Butternut Squash Pie with Oat Crust: A vegan, gluten-free treat filled with the scents of the season
CBC Life | Posted: October 1, 2021 6:31 PM | Last Updated: October 1, 2021
Pumpkin who? Rachel Conners’ recipe makes a different squash the star
Gourd tidings! ‘Tis officially the season when we begin to swap our summer squash for the winter variety — slicing and roasting them up with lots of spices, and using them as filling for our favourite sweets too. This recipe from Rachel Conners’ cookbook, Bakerita: 100+ No-Fuss Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, and Refined Sugar-Free Recipes for the Modern Baker, has you doing both. The recipe uses slow-roasted butternut squash in the place of canned pumpkin and nestles it in an oatmeal crust for a pie that’s vegan and gluten-free, and a dreamy, spiced treat for those with or without dietary restrictions.
Butternut Squash Pie with Oat Crust
By Rachel Conners
VEGAN • GLUTEN-FREE • DAIRY-FREE
Move over, pumpkin pie—there’s a new squash pie in town! Pumpkin has become standard on our holiday tables, but I find butternut squash to have a flavor that’s even sweeter and more delicious than pumpkin. This pie uses roasted butternut squash in place of the more traditional canned pumpkin for a standout pie. The scents of maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and vanilla waft from the oven as the pie bakes in its oatmeal crust, and when it’s served with a hearty scoop of whipped coconut cream on top, you’ll want to devour every bite. This one is a new holiday staple for me!
Ingredients
- 1 butternut squash, about 1 pound
For the crust:
- 1½ cups (144 g) blanched almond flour
- 1 cup (96 g) gluten-free quick oats
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ⅓ cup (67 g) refined coconut oil, softened (see Tip)
- ¼ cup (85 g) pure maple syrup
For the filling:
- ¾ cup canned full-fat coconut milk
- ⅔ cup (96 g) coconut sugar
- ¼ cup (28 g) tapioca flour
- 2 tbsp creamy almond butter
- 2 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp allspice
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- ⅛ tsp ground cloves
For the garnish:
- 1 (13.5 oz) can full-fat coconut cream, chilled overnight
- Ground cinnamon, for dusting
Preparation
BEFORE you begin, roast the squash for the filling. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut the squash in half lengthwise. Put the squash, cut-side down, on the baking sheet and roast for 45 to 60 minutes, until a knife easily pierces the squash through to the center. Let the squash cool slightly, remove the skin and seeds, and then measure 2½ cups of slightly mashed squash to use in the filling. Reserve any remaining squash for another use.
FOR THE CRUST: Keep the oven heated to 350°F (or heat it now, if you cooked the squash in advance). Thoroughly grease a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate or deep tart pan (at least 2 inches deep) with coconut oil.
IN a large mixing bowl, whisk the almond flour with the quick oats, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt until well mixed. Add the coconut oil and maple syrup and use a spoon to mix until all the dry ingredients are incorporated and no chunks of coconut oil remain.
PRESS the dough into the prepared pie pan, making sure to cover the bottom evenly and press the dough up the sides. (I like to use the base of a flat-bottomed measuring cup to press in the sides and make sure the bottom is flat.)
FOR THE FILLING: Combine the reserved 2½ cups of squash and the other filling ingredients in a blender or food processor fitted with the metal blade. Blend until completely smooth, scraping down the sides of the blender or food processor bowl as necessary. Pour the filling into the pie shell and tap against the counter a few times to release any air bubbles.
PLACE the pie on a baking sheet and bake for about 45 minutes, until the sides are set and the center jiggles only slightly when the pan is gently shaken.
TURN off the oven and prop the door open with a wooden spoon. Let the pie cool in the oven for 30 minutes. Transfer the pie to a wire rack to cool to room temperature, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 12 hours before serving.
TO SERVE: Drain any liquid from the can of coconut cream. (Keep this liquid or not; it’s good in smoothies.) Transfer the thick cream to a mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk the chilled coconut cream by hand or in the mixer until creamy, about 30 seconds. Spread the coconut cream over the top of the pie. With a fine-mesh strainer, dust the coconut cream with cinnamon and serve immediately.
TIP:
The coconut oil should be the texture of softened butter. If it melts to a liquid because the kitchen is too warm, refrigerate for 15 to 20 minutes until it solidifies.
Yield: 12 slices
Excerpted from Bakerita 100+ No-Fuss Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, and Refined Sugar-Free Recipes for the Modern Baker by Rachel Conners (C) 2020 Reproduced by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.