlap them. You can see this in the photo below. Go around and around and around until the top of the pie is covered.
- Place the 1 Tbsp of maple syrup in a small bowl. Dip a pastry brush into it and put a light coating of maple syrup over the top of the apricot slices. This will give them a sheen and prevent them from turning color on you.
- Do not freeze the pie after the fresh fruit has been put on top unless you plan to serve it frozen. Otherwise, the fruit will get watery and limp looking when it defrosts.
- Cover with plastic wrap and keep in the fridge until ready to serve. I wouldn’t leave the pie out at room temperature for more than 1 hour. If your house is really warm, keep an eye on the pie.
- This pie should keep for 3-5 days in the fridge or 1 month in the freezer.
- Ready to cut the cake? Check out my post on how to slice a cake: click here.
Loosely sprinkle the crust batter around the base of the pan as shown above.
Start pressing the pie crust into the fluted edge of the pan first.
Try to use an even amount all around the pan so that the crust is the same thickness all around.
Press the crust batter down into the pan so it packed nice and firm.
© AmieSue.com
Tags: Gluten Free, Refined Sugar Free, Soy Free, sugar free, Vegan
What a delightful great looking Pie! Thank You!:)
I try to make it. Have all ingredients in the kitchen. Just need to find ripe apricots..Do you soak and dehydrate oats as well? Cheers,
Hello Afsaneh… soaking the oats is always the best way to use them. If you use them wet you may not need to add the additional water so keep an eye on that. :) amie sue
Looks good. I too, love all kitchenware. I bought one of those pans a year or two ago and haven’t used it yet. I bought a case of peaches, so I’m going to try the recipe using peaches.
Hello Beth… well there ya have it… a great excuse to break that pan out! :) And peaches would work just fine and dandy as a substitute… even nectarines. :) Darn, I am making myself hungry. haha Have a great and wonderful nights sleep. amie sue
Looks delish! I do have two questions, can arrowroot powder be used as the thickening agent, and is there a substitute that can be made in place of the coconut products such as chia or flax seeds – not sure on alternatives for the coconut oil. My significant other hates coconut – generally he can’t tell if there is coconut oil but alternatives would be good! Also you use a lot of sweeteners, can dates be used in place of some or all of it or do you need the liquid? Dr. Fuhrman talks a lot about using dates or grapes in place of sweeteners (even maple syrup).
Thanks!!
Hello Priscilla… Let’s see if I can help
Q ~ can arrowroot powder be used as the thickening agent?
A ~ To be honest I am not sure. I haven’t used arrowroot in my raw recipes so I don’t know how it will respond or how much a person would need to use.
Q ~ Is there a substitute that can be made in place of the coconut products such as chia or flax seeds?
A ~ For the crust you can omit the coconut butter and use Medjool dates in its place. This is used to hold the crust together. You could use ground chia or flax mixed with a little water. I would use chia over flax due to flavor. For the filling ~ you can use a more refined coconut oil which doesn’t have the coconut flavor. It won’t have the same health benefits, well as good but that is an option.
Q ~ Also you use a lot of sweeteners, can dates be used in place of some or all of it or do you need the liquid? Dr. Fuhrman talks a lot about using dates or grapes in place of sweeteners (even maple syrup).
A ~ It will always depend on the recipe as to whether or not you can use dates or grapes in place of other sweeteners. Dates are great when you creating a sticky texture where it works as a bonding agent to hold things together. You can make date paste and use that in recipes and maybe in this recipe but it will change the look because dates paste is dark brown with specs in it. For the size of this pie and for the amount that a person would eat in a sitting is actually pretty low in sweetener.
Have a wonderful evening Pricilla. I hope some of this helped. amie sue
I LOVE your blog and the fantastic pictures that you share! It takes the “scare” out of trying your recipes :) You are so detailed and with all the links to explain some of the not-so-common ingredients – please don’t change a thing ! I hope you never run out of new recipes to share ! You have made our transition to eating more raw an easier one :) Thank you for sharing !
I needed to hear that… hehe I do my best to make my recipes user friendly and I always hope that they inspire others to give them a try. Thank you so much and have a blessed evening, amie sue
Hi Amie Sue!Your all recipes look absolutely beautiful, you are an artist! I enjoy it very much even when I look at them and I always imagine how good they must taste :). I still don’t have my dehydrator to try to make them all, but it will be one day too ;). Thank you very much for your website, for me is the best one I ever came across. Please keep posting!
That you Dada. You made my day. :) I am glad to have you here and I hope you continue to find great inspiration throughout my site. Have a wonderful evening, amie sue
This looks delish! I know it is not vegan or raw, but can you use beef gelatin instead of cashews? If so, how? Maybe almond milk with it? Or a mix of half cashews?
Thanks!
I don’t know Chris, you will have to experiment….Have a great evening, amie sue
delicioso ,espectacular ,felicidades por el don que Dios le dio, espero hacerlo pronto.
From hot but wonderfool Greece..bravo,bravo!
From warm but fruitful Hood River …. thank you! hehe
It is beautiful!! You are very talented! Even though I am not a big apricot fan I am absolutely going to make this pie!! I noticed that they had organic apricots in the store the other day and I remember thinking “Do people eat enough fresh apricots for the store to sell organic..” (It is difficult to find organic fruit and berries in the stores in Sweden.) Now I am glad I noticed them! :)
Good evening Veronica,
I have to admit that I don’t find organic apricots all that often or perhaps I just don’t notice if they are there since I am not looking for them…but then I usually hang out in the produce section like a kid in a candy store…sooooo. lol I am talking circles here. I think you ought to try it but if you really don’t like apricots, use peaches. Keep me posted and have a great evening. amie sue
I was wondering if you had ever had grasshopper pie, in the sad world, it has creme de coco, and creme de mente I was wondering if you could come up with a better healthier alternative? If you have never had this is has a crust made with oreo cookies and butter or margarine melted, so i was sure that could be substituded with a healthier version and the inside it creme cheese and whipping cream, sugar, creme de coco and creme de menthe with shaved chocolate on top, the other one I am working on is a better cranberry bliss bar the starbucks variety, I love your site better than all others I have seem, I love getting your emails with a new wonderful delight. thanks for all you do you are a very generous person. Nancy
Hi Nancy,
You know, I never had the pleasure of trying a Grasshopper Pie, but it sounds delishous! Do you have an exact recipe of the cooked version that you enjoy? If so, please email me at [email protected] and I will see what I can do. Love a challenge. :) Keep in touch and have a great evening, amie sue