Strawberry Cream Pie- gluten free & vegan (top 8 allergen free)

Happy Heart Day!

No pre-made boxes of chocolates here.  (Trust me, if I could I would!)
When you live a very restrictive allergy free lifestyle,  going to the store to pick up some simple Valentines candy is a no-go.  Now there are a couple tasteless options I could pay triple the money for, but I'd much rather take a few minutes and make something homemade we can all enjoy.  

Since my little ASD girl has been open to some different textures lately, I thought I'd push the envelope with a "cream" pie.  And push it even more by adding strawberries (ha!)  I know this must sound odd to a parent with a kid not on the spectrum, pushing cream pies on your kid like it's torture, but you'd be surprised.  

This is my first experience with Coconut Cream in a can.  I have always bought the milk version in  the can.  But since I was able to find the cream at one of my favorite stores I thought I'd give it a shot.  Reading up on the difference between the canned cream version to the canned milk version is basically the portion of coconut meat to water.  Coconut Cream is made up 4 parts "meat" to 1 part water, as Coconut Milk is made up 1 part "meat" to 1 part water.  You can tell by my picture below the Coconut Cream is far less watery looking and much denser.  There was a bit less coconut water that drained off the cream then the milk version.  The taste was equal with brands I had, so no noticed difference there.  In this recipe either will work.  The cream version did whip up denser than just having the milk (canned) type.

Since it's not strawberry season, I had to add a bit more of the strawberry puree than would normally be needed to get a stronger flavor.  If your strawberries have a good flavor than you wont need to add as much puree and you can pull back on the sweetener and extra thickener (guar gum) to the recipe, depending on how you prefer the taste and texture.  Or you could just use your favorite Strawberry Jam from the store.  There are several fruit sweetened ones on the market that are really good.

If you can buy pre made pie crust ( I have seen versions in the allergy free freezer sections) this pie would come together really quickly.  I do like to have mine "set" overnight, but you could eat it after a few hours in the refrigerator, it will just be more whip cream like.  




gluten free/vegan...allergy free



Strawberry Cream Pie

1 - 9 inch Allergy Free Prebaked Pie Crust (my recipe here)

1 - 19 Fl. Oz.   Canned Coconut Cream- drained of coconut water
1 - 13.5 Fl. Oz. Canned Coconut Milk- drained of coconut water
1/2 Cup  Pureed Strawberries ( I took 1 pint of fresh strawberries and pureed in a food processor)
1/2 tsp.  Organic Pure Vanilla Extract
3/4 Cup  Organic Powdered Sugar (or less depending on your tastes)
3/4 tsp.  Guar Gum

Thirty minutes to one hour before making place large mixing bowl and whisk attachment into freezer.
In chilled mixing bowl, add drained coconut cream, coconut milk, pureed strawberry, vanilla, sugar and guar gum and mix on high until light and fluffy.  Fill prebaked pie crust with strawberry cream mixture and refrigerate overnight or until set.  Top slice with grated allergy free chocolate or unsweetened cocoa powder and extra strawberry puree.  Enjoy!

On the left if the Coconut Milk, on the right is the Coconut Cream.
Both are drained of the extra coconut water.
The Coconut Cream has a much denser quality to it.

This is the whipped cream and milk before adding any extra ingredients
to it.  You can see how thick it can be whipped up.  Every brand of
Coconut Cream/Milk will vary in it's thickness once whipped.

The pie holds up nicely even after serving a slice!

Save image to computer and print!

Also shared at:  Fat Tuesday, Waste Not Want Not Wednesday,Gluten Free Wednesdays,Allergy Free Wednesday, Gluten Free Fridays,Whole Food Friday