Triple Berry Pie

For the first time in way too many weeks, I had a weekend off. A weekend to lie around and do absolutely nothing….ya know, except for bake and cook non stop. My boyfriend was coming into town, and I hadn’t seen him for a month. It was time to make a special something! Now, if you have ever asked for an opinion from a man EVER than you know the answer is pretty consistent. “Whatever you make, I’ll eat it.” *Le sigh* So I narrowed it down to make it reeeaaallll easy. What’s your favorite fruit? “Strawberry.” OH MY GOODNESS HE ANSWERED.

I went from there, strawberry alone? eh. Strawberry cheesecake? eh. Strawberry rhubarb? YUM. To bad no store in town had rhubarb. Womp womp.

So Triple Berry Pie it is!

I haven’t had pie in so long because everytime I’m in a vegan bakery I always get distracted by the pretty cupcakes!!!! But I was determined. Now I cannot tell a lie, I wasn’t ready to try and make a crust on my own so I grabbed the basic recipe from ‘Chloe’s Vegan Desserts’, and then made the filling on my lonesome. Even though I was disappointed by the no rhubarb thing, the triple berry pie ended up being the MOST wonderful decadence to have around on a weekend off. It might have even been lunch one day! So here’s my filling that I also suggest making into an ice cream topping, a fruit crumble, or as always…straight with a spoon.

Triple Berry Pie Filling
1 1/2 cup quartered strawberries
1 3/4 cups raspberries
1 1/4 cups blueberries
1/2 cup cane sugar
2 TBSP lemon juice
2 TBSP corn starch
1 TBSP chia seeds

Start by preheating the oven to 400*

Make the crust you have chosen, and get it almost completely prepared before you make the filling. In a large bowl, mix together all the berries. Mix one ingredient at a time, until all is thoroughly tossed in a bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in your refrigerator for about 10 mins. This allows the flavors to get wonderfully meshed as well as letting some of the moisture seep out.

While this is chilling, put your bottom crust into a 9inch pie dish and prep it for the filling. After you pull your fruit from the fridge, using a slotted spoon, spoon the fruit into the pie crust letting the extra moisture fall back into the bowl. The strawberries are going to release enough water when they cook that any extra water is just going to make the crust soggy. YERKY!

Lay your top crust on, either lattice or full top, and pinch the sides together. (For an extra sweetness kick, sprinkle some cane sugar on top) If you are doing the full crust, make sure to poke holes in the top to allow steam to release from the inside. And why not make a pretty design while you’re at it?! Place your pie into the oven for 15 minutes at 400*. After 15 mins, reduce the temperature 350* and cook for another 20-25 minutes.

After your pie is done baking, let it cool. Now comes the best part, eating a very, VERY large slice…to make sure it tastes juuuusssttt right;)

I hope you enjoy! Leave me comments on how yours turns out!

xoxo thissimplevegan

Coconut Cupcakes with Chai Tea Frosting…for a nut-free birthday!

It is so. cold. Yesterday on my walk home I knew I needed something warm to keep my fingers from freezing off, so I stopped into a coffee shop and grabbed a chai tea latte with soy milk. When I got home, my roommate and I began to talk about plans for our third roommates birthday. Unfortunately I wasn’t going to be there for the actual day, so I figured I could make her birthday treats a little early. She has a nut allergy, so peanut butter was out…She’s also been eating vegan for awhile (yay!)….and THEN it came to me. CHAI, with…..COCONUT!!!!!!

Furiously my brain started churning with recipe ideas. I’ve been working with baking proportions and making sure they would rise correctly or wouldn’t be too dense, etc. etc.

After compiling all my ingredients I was ready to try it out.

It worked. OH MAN did it work. Chai tea frosting: WHO KNEW?!?! Better than anything, was my roommate coming home to try her birthday treats and loving them!

Here’s the recipe! Enjoy!

Makes 12 cupcakes

Cupcake
1 heaping c flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2c cane sugar
1/2c coconut shreds
1/8 tsp salt
1c coconut milk
1/4c coconut oil
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Frosting
1/2c softened Earth Balance butter
3c Vegan powdered sugar
2 chai tea bags
1/4c hemp milk
1/8tsp cinnamon
1/8tsp nutmeg
extra coconut shreds for toasting

Preheat oven to 350* F. Line a muffin pan with liners and spray with cooking spray.

