Apricot and Blueberry Pie- vegan, gluten free

Slice of pie, anyone?

This delectable pie is gluten free (careful where the oats come from though- many brands are milled on the same lines that handle wheat) and could also be sugar free of you use stevia, xylitol or coconut sugar for the custard. We had some apricots and blueberries from the market that needed using up quickly and pie was the obvious thing. You can use our crust recipe, which is based on nuts, or your own favourite. Ours does taste a little flapjack-y due to the oats in it and it does not bake hard, (we like it that way) so do substitute another crust if you like it crisp. This recipe makes 8 or 9 portions.

Crust:
200g almonds
200g walnuts
200g porridge oats 
150ml coconut oil
250ml agave nectar

• Grind the nuts and oats and mix with the oil and agave. 
• Press firmly into an oiled baking dish and cook in a preheated oven at 180C for about 15 minutes. Check to make sure that it is not over-browned.

Filling:

2 tabs Bird's custard powder (which is both vegan and gluten free)

2 tabs demerara/ soft light brown sugar

350 ml soya milk

• Make up the custard as per the instructions on the tub: make a paste from the sugar, powder and a little of the soya milk and whisk in the rest of the milk, which has been brought to boiling point. Return to the pan briefly to thicken, whisking to avoid lumps forming.
• When the crust is cooked and has cooled down a little, spread the custard onto it and leave to cool and set.

Fruit topping:

100g fresh blueberries

12 fresh apricots, stoned and halved

 a drizzle of agave

• While the custard is cooling, place the fruit in the oven briefly, just to soften the apricots and loosen the skin to make the pie even more melt-in-the-mouth. You don't actually need to do this with the blueberries, although I added them for a few minutes.
• When the fruit has cooled down, place the apricots cut side downwards on the custard and scatter the blueberries evenly in between.

Tip:

For an even more decadent experience, try this pie with a dollop of coconut whipped cream!