Holidays have become an excuse to coax Husband into trying experimental desserts. Although I certainly confabulate about them enough, I actually don’t make dessert that often. On holidays, however, I have a perfect excuse to drench the kitchen in flour while I whip up something delicious and then leave the mess there for six hours– family fun is far more important than cleaning! And of course, now I have added incentive to bake because all of my old recipes are subject to revision.
This Fourth of July I was once again assessing my recipe for apple pie and, trust me, it is a brave soul that bites into my experiments without wincing in trepidation. I would love to tell you that I’ve got it all figured out: ”here’s the recipe– enjoy,” but that just isn’t in the cards. I can’t figure it out. According to Husband’s easily pleased taste buds each vegan version of this pie has tasted just like the original. That’s all well and good, but folks, it’s ugly. Your eyes might be distracted by the artfully dusted confectioner’s sugar, but it does not look tasty.
This particular pie is baked once with just the crust and the inexpertly sliced and seasoned apples. Then I pour in a vanilla sauce and bake it again. Once it refrigerates overnight, it’s perfection. Ever since I’ve vegan-ized it? Not so much. My problem is the eggs. The vanilla sauce calls for four eggs. Good advice suggests avoiding recipes that call for more than three eggs, but I never have been able to follow good advice. First, I tried my trusty flax meal and water substitution. The results tasted the same, but it was too liquid-y. Next I tried blended silken tofu. It was much too thick when added to the sauce and there was no way I was going to be able to pour it in through all of the apple crevices. So I did half tofu (2 eggs) and the other two eggs were replaced with flax meal and water. This attempt tasted even better than the original, but it still wouldn’t settle very well. You can see in the second picture it’s especially goopy on top. Goopy isn’t appetizing. And it isn’t pretty. But did The Selfless Husband wince? No he did not.
Part of me thinks I should just throw some decorative pie crust cutouts on the top and call it a day, but the obnoxious competitive part of me wants to make it perfect. How many apples will have to die before I perfect this recipe? Is a beautiful glaze impossible without eggs? I don’t know, but I could use a little help over here……
Thank you to FoodGawker, TasteSpotting, and PhotoGrazing for accepting this submission.
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13 Comments
hey, this looks fantastic, i would love to get a full recipe to try at home. my family loves apple pie and have always wanted to find a good vegan version!
i’m with maria. i’ll be happy to do some testing on it too given the recipe. it looks delicious, not unappealing, but i see what you’re balking about. we all have a perfectionist in us when it comes to certain things!
Eggs can often be replaced with white vinegar. Since this is an apple cake, you could also do arrowhead + water + lemon juice (for a more starchy feel). This will still be very gooey (possibly add some applesauce?!) I am not sure what the original recipe is – so I don’t know exactly what would work with what ingredients – hope this helps!
I’d eat a piece of that, no complaints here. However, if you’re really set on having it “set” I’d suggest a bit of arrowroot or cornstarch or agar in the final sauce. Of course not having seen the recipe that may already be in it so maybe just a pinch more. Will you share the recipe once it makes you happy? I’d readily sacrifice some apples for a slice of that, honest.
Check this out, SV. There were a couple of recipes that looked good for the nine days (no meat).
http://www.aish.com/f/r/97463179.html
Alright everyone, thