Easy Vegan Pineapple Berry Pie

May I introduce you to this recipe, it is the smooth vegan pineapple berry pie that’s made spontaneously on a whim using canned fruit, frozen berries and some basics from the pantry. It’s almost too easy to make and will stand out on its own. However, if you wish to impress your guests, or merely feel like pampering yourself, I suggest you whip up some plant cream for a wow effect. Add a few mint leaves and fresh strawberries on top, and voilà, you have created a guaranteed crowd pleaser. Don’t let the modest appearance fool you, as the pie is a charmer. Simple things usually work, and this recipe is not an exception!

Ingredients

• canned pineapple
• frozen strawberries
• frozen blueberries
• lemon
• potato flour
• powdered sugar
• wheat flour
• graham flour
• granulated sugar
• baking powder
• salt
• vanilla extract
• coconut oil
• water

Why do we love pie?

Could it be merely the concept of it? Or the straightforwardness where a perfect pastry, crust or dough joins forces with delicious filling? There are many variations known to us from posh apricot tartlets and apple pies to decadent chocolate tarts. As much as I love these carefully crafted, flaky-crusted desserts, I occasionally prefer to take the shorter route. Therefore I created this easy, yet delicious dessert pie recipe, to tend your hasty sweet tooth.

The mindfulness effect

Baking, in general, makes me feel somewhat nostalgic. Mixing or kneading the dough is soothing and the best part is that precious waiting. Waiting patiently for the mind-blowing scent to float out of the oven and through the corridor to your neighbors’ house, just to let them know you are baking something undeniably good. Once again!

It is about cherishing memories and creating new ones. Sharing tricks and exchanging tips we have learned along the way. We Finns take pride in our food traditions and bake a lot with fresh and preserved berries and fruit throughout the year. It is rather incredible how the change in the season shows the ingredient in a different light. One can appreciate the freshness and the feel of awaiting summer when nature is still asleep until the coming spring.

Those sweet connections

My Mother used to make pies like this when I was a kid. And now looking back, I realize how spoiled I was to enjoy home-baked goods weekly and straight from the oven in our kitchen. My favorites were then, and still, are, the classic blueberry and tangy rhubarb pie. I will be sharing these recipes with you this coming summer when the season bares fruit!

Those fond memories are behind my passion for cooking for others, for pursuing the connection and comfort that food brings about. I feel great joy when I get to create a setting for people to eat, to provide a perfect excuse to stop rushing around and focus on being together and enjoying the connection and satisfying food.

Due to my relatively recent vegan lifestyle changes, I intend to cook familiar classics as well as explore new plant-based desserts and share them all with you. Do you want to hear how this pie came about? I thought you’d never ask.

The recipe

Do you ever get that feeling, when all of a sudden you want to bake something comforting? Let’s say your friends are coming over and you would like to surprise them with a piece of sweet, culinary heaven? Right, I think you know what I mean!

In my case, the urge to bake hits usually unexpectedly, and this time was not an exception. So there I was, standing in my sisters’ kitchen, determined to get a bake on. It was in the middle of winter, and as I looked outside, it was snowing heavily. How perfect, I thought. What would be better now than an impromptu baking session?

The first thing I do before even planning what to make is an inventory of the cabinets. It kick-starts my creativity and allows me to shape the recipe as I go. I started rummaging through the kitchen, hoping to find something useful.

First I laid my hands on a small can of pineapple chunks. What a great start, I thought. Not fresh but it will add some sweetness and moist texture to the pie. And after all, we are in Finland, and it is rather challenging to get my hands on a ripe pineapple in the middle of winter.

Then I came across flour, sugar, and a wrinkled paper bag of powdered sugar. Superb! The recipe started to shape up in my head, yet I needed more fruit or berries to make a delicious pie. There was one place left to check, and as I opened the freezer, I spotted bags of wild berries that we picked last summer. I knew I could count on that resource.

As I started to roll up my sleeves, I felt happiness bubbling up in my chest.

How to make the pineapple berry pie?

You don’t need any bells and whistles this time, just the basics.

Let’s start with the berries blueberries and strawberries in advance before baking, the quicker, the better for retaining the qualities; consistency and vitamin C-content. In case you decide to use unthawed ones, add more potato flour in the mixture (about a tablespoon or so). Otherwise, you will end up with a soggy, yet always delicious pie. Remember to save the juice for a smoothie, dessert berry soup or drink it up in a bubbly cocktail with soda water and lime.

Next, pre-heat the oven to 200° Celcius and brush a 26-centimeter of a diameter pie dish with coconut oil. Feel free to use your hands. I have made this pie also without the oil; honestly, I forgot to do it, and it comes off just as beautifully from my ceramic dish. But if you want to play safe and get some good crunch going, I recommend you to oil the pan.

Make the dough

Next, add the dry ingredients into a large bowl: flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix and add runny coconut oil, vanilla extract, lemon zest and water. Stir so that the dough seems uniform, but remember not to overdo it to make sure the pie will turn out soft and fluffy. When the gluten in the flour makes friends with liquid, it reacts and mixing it too much will make it sturdy and possibly stringy. And we don’t want that in this case, do we?

Add the berries

When the dough is ready, pour it into the dish and add drained pineapple chunks on top. Then prepare the thawed and drained strawberries by mixing it with the freshly squeezed lemon juice and potato flour. You can substitute potato flour with corn starch. I like my pie a little on the tangy side so if you are fond of sweetness you might want to add some sugar to the mix. Spread the strawberry mixture on top of the pineapples with a spoon. Lastly, add the pretty blueberries. Easy breezy.

Now transfer the pie into a hot oven and wait until its golden brown, about 30 minutes. It is best to let the bubbly hot berry dessert to rest a little before serving.

This pineapple berry pie will taste amazing also the next day if you keep it in the fridge overnight! But keep in mind, it tends to disappear. And that is what I like to hear! I hope you’ll love it as much as I do!

Here is the recipe: and yes, it is as good as it looks. I promise! 

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