Gluten Free Vegan Apple Custard Blender Pie

Piggies! It is DAY 21 of "I LOVE Vitamix" month to celebrate our Vitamix 5200 giveaway. There is still 10 days left to get your hands on this amazing blender! To enter, simply create a piggy name, enter your email address, and share on Twitter and Facebook for bonus entries. Good Luck!

My "easy peasy" blender pies have been incredibly popular, and they are still some of my most requested recipes. When my honey lemon blender pie was featured by Udi's Gluten Free Foods last year, 11,000 people came to check out that easy peasy pie in 1 day! Needless to say, I was overwhelmed with emails of piggy love after people had sampled it. Many of those people became "blender pie devotees" and hopped into the gluten free blender pecan pie and blender chocolate hazelnut pie and wrote to me telling me they were in "piggy heaven." Trust me, these simple blender pies will save your life for those "last minute dessert emergencies" on more than one occasion! The beauty of these pies is that they are SO easy. You just throw everything into the blender, bake, chill, and devour. It is literally child's play. In fact, many people write to me and tell me they made the pies with their children and they had a real sense of satisfaction. What a great introduction to baking. ANYONE can make these pies. They are fool proof! 

However, as delicious as these gluten free blender pies are, they are not vegan. I have had many requests from vegans for some easy peasy VEGAN blender pies. So I answer that call today, with Vitamix Recipe #21: Easy Peasy Gluten Free Vegan Apple Custard Blender Pie. I call it a "custard pie" because it tastes like creamy apple cinnamon custard. For those of you looking for flaky apple pie with a generous crust, you will be disappointed. This pie is crustless. But that is what I like about it. I have never been a fan of thick crusts. But, I have friends tell me that that is what they look for in a great piece of pie. If you have a flag in that camp, then this pie is not for you.

But, if you like creamy pudding-like desserts, then you will love this pie. It is very mild and not too sweet. The cashews replicate a nice nutty pastry flavour and create the creaminess, and the tapioca and flaxseeds help the pie to set. I will admit, that I had several goes to get this pie right. In my first attempt I added in some grated apple, which added a gorgeous depth of flavour, but made the pie too runny.

A few notes about making this pie: it is important to cook this pie on a low oven so that the top and bottom don't burn. Check the pie after an hour. It should be slightly wobbly if you shake it a tad. Cook for another 1/2 an hour and the pie should be firm to the touch. The secret to firming up this pie is to allow it to cool completely, and then chill it in the fridge overnight. This will yield the best results when cutting. Use a sharp knife and the pie should come out in nice firm clean pieces that you can actually eat with your hands! 

Serve with vegan vanilla cashew cream, vegan tofu cream, or raw vegan vanilla ice cream and a dusting of cinnamon. YUMMO!