In a small bowl pour in your coconut milk and vinegar to start the curdling process. Let sit for a few minutes.

Grab a larger bowl for your dry ingredients. Sift together all the dry ingredients, and mix.
In your small bowl with your milk and vinegar, pour the rest of you wet ingredients in and mix with a hand mixer. After the wet ingredients are combined, pour into the dry ingredients and mix again with your mixer until there are no lumps.

Fill each cupcake tin about 2/3 of the way. Place into the oven for 20-22 minutes. You should be able to smell the sweet aroma 😉

For the frosting, warm your hemp milk in a mug. Take both of your chai tea bags and steep in the milk for 10 minutes.

While the cupcakes cool, beat your softened butter until fluffy and smooth. Add in your nutmeg, cinnamon, and steeped chai as well as one cup of powdered sugar. Mix this with your hand mixer. After this is mixed, add in another cup of powdered sugar, mix, and then add your last cup of powdered sugar. It should be a light creamy texture with soft peaks.

The last step is to toast up some coconut shreds and sprinkle it on top of your iced cupcakes!

These turned out absolutely DIVINE, and I hope you enjoy them! Please leave comments on your experience!

xoxo thissimplevegan

Mocha Chocolate Cheesecake

Hello, and welcome to my brand spanking new blog!

I am so excited about this new adventure and could not be happier that you are joining me on it. I spent a lot of time trying to decide what kind of blog I wanted to write, but after over thinking it (which you will find I do with everything) I decided to not decide at all. My initial want for starting this blog was to share how living a vegan life style can be simple, healthy, AND flavorful all at the same time.

At this point I am BURSTING with recipes I want to share with all of you, but for tonight just this one. In my heart I am a through and through dessert girl. I love baking, and creating something sweet and beautiful all at once. So for my first big dessert post I thought of a decadence from my childhood. This Mocha Chocolate Cheesecake is inspired by a recipe from my best friend’s mother, who used to make this for me on my birthday! So without further adieu, the recipe for this mouth-watering cheesecake. You will need….

9″ spring form pan

Crust
1 1/4 c Chocolate Cookie crumbles (oreo cookies work, I used the 100 calorie thins)
1/4 c Melted Non Dairy Margarine (Earth Balance)

Filling
8oz Non Dairy Cream Cheese (Daiya is my favorite)
1/2 a block firm Tofu (any brand should be fine/ not silken)
13.5oz can of Unsweetened Coconut Milk
2 Tbsp Agave Nectar (Light)
1/2c Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1/2c Melted Non Dairy Chocolate chips
1 TBSP Instant coffee mixed with 1 tsp water

If you have a tofu press, place your tofu into it and press for about 20 minutes to get most of the water out. If not, wrap your block in a towel and put it in between two plates with something heavy stacked on top.

In a large bowl, combine the cookie crumbles with the melted butter until well coated. Pour into the springform and press down until bottom is coated.

After the bottom is in the pan, scoop your cream cheese into a separate large bowl. Use either a hand mixer or stand up and whip it until it has fluffed up and is no longer a singular mass. In a blender, throw in (I mean you don’t have to throw it, you can if you want though) your tofu, coconut milk and agave. Blend these together until they are a smooth, creamy consistency. After thoroughly blended, pour into the large bowl with the cream cheese and your cocoa powder. Use your mixer to combine all the ingredients. Finally, grab your melted chocolate chips and instant coffee and mix in with your mixer.

Once everything has been combined, pour your filling into the spring form pan and even it out with a spatula (or whatever else you want to use…it could be a knife if you want to get REALLY crazy) Place your spring form pan, uncovered, into the freezer and let it sit there for at least 2-3 hours. After the original freezing I like to cover it with tin foil so it doesn’t get ice crystals on the top.

At this point your only job is to cut yourself a very large slice, and top with your favorite fresh fruit!!

Enjoy, and please let me know how yours turns out!

xo thissimplevegan