Refreshment in a crust. This tart-sweet pie is filled with a creamy, lemony pudding punctuated with happy flecks of lemon zest, topped off with a fluffy cloud of Coconut Whipped Topping. It’s a light finish to a heavy meal. Because it’s no-bake and citrusy, it’s a summer dessert no-brainer, but also a great side-note sally to a rich holiday meal. Who needs an oven with a pie like this?
Lemon Fluff Pie
Makes one 9-inch (23 cm) pie
- 1 All-Purpose Cookie Crust made with graham crackers or gluten-free graham crackers
- ½ cup (120 ml) fresh lemon juice 1 tablespoon (8 g) agar
- 1 (12-ounce, or 336 g) container aseptic-packaged firm silken tofu (do not use refrigerated tofu; it’s too grainy for this recipe)
- 1 (8-ounce, or 225 g) container nondairy cream cheese
- 2 cups (240 g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) lemon extract
- 1 teaspoon arrowroot
- 2 tablespoons (12 g) finely grated lemon zest, plus extra for garnish
- Pinch of turmeric, to boost yellow color (no more than 1/8 teaspoon)
- 2 recipes Coconut Whipped Cream or your favorite nondairy whipped cream
Preheat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC, or gas mark 6).
Press the crust into a pan and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool thoroughly before filling.
Pour the lemon juice and agar flakes into a small microwave-safe bowl.
Nuke for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the agar flakes are all dissolved and the liquid is very hot. Set aside and let cool completely.
In a food processor, mix the tofu, cream cheese, sugar, lemon extract, arrowroot, and lemon zest until creamy. Better to overprocess than underprocess. Add the lemon juice–agar mixture and continue processing.
Pour the filling into the prepared crust, leaving ¼ inch (6 mm) of headspace. Do not overfill. If you have any extra, pour it into ramekins to make individual lemon puddings. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours. I suggest freezing for an hour before serving.
Published with permission from the lovely Dynise Balcavage via her brilliant new cookbook that you must own at once (click the link below!)
Dynise Balcavage blogs at urbanvegan.net. Her third cookbook, Pies and Tarts with Heart, is out now!