If you’re thinking about a last minute sweet treat for Valentine’s Day I warmly recommend this creamy citrus pie with tahini caramel. Why? Because it simply is one of the best pies I’ve ever tasted. And I have my family to back me up, they’re expert taste testers 😉 This pie is very easy to make, too – all of this yumminess can be whipped up in mere 30 minutes!
I am a 100% pie person, if one can be categorized as such. I’ve baked probably hundreds of pies in my life and tasted thousands. Okay so I might be exaggerating just a tiny bit, but I’m not kidding when I say I love vegan pies the most. Vegan pies just taste more real and they usually contain pretty creative ingredients. At least the pies I’m talking about – the slightly healthified pies, where refined wheat flour, butter/margarine, and white refined sugar has been replaced with healthier alternatives.
The “healthifying” of foods is tricky though, because sometimes you end up creating something that tastes too healthy. A pie has to taste like real pie, not like a healthified version of a pie. When I take the first spoonful of a pie, I want it to taste as sweet as the pies I remember from my childhood. This pie is a healthified pie, but it tastes 100% real. The tahini caramel, whipped cream and soft crust is a melt-in-your-mouth kind of combination, and the citrus fruits give a delightful tangy flavor to balance the sweetness.
This pie is a winter version of my first recipe on the blog: blueberry pie with whipped coconut cream, which I baked a lot last summer. What makes this pie taste of winter are the juicy fresh citrus fruits, which are in season now. This pie is an excellent example of seasonal baking as you can modify the toppings according to the season. There’s something wintery also in the flavorful tahini caramel sauce, which is spread on top of the crust. I will definitely try this caramelly spread on top of my summer pie as well. With fresh berries I’m sure it tastes as delicious as this citrus creation. So, if you have an extra 30 minutes, what are you waiting for – take out your apron (everyone has a baking apron, right?!) and start baking 🙂
- [b]Pie crust[/b]
- ½ cup oat flour
- ½ cup rice flour (I use white rice flour)
- 2 tbsp coconut sugar
- ½ tsp Ceylon cinnamon
- ¼ tsp Himalayan salt (or other good quality salt)
- 3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
- 3,5 tbsp cold water
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- [b]Tahini caramel[/b]
- 8 pitted dates
- 4 tbsp plant based milk (I used oat milk)
- 1 tbsp tahini (I use a slightly salted version)
- 1/2 tsp Ceylon cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp vanilla powder
- If the tahini is not salted, add a pinch of Himalayan salt (or other quality salt)
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- [b]Whipped cream[/b]
- ~ 1 cup plant-based whipped cream (I have used coconut cream, oat cream and soy cream, and they all taste delicious)
- 1/4 tsp Ceylon cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp vanilla powder
- 1 tsp maple syrup (if using unsweetened cream like coconut cream)
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- [b]Toppings[/b]
- ~1/2 cup small pieces of citrus fruits of choice: oranges, blood oranges, lime, lemon, pink grape fruit, pomelo.
- A sprinkle of coconut sugar on top (especially good when using tangy lime and lemon)
- [b]Pie crust[/b]: Preheat oven to 180C/360F.
- Combine together dry ingredients: oat flour, rice flour, coconut sugar, cinnamon and salt.
- Add melted coconut oil and mix well with a spoon until crumble like consistency reached (at this point the dough is very crumbly).
- Add cold water 1 tbsp at a time and mix well until the batter can be rolled into a ball. The batter will still be crumbly but firm enough to press into a baking tin.
- Press batter into a small (~18 cm / 7 inch) lightly greased baking tin. I used two small heart-shaped ones and a little bit of coconut oil for greasing.
- Bake for 10 minutes until crust turns golden brown. If you’re using a larger (~20 cm / 8 inch) baking tin, the baking time should be less (as the crust is thinner), ~8 minutes. Try to make sure that the crust doesn’t become dry. Two small baking tins work well as the crust is quite thick, and it stays soft.
- While the pie is in the oven, whip up your plant-based cream and tahini caramel sauce.
- [b]Tahini caramel sauce:[/b] blend all ingredients in a food processor or high-speed blender until a smooth paste like consistency reached.
- [b]Whipped cream:[/b] if you’re using coconut milk, take coconut milk can out of the fridge, scoop out the stiffened creamy part, add sweetener, vanilla and cinnamon and beat with a hand mixer until fluffy and creamy. If you’re using soy or oat cream which is already sweet, just whip it up with a hand mixer and add vanilla and cinnamon.
- Let pie crust cool for a while and spread the tahini caramel paste and fluffy whipped cream on top.
- Add small pieces of citrus fruit on top and sprinkle some coconut sugar.
- Enjoy!
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Oh TIINA this recipe sounds amazing. So sad that I don’t have all ingredients to recreate it for tomorrow . But I might find a way :)? Lots of love , Annelina
Thank You dear <3 I really love this pie combo, you should def give it a try 😉 Hope you've had a lovely week so far. Lots of love! xoxo Tiina
This looks so so good Tiina! Love the additional on tahini.
Lots of love, Niki ?
Hi Niki! Thanks so much for stopping by 🙂 The tahini gives such a lovely flavor to this pie, my whole family loves it a lot. Hope you’re well <3 xoxo Tiina
Haha. I actually do have an apron! Somewhere… :S 😀 The flavor combinations in this are on point. All my favorites. And the fact it’s quick, easy, and wholesome is also good with me 🙂
Thank you Audrey 🙂 I’m glad you have an apron too. I use mine every day, otherwise my clothes just get too messy haha. This pie works so well in winter time. Love the warming elements but also the cheerful citrus 🙂 xoxo Tiina
Oh my goodness, Tiina. This is beautiful! Love that you added tahini!
Lots of love,
Lynn
Hi Lynn dear and Thank You 🙂 Tahini is such a versatile food! We use it every day, and in this pie it’s just perfect. Hope everything’s good! xoxo Tiina
These must be really delightful! They look so cute ♥
summerdaisy.net
I love that your pies are heavy on the whipped topping, because that’s always my favorite part! I can see why you are a pie person, they have all the right textures going on: crusty cookie, rich cream, light cream, and fruit! I actually wasn’t much of a pie person till after I became vegan and discovered how versatile and fruity pies could be. Scanning through the ingredients I think this could be a breakfast pie, no? And the citrus pops so well on the white, so pretty <3