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cathdchoi

Brazilian Strawberry Pie

Vegan strawberry pie, just like the ones they sell in Brazilian bakeries. A dessert everyone loves, easier than you think, a quick and easy recipe to impress.

Today's post is dedicated to Mother's Day. I took a poll on Instagram and Youtube asking what was the dish that reminded you of Mother's Day lunch, and as everyone said a different recipe, I realized that everyone has a different and personal tradition for this day. And although no one gave the same answer in this poll, most of you mentioned a dessert.

Brazilian bakery Strawberry Pie reminds me of Mother's Day. A traditional dessert for a special date.

So, I decided to bring a dessert that reminds me of Mother's Day, especially my grandma. Who is like a mother to me, that was even a time when everyone thought she lived with me because she loved so much spending time with me so that she basically just stayed in my house 4 days out of 7 days a week, who is the strongest and most determined woman I've ever met, and who unfortunately left us this year. This dessert reminds me of my grandmother because next to her house there was a bakery that made an amazing Strawberry Pie and she bought it for us to eat together when I went to her house, so in honor of her I veganized this delicious recipe.


The first part of this recipe is to wash the strawberries correctly, to preserve them well, and not ruin your pie. I like to prepare 400g of strawberries, even though I know I won't use it all, I prefer to have more and be able to choose the most beautiful strawberries than to be stuck with ugly strawberries or fewer strawberries.


Ingredients list at the end of the post!


Strawberries can't be soaked while they are being washed so they don't absorb water and runoff in the pie, so first run them quickly under running water, then run them in a mixture of 1 part vinegar to 10 parts water also quickly and put them to dry on a clean cloth or paper towel while preparing the other parts of the recipe.


The pie dough can be made in different ways. You can prepare it by hand or in a food processor, it can be made with vegan butter, vegan margarine, or coconut oil preferably refined (no coconut smell or taste).


In the Food Processor:

  1. Add the flour and sugar and pulse until well blended.

  2. Gradually add, while pulsing the food processor, the fat of your choice. (If you're using Vegan Butter, it needs to be chilled and cut into smaller pieces. If you're using Vegan Margarine, add it cold one spoon at a time. And the Coconut Oil needs to be frozen and cut into smaller pieces)

  3. When the mix looks like sand, add the vodka and ice water little by little while pulsing.

  4. When you feel that everything is evenly spread, remove the content of the food processor on the kitchen bench and press everything together and you will have a dough. Don't knead too much, just enough to form the dough.

  5. Store the dough in plastic wrap or in a container with a lid in the fridge for 15 minutes before continuing.

  6. With the help of a rolling pin, stretch the dough on the counter, enough to fit in a 23 cm round baking pan.

  7. Transfer the dough to the pan, lifting the edges and fit well into the bottom and pierce the entire bottom with a fork.

  8. Let the dough rest in the freezer for 10min and bake in a preheated oven at maximum temperature until golden (8-13min depending on the oven)

  9. When you take the dough out of the oven, you will notice that the dough has gone down a little on the sides, but that's how it is. While the dough cools, prepare the filling.

By Hand:

  1. Mix flour and sugar

  2. Add the fat of your choice (If you're using Vegan Butter, it needs to be cold and cut into very small pieces. If you're using Vegan Margarine, it needs to be cold. And the Coconut Oil needs to be frozen and cut into very small pieces)

  3. Mix with your fingertips, kneading the pieces of fat into the flour, without using your whole hand so you don't melt the fat too much.

  4. When the dough looks like sand, add the vodka and water, spreading the liquid part well into the dough.

  5. When you feel that everything is evenly spread out, you can squeeze everything together and add the dough. Don't knead too much, just enough to form the dough.

  6. Store the dough in plastic wrap or in a container with a lid in the fridge for 15 minutes before continuing.

  7. With the help of a rolling pin, stretch the dough on the counter, enough to fit in a 23 cm round baking pan.

  8. Transfer the dough to the pan, lifting the edges and fit well into the bottom and pierce the entire bottom with a fork.

  9. Let the dough rest in the freezer for 10min and bake in a preheated oven at maximum temperature until golden (8-13min depending on the oven)

  10. When you take the dough out of the oven, you will notice that the dough has gone down a little on the sides, but that's how it is. While the dough cools, prepare the filling.


The pie filling can be made with soy milk, cashew milk, almonds, or coconut. You can use any plant-based milk other than oat or rice, as these kinds of milk have a lot of starch which can end up making the filling too thick. Preferably use non-sweetened milk. But if your only option is milk that's already sweet and flavored, you may have to lower the amounts of sugar and vanilla in the recipe.


The Filling:

  1. First, mix the corn starch and sugar so the starch dissolves easier in the milk.

  2. Add the milk to the pan, and add the vanilla and the sugar and starch mixture. Mix and dissolve everything before turning on the heat.

  3. With everything dissolved, turn on your medium heat and mix non-stop.

  4. When it starts to boil in a matter of seconds the mixture will start to thicken. Then keep mixing, until everything thickens and has the consistency of porridge, and then turn off the heat.

  5. Remove the dough from the pan, put it on a plate, and put the filling inside.

While the filling is cooling, prepare the Gel. The method of preparing the gel is similar to the filling, but the consistency of the gel cannot be as thick as the filling.


The Gel:

  1. First, mix the corn starch and sugar so the starch dissolves easier in the water.

  2. Add all the ingredients to the pan and dissolve well before turning on the heat.

  3. Turn on medium heat and stir constantly.

  4. When it starts to boil in a matter of seconds the gel will start to turn transparent and thicken. Then keep stirring for 2min

  5. Turn off the heat and let it cool down.

The gel can't be hot when you assemble the pie, but it can't be cold either. At room temperature it is ideal.


Assembling the Pie:

  1. While the gel cools, cut the strawberries, which are already dry, in half, leaving some whole as an option to place in the middle of the pie.

  2. Make sure the filling is at room temperature before adding the strawberries. Then place the halves of the strawberries from the outside to the inside of the pie, forming circles, and place a whole strawberry in the center.

  3. Now with the gel at room temperature, with a tablespoon put an amount of gel in the center, and spread it from the inside out to cover all the strawberries.

  4. With the help of a spoon, cover the edges of the strawberries with crushed and toasted cashews to decorate and that's it.

  5. Now just leave it for two hours in the fridge for the filling and gel to harden.

INGREDIENTS:

Pie Crust:

  • 200g of all-purpose flour

  • 100g of sugar

  • 100g Vegan Butter/vegan margarine/refined coconut oil

  • 1 tablespoon of ice-cold vodka

  • 1 tablespoon of ice water

Filling:

  • 450ml of soy milk

  • 52g of corn starch

  • 150g of sugar

  • 1 and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Gel:

  • 7g of corn starch

  • 63g of sugar

  • 125ml of water

  • ¼ teaspoon red food coloring gel

Step by step of the recipe:

I hope you enjoyed this recipe, if you make this vegan strawberry pie post a photo and tag me on Instagram (@cathchoi) because I really want to see how it turned out


See you in my next post!

Bye!



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