If you love pecan pie like I do, you will love this vegan pecan pie. Just like the traditional recipe (I love the one from Sally’s Baking Addiction), it brings back a lot of childhood memories from Canada. My parents used to get it for the holidays or occasionally as a treat: the sweet creamy caramel flan and toasted nuts sitting on a buttery crust won me over every single time.
As a foodie adult, I never took a stab at making it, convinced it would pale in comparison to the “real thing”. And to be frank, when we moved to France, I was far too busy discovering tarte Tatin, chocolat fondants, crème brûlée and profiteroles to even try.
But the other day, while searching for a gluten, dairy and sugar-free dessert, I stumbled on this recipe, and memories of sweet caramel pecan flavors flooded my mind. Generally not easily convinced by the use of dates and coconut cream to make vegan versions of classic desserts, I hesitated, but finally gave it a shot. And did not regret it. You could never even in your wildest dreams imagine it has no sugar or dairy in it, it’s out of this world delicious. Try, you’ll see.
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 1/2 cups almond flour
- 1/3 cup coconut flour
- 1/2 cup coconut butter or coconut oil
- 1/3 cup coconut nectar or other sweetener of your choice
Flan
- 1 1/2 cup of pitted dates
- 1 cup coconut cream (not milk)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup of coconut oil
Topping
- 1 1/4 cup of pecans, slightly crushed
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F
- Mix the flours together
- In a small bowl mix the coconut nectar and coconut butter and place in the microwave for 30 seconds to make sure it’s liquified
- Add coconut butter-nectar to the flours and combine well. The texture should resemble coarse meal.
- Press it down onto a 9×9 inch pan, lined with parchment paper
- Place in oven for 10-15 minutes or until golden
- Let cool
- Toast the pecans over medium heat for about 5 minutes and add salt. Let cool
- Prepare the filling: in a blender, mix all the filling ingredients until it forms a creamy caramel color mixture.
- Pour the filling onto the cooled crust and top with chopped toasted pecans
- Place covered in the fridge for 2 hours and cut into squares or slices
