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    Recipes Ā» Recipes

    Gluten-Free Vegan Coconut Cream Pie

    Last updated - July 14, 2021; Published - May 17, 2018 By Rhian Williams 6 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
    A slice of pie with yellow custard topped with white cream and toasted coconut on a white plate with pink flowers

    ThisĀ Gluten-Free Vegan Coconut Cream Pie is:

    • crispy and flaky
    • rich and creamy
    • sweet and fragrant!

    Gluten-Free Vegan Coconut Cream Pie

    Inspired by my Lemon PieĀ and Blueberry Cheesecake recipes, I decided to make another fresh, creamy, summery dessert. And, as my Coconut Cake recipe has been pretty popular, I figured you guys must love coconut as much as I do, so decided to make this Coconut Cream Pie!

    Gluten-Free Vegan Coconut Cream Pie

    The first step is to make a simple press-in pie crust which is made using 3 basic ingredients: coconut oil for buttery flavour and crispiness, ground almonds for flakiness and gluten-free flour. If you're not into gluten-free flour, you can use rice flour, or just use plain flour if you're not gluten-free.

    Gluten-Free Vegan Coconut Cream Pie

    As there's only one layer of pie crust required and you can just press the crust into the pie dish with your fingertips, you don't need to worry about getting out a rolling pin or dirtying a kitchen surface with a bucketload of flour.

    Then you just need to bake the crust in the oven until it's crispy and golden brown! One thing you do need to remember Ā is to use a fork to pierce the entire surface of the pie (don't forget the sides!) to make sure the crust doesn't inflate whilst baking. You can alternatively use baking beans.

    Gluten-Free Vegan Coconut Cream Pie

    Whilst you're baking the crust, you also need to bake some desiccated coconut until it turns golden brown, toasty and fragrant. One word of caution - coconut does burn super easily, so be really careful to not leave it in for longer than 5 minutes!

    Gluten-Free Vegan Coconut Cream Pie

    The next step is to make the custard - quite happily, most shop-bought custard powder happens to be naturally vegan, gluten-free and free from added sugar, so this is what I like to use to make the custard part of this Coconut Pie. It's easy to make, can be made using a variety of different plant-based milks: I like unsweetened cashew milk, almond milk or oat milk.

    Gluten-Free Vegan Coconut Cream Pie

    I use this custard powder,Ā which I love because it's easily accessible and is made using just 4 simple ingredients!

    Gluten-Free Vegan Coconut Cream Pie

    Once you've made your rich, velvety custard and poured it into your baked pie crust, you need to put it in the fridge until it's set completely. The next step is to make some coconut whipped cream, which you can use to top your Coconut Pie with fluffy clouds of rich, melt-in-your-mouth, coconut-flavoured cream.

    Gluten-Free Vegan Coconut Cream Pie

    Once you've topped your Coconut Pie with the coconut whipped cream you can scatter over your toasted coconut and it's ready to eat! I absolutely love the combination of the crispy, flaky pastry crust with the creamy custard, rich coconut whipped cream and fragrant desiccated coconut.

    It's a simple make-ahead dessert, so it's perfect for summer entertaining and is sure to be a hit with all the family!

    Gluten-Free Vegan Coconut Cream Pie

    For more similar desserts, check out my:

    • Lemon Pie
    • Chocolate Cherry Trifle
    • Coconut Cake
    • Boston Cream Pie
    • Strawberry Trifle

    If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog,Ā I’d really love to hear anyĀ feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo #rhiansrecipes onĀ Instagram! Thank you.

    Helpful tools to make this Gluten-Free Vegan Coconut Cream Pie:

    For the crust:

    glass mixing bowl

    pie dish

    For the coconut:

    rectangular baking tray

    For the custard:

    measuring jug

    For the coconut whipped cream:

    electric whisk

    Gluten-Free Vegan Coconut Cream Pie

    Gluten-Free Vegan Coconut Cream Pie

    This Gluten-Free Vegan Coconut Cream Pie is crispy and flaky, rich and creamy and sweet and fragrant!
    4.67 from 3 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Keyword: gluten-free coconut cream pie, vegan coconut cream pie, vegan coconut dessert
    Prep Time: 30 minutes
    Cook Time: 40 minutes
    Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
    Servings: 8
    Calories: 314kcal
    Author: Rhian Williams

    Ingredients

    For the pastry:

    • 30 g (ā…› cup) coconut oil
    • 75 g (ā…” cup) gluten-free flour blend (or sub rice flour, or plain flour if not gluten-free)
    • 75 g (ā…” cup) ground almonds* (almond meal)
    • 7 tablespoons water

    For the coconut:

    • 30 g (½ cup) desiccated coconut

    For the custard:

    • 530 ml (2 ¼ cups) unsweetened cashew milk (or sub unsweetened almond milk, or unsweetened oat milk for nut-free)
    • 4 tablespoons custard powder** (ensure vegan/gluten-free if necessary)
    • 6 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)

    For the coconut whipped cream:

    • 400 g (14oz tin) of full-fat coconut milk
    • 2 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
    • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

    Instructions

    For the pastry:

    • Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit)
    • Combine all ingredients in a large bowl until it forms a firm dough - add the water a few tablespoons at a time so that you don’t add too much!
    • You can keep this pastry dough in the fridge for up to a day if you like, but there is no need to chill it before using
    • Place the pastry dough into a greased pie dish and use your fingers to carefully press it across the bottom and up the sides of the dish - I used a 20.5 cm/8 inch pie dish
    • Use a fork to pierce the surface (remember the sides too!) of the pastry, so that it doesn’t puff up in the oven. Alternatively, you can use baking beans
    • Bake in the oven for around 30 minutes, until the pastry crust is firm to the touch and golden brown
    • Leave to cool slightly before pouring in the filling

    For the coconut:

    • Lay out the desiccated coconut on a baking tin and bake in the oven for around 5 minutes, making sure it doesn’t burn

    For the custard:

    • Measure out the milk in a jug or measuring container
    • Pour the milk into a pan, leaving behind a few tablespoons of milk in the jug
    • Heat up the milk in the pan
    • Add the custard powder to the remaining milk in the jug and mix well, ensuring it has dissolved completely
    • Once the milk in the pan is steaming, add approximately half of the hot milk to the bowl with the dissolved custard powder, mix well and transfer the custard powder mixture to the saucepan
    • Mix well and keep stirring on a low heat for around 5 minutes, until thickened
    • Add the maple syrup, taste and add extra if desired
    • Once the pastry crust and the custard have both cooled a little, carefully pour the custard into the crust
    • Leave the pie in the fridge for up to a few hours to set completely before topping with the cream

    For the coconut whipped cream:

    • You’ll need to keep your tin of coconut milk in the fridge overnight for the rich creamy bit to separate from the watery bit at the bottom. Make sure it is full fat coconut milk, otherwise this separation won’t happen and you won’t be able to make this cream!
    • Open the tin upside down – the coconut cream will be at the bottom and you can just pour off the watery liquid (save this for adding to soups or smoothies)
    • Place the thick, creamy part into a bowl
    • Add the maple syrup and vanilla extract
    • Use an electric whisk (or a manual one and a lot of elbow grease) to whip up the coconut cream until light and fluffy
    • Take the pie out of the fridge, and ensuring that the custard has completely set, carefully cover it with the coconut whipped cream
    • Scatter over the toasted desiccated coconut
    • Tastes best when fresh, but keeps covered in the fridge for up to a few days

    Notes

    *You can alternatively useĀ almond flour
    **If you can't get hold of a shop-bought custard powder, you can substitute it with the same amount cornflour (cornstarch), which will result in the same texture and flavour, though the colour will be considerably less yellow.
    Nutrition Facts
    Gluten-Free Vegan Coconut Cream Pie
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 314
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    Made the recipe?Tag @rhiansrecipes on instagram and use the hashtag #rhiansrecipes!

    Disclosure: This posts contains affiliate links to Amazon. If you purchase any of these products, a small percentage will come to me with no extra cost to you! This income will go towards the running of this blog – thank you.

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Faye

      May 18, 2018 at 9:29 pm

      5 stars
      Absolutely delicious recipe Rhian, thanks so much as always šŸ™‚ xx

      Reply
      • Rhian Williams

        May 18, 2018 at 9:31 pm

        Thank you so much!

    2. Seonaid

      May 19, 2018 at 1:33 pm

      This looks amazing! Buuuut, I absolutley detest custard can you suggest a good replacement filler?

      Reply
      • Rhian Williams

        May 19, 2018 at 3:45 pm

        Thank you! And instead of the custard you could use the cheesecake filling part of my blueberry cheesecake recipe, without the cacao butter if you like as it's not completely necessary: https://www.rhiansrecipes.com/vegan-blueberry-cheesecake-gluten-free/ hope that helps!

    3. Laura J

      April 13, 2019 at 4:19 pm

      Hi there! Is there any reason why you couldn’t use drinking coconut milk for the custard?

      Reply
      • Rhian Williams

        April 13, 2019 at 11:25 pm

        No that should work!

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    Photo of Rhian Williams from Rhian's Recipes

    Hi, I'm Rhian!Ā I make easy, undetectably vegan + gluten-free recipes, including healthy comfort food and naturally sweetened desserts using plant-based ingredients.

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