My Favorite Pie Crust

Since being gluten free I've tried my hand at making a few pies, and I have finally settled on my favorite version! This pie crust isn't the buttery and flaky crust that looks like phyllo dough., this crust is more...cakey, I suppose. It has a soft texture with a crumb. It might make for a less-than presentable slice, but after tasting it, no-one will be complaining about it's presentation.

Pro Tip: Occasionally I will be making a pie, and while I have all the ingredients out, I will make a few to freeze for later. I individually wrap them up in saran wrap and just pile them in the freezer to chill for whatever or whenever I need it.

What I really like about this crust recipe is how versatile it can be. You can use your favorite flours and feel free to make it as sweet or even savory as you want! The crust can even be made vegan with a vegan replacement for the butter and eggs. I have definitely done this in the past, and am happy to report that flax eggs do work well!

1 flax egg =  1 T flax + 3 T hot water

I will often cut out some of the sugar if I am going to freeze the dough,  just because I don't know what it will be made for at a later date, and I may not want it that sweet if it is being used for a savory quiche or something. If the dough will be used for pie, after letting it thaw and I'm rolling it out, I will just add a bit more sugar or syrup on it.

Suzy's Favorite Pie Crust

Yield: 1 crust (double for pie that requires a top and bottom crust)

1 1/2 cup finely ground oatmeal flour

1/2 cup butter or 1/4 cup coconut oil

2 eggs, or equivalent egg replacement (flax eggs do work!)*

2 t baking powder

3-4 T honey/agave/rice syrup
splash of vanilla extract

salt
cinnamon or other spices, if you desire

*Flax eggs do work, combine 2 T flax seed meal + 6 T hot water (allow to sit before combining to other ingredients. I actually prefer the taste and texture of the flax egg to the normal eggs, there's a subtle nuttiness:)
Combine all ingredients in a food process or a large bowl and combine until a dough forms. 

You can freeze the dough now to use later, if you like. Or fill it with your favorite pie fillings and bake!

You need to do a bit of patch-work to lay this crust out, I don't bother rolling it out into the pie dish, I just plop the whole dough ball down and flatten it out using floured (sorghum or a starch) hands.

Fill with favorite filling

Bake at 350° F for 35-40 minutes until the crust is lightly browned. If you pre-bake the crust before adding a filling, the crust won't need to bake as long, maybe 15 to 20 minutes.

Cheers,     Suzy

Crust for a Savory Dish

I use this crust for savory dishes, like this galette recipe that I will post soon

It is versatile and can easily accommodate for whatever ingredients you have or prefer to use.

Suzy Tip: I often add spices to my crust dough. This is another dimension of flavor not often thought about, and the addition makes the whole dish a little bit more special :)

Savory Crust

1 cup buckwheat flour
1 cup almond meal
pinch salt
3 T cold water
3 T coconut oil
any spices you like, I often add a pinch of paprika and/or rosemary depending on what I feel like.

Combine all ingredients. Being sure to keep the dough cool (so the coconut oil remains solid), roll it out.

Suzy Tip for rolling out dough: place the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, parchment or wax paper and, place another piece of plastic wrap/parchment/wax paper on top (you can even spray so it doesn't stick if your dough is really sticky).

Roll out the dough using a rolling pin or another cylindrical object (between the two papers). Remove the top paper, and place the dough in the pie dish or on the baking sheet
Top or fill with other tasty and wholesome ingredients.
Bake on prepared baking sheet with parchment or cooking spray, at 30 degrees for about 20 minutes, depending on filling (the galette cooks for 25-35 minutes)

Crust!

Other flours I would consider using  in place of buckwheat: (sweet white) sorghum flour, teff flour, corn flour, millet flour, quinoa flour, oatmeal flour (making your own is easy!)
The dough should be pliable, but not too sticky...depending on your flour substitution and humidity you may need to add more water, one teaspoon at a time!

What would you fill this crust with?

Clearly from the photos I made a galette with it, using garden fresh ingredients that I had on hand. It turned out really well, and will definitely be something I'll be making in the future! Be sure to check back, I'll have the recipe up for that soon!!

Cheers,
     Suzy

Banoffee Pie

I had the pleasure of making this pie and being able to share it with my grandparents. Following a lovely lunch, this was a really great way to end the meal. Sometimes you just need to make a tried-and-true, old-fashioned pie.

Well, it wasn't my tried-and-true per say, I had never made a Banoffee pie before. BUT, I went crazy researching recipes and comments for making Banoffee pie, until I was confident I had a no-fail recipe.

I had taken an interest in making one after reading another blogger's post about it's origins. 

I had always thought Banoffe pie had to do with coffee and bananas...but I was mistaken, it's toffee and banana! This is a brilliant combination and is a really nice change from chocolate-overload desserts that I am usually drawn to. Of course, chocolate is still made it's appearance on the pie, but only a little... as decoration. The bit of bitterness the dark chocolate lent the pie, did complement the super sweet bananas and toffee wonderfully.

This is a classic English dessert that I look forward to making again! It was a breeze to put together and the result is a grand presentation. 

What really won me over was the texture. The soft bananas and toffee pair really well with the chewy graham cracker crust and fluffy whipped topping.

Now, I will admit...while I was making the pie I was a little concerned about how it would turn out. To me, a layer of toffee just didn't seem...how do I want to put this...appetizing? I thought the banana and toffee were mixed together as a filling before being put in the pie crust, instead of being layered separately like how the recipe called for. To make myself feel better, I did add a single layer of banana before pouring the toffee into the crust. There...that's better! Whew. I realize this isn't normal, but I liked it, and I don't think anyone would really notice...or care for that matter.

Banoffee Pie

adapted from maameemoomoo
yield: 1 10 inch pie

2 1/2 cup gluten free graham cracker, crushed
1/4 cup almond meal as needed
1 cup butter, melted
1 can condensed milk
5 bananas, divided
200 ml whipping cream
1/4 cup dark chocolate, melted

Fill a large pot with water and submerge the can of condensed milk in the water. Place the pot on the stove and bring to a boil. Continue to boil the water for 2 hours, adding more water as needed.
Remove the can and let cool completely.
I use the plastic baggie and rolling pin method for crushing graham crackers, I always end up with crumbs everywhere, If you prefer another method go for it.
Melt the butter, add the cracker crumbs and thoroughly mix. I thought my mixture was too wet still, so I added almost 1/4 cup of almond meal. Press mixture into the base and onto the sides of a 10 inch pie dish (I used a springform pan).
Chill for 1 hour.
Here is where I added one banana slice layer.
Open the can of condensed milk. Spread onto the base of your crust. Chill for 1 hour.
Peel and thinly slice the rest of the bananas, layer on top of the toffee layer.
Whip the cream for a few minutes on high (I used a hand-held blender), and spread this over the bananas.
Decorate with the melted dark chocolate.

This pie was also super easy to make gluten free. All you really need to do is buy gluten free graham crackers, which are now quite common to find in grocery stores. Of course if you are feeling really ambitious you could try to make your own graham crackers, but in this recipe I settled for store-bought.

Now, since making this recipe, I can say it is my tried-and-true, I look forward to making this again for another gathering.

What are some of your favorite flavor combinations?

I'm pretty sure banana and toffee will be making it's appearance in the kitchen much more frequently, and the chocolate...that will always be close at hand ;)

Cheers, 

     Suzy