Beautifully tart and lusciously creamy, this vegan pie takes your taste buds on a tropical vacation. The tangy filling has a rich, custardy texture thanks to agar powder, a gelatin-like thickener made from seaweed. A lightly salted crust perfectly complements the fresh citrus that shines through in this show-stopping dessert. Garnish with fresh lime slices for extra presentation points!
This recipe was originally published on Aug 6, 2021, and has been updated.
By Mary Margaret Chappell, Nov 7, 2022
INGREDIENTS
- 1¼ cups spelt flour, whole wheat flour, or whole wheat pastry flour
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
- 3 tablespoons almond butter or sunflower butter
- 1¾ cups unsweetened, unflavored plant-based milk
- 1½ teaspoons agar powder
- ½ to ⅔ cup pure maple syrup
- ¾ cup lime juice (from 4 to 6 regular limes or 10 to 12 Key limes)
- 1 tablespoon lime zest
- Lime slices, for garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350°F. In a medium bowl stir together flour and salt. Using your fingers, rub almond butter into the flour mixture until it looks like coarse sand. Stir in ½ to ⅔ cup very hot water until a smooth, firm dough forms.
- On a well-floured work surface, roll out dough to an 11-inch round. Press dough into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch pie plate; prick the bottom all over with a fork. Bake about 20 minutes or until crust is dry and lightly browned. Set aside to cool.
- For filling, measure milk in a measuring cup; remove 2 tablespoons milk to a small bowl. Add agar to the small bowl and stir to make a paste.
- In a large saucepan, heat the remaining milk until just boiling. Whisk in the agar mixture and cook on a low boil for 5 minutes, whisking constantly. Transfer mixture to a medium bowl and cool 30 minutes.
- When the milk mixture is just warm to the touch, stir in maple syrup, lime juice, and zest. Pour the filling into the crust. Chill at least 4 hours or overnight. Garnish with lime slices.
