Vegan Lemon Blackberry Cream Pie

I got my hands on loads of lemons and all could think of that I wanted to make was pie. Lemon meringue sounded wonderful, since I love that tart lemon curd filling, and billowy cloudlike meringue frosting, but so did lemon cream pie with some sort of berries.  In the end, the lemon cream won because I did not have any aquafaba on hand to make meringue and berries and lemon are irresistible, to me.

This is the sort of pie which would be wonderful raw, but I did not have young coconuts on hand and organic ones are super expensive here lately, so canned coconut milk did the trick for a creamy frosting and filling. I made a crunchy crust with buckwheat, coconut and dates as I do for most of my raw pies though and it went perfect with the filling.

For the filling, I used plenty of lemon flavor in both the form of zest and juice. I like my lemon desserts to taste like lemon.  Just tart enough, not too sweet.  I folded in some organic blackberries, and it was a delicious combination.  Lastly, I topped it off with fluffy coconut whipped cream.  It was delicious. A little bit of sunshine and summer in the winter here, can't beat that!

Vegan Lemon Blackberry Cream Pie
Makes one 8 inch pie

1 8 inch pie plate

Crust:
3/4 cup finely shredded dried coconut
3/4 cup sprouted, dehydrated buckwheat groats, or walnuts
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
1 cup soft pitted medjool dates
1/4 tsp sea salt

Filling:
1 15 oz can full fat organic coconut milk, chilled
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 Tbsp lemon zest
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp maple syrup
pinch sea salt
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup coconut butter warmed to liquid
3/4 cup fresh organic blackberries

Topping:
1 15 oz can full fat organic coconut milk, chilled
3 Tbsp maple syrup or raw coconut nectar
pinch sea salt
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup raw coconut butter, warmed to liquid

For the crust, combine all ingredients in the food processor until finely chopped and starting to hold together when squeezed (if it doesn't you may need a few more dates).  Press the mixture into a 8 inch pie pan or spring form pan greased with coconut oil.
For the filling, combine all ingredients but the coconut butter and blackberries in a high speed blender and blend until smooth. Add the coconut butter slowly with the motor running until incorporated. Stir in the blackberries.
Pour filling into the crust.  Place in the freezer to firm up (about 2 hours).
Meanwhile, for the cream topping, combine all ingredients but the coconut butter in a food processor and process until smooth. Add the coconut butter slowly with the motor running until incorporated (so it doesn't separate), and once thickened, pour into a bowl. If for some reason it separates, not to worry, just continue to blend until it warms up, then pour into a bowl and place in the freezer until it is thick like whipped cream (whisking every so often), about 45 minutes.  Once the cream is ready, spread over the top of the pie.  Pie keeps refrigerated for 1 week in a container.