You Put The Lime In The Coconut, And Shake It All Up!
A Summertime dessert that’s creamy, zesty, icy cold and oh, so delicious! Better yet, it’s sinfully sinless. If you’re like me and you’re trying to eat healthier, giving up dessert just makes me sad. This Creamy Lime and Coconut Refrigerator Pie is dairy free and vegan. It’s (almost) everything you want in a dessert, but with quite a bit less fat and calories. For 8 servings, this “pie” clocks in at about 250 calories per slice. Easy? Oh yes, it’s as easy as putting the ingredients into a food processor. Plus, it’s No-Bake, so no heating up the oven in the summertime for this delicious bit-‘o-business. Why not give it a try?
Creamy Without Any Cream
Quite a few years ago, I auditioned for the show Masterchef. It was a lot of fun, but I didn’t even make it past the first round. Cooking is one of my favorite hobbies and certainly, I am not shy. However I could see I was out at the verbal “interview”. My effervescent, bubbly personality did not win over the judges! I did get to have a short chat with Gordon Ramsey and believe me, he is quite charming and very good looking in person.
One thing I took away that day was “vegan cheesecake”. Another “wannabee” (and by the way, she did have a more effervescent personality than I, she made it through) made several versions of vegan cheesecake. At that time, I’d not even thought to start cooking vegan recipes. Well, we were lucky enough to get a taste of her cheesecakes and I was over the moon. They were so delicious! Vegan, dairy free and totally wonderful. Who would have thought? Certainly don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.
This Creamy Lime and Coconut Refrigerator Pie is similar to a vegan cheesecake. It’s raw and meant to be served very cold. In fact, you can put this pie into the freezer for about 30 minutes before serving to be sure it’s nice and cold and won’t melt too fast on the plate.
For a really good version of a vegan cheesecake, here’s a link to my recipe for Blueberry Vegan Cheesecake, this one only uses cashews, no tofu and it’s baked for about 1 hour: https://wp.me/p9KEfL-1Ps
You can see it’s creamy and thick. It does taste very much like a traditional cheesecake too.
Crazy for lime? Here’s my recipe for lime sherbet. A bit lighter than ice cream, but rich enough to make anyone happy. It’s positively sublime! https://wp.me/p9KEfL-OD
Creamy Lime and Coconut Refrigerator Pie
Early in the day, prepare the cashews. Put 1/2 cup cashews into a bowl and cover with boiling water. Let the cashews soak at least 3 hours before you make your filling.
For the crust:
into the bowl of your food processor, add 1/2 cup of pitted dates, 1/4 cup of almonds, 1/4 cup walnuts, 1/4 cup of shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened) and 1/4 cup quick cooking oats, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 2 tablespoons of honey or maple syrup. Pulse until finely crumbled.
Pour the mixture into a 8 inch spring form pan, then press into the bottom and just very slightly up the side (about 1/4 inch). Put the pan into the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.
For the filling:
Into the bowl of your food processor, add 16 ounces of drained, firm tofu.
Add the soaked cashews, drained of any water. Next add 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice. That’s about 5 or 6 limes, plus the zest of 3 of the limes. Add 1/2 cup of coconut cream. That’s the thickest part of the canned coconut milk. To get the cream, put the can into the refrigerator or freezer for about an hour before opening. Then just scoop out the hardened coconut cream. That’s about 1/2 cup in a can of whole fat coconut milk.
NOTE: Keep the unused milk for coconut rice, or make a few Pina Coloadas. If you want to keep the milk longer than a few days, pour into ice cube molds, then freeze. Pop out when frozen and store in freezer bags for future recipes.
Next, add 1/4 cup of honey or maple syrup and either of the following, a pinch of salt, the seeds of 1 whole vanilla bean, 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon coconut extract.
Blend until the mixture is very smooth. Pour into the prepared pan. As it sets, the cake will weep a bit through the springform pan. I put the cake on top of a plate or pie pan. Cover the top with plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight to set.
Once set, garnish with some shredded coconut and more lime zest. To serve, remove from the refrigerator and serve while very cold.
Enjoy!
Lime and Coconut Refrigerator Pie (Vegan/Dairy Free)
Notes
For the leftover coconut milk: Keep the rest for coconut rice, or make a few Pina Coloadas. If you want to keep the milk longer, put into ice cube molds, then freeze. Pop out when frozen and store in freezer bags for future recipes.
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 1/4 cup roasted or raw almonds
- 1/4 cup roasted or raw walnuts
- 1/2 cup dates, pitted
- 1/4 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut (plus extra for garnish)
- 1/4 cup Quick cooking oats
- 1/4 tsp. fine sea salt
- 2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
For the Filling
- 16 ounces soft, silken tofu, drained
- 1/2 cup soaked raw cashews
- 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lime juice, plus zest (save some zest for garnish)
- 1/2 cup coconut cream* (from 1 can whole fat coconut milk)
- 1/4 cup honey or maple syrup
- beans from 1 whole vanilla bean or substitute 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
- 1 teaspoon coconut extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Garnish:
- Lime zest and shredded unsweetened coconut
Instructions
- Early in the day, prepare the cashews.
- Put 1/2 cup cashews into a bowl and cover with boiling water.
- Let the cashews soak at least 3 hours before you make your filling.
For the crust
- Into the bowl of your food processor, add the almonds, walnuts, dates, oats and salt with the honey or maple syrup.
- Pulse until the mixture becomes finely crumbled.
- Pour the mixture into a 8 inch spring form pan, then press into the bottom and just very slightly up the side (about 1/4 inch).
- Put the pan into the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.
For the filling:
- Into the bowl of your food processor, add 16 ounces of drained, firm tofu.
- Add the soaked cashews, drained of any water.
- Add 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice. That’s about 5 or 6 limes, plus the zest of 3 of the limes, 1/2 cup of coconut cream. That's the thickest part of the canned coconut milk. To get the cream, put the can into the refrigerator or freezer for about an hour before opening. Then just scoop out the hardened coconut cream. That's about 1/2 cup in a can of whole fat coconut milk.
- Add 1/4 cup of honey or maple syrup, a pinch of salt. Add either the seeds of 1 whole vanilla bean, 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon coconut extract.
- Blend until the mixture is very smooth.
- Pour into the prepared pan.
- As it sets, the cake will weep a bit through the springform pan. Put the cake on top of a plate or pie pan. Cover the top with plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight to set.
- Once set, garnish with some shredded coconut and more lime zest. To serve, remove from the refrigerator and serve while very cold.
- Enjoy!
Karen Harris https://www.bittersaltysoursweet.com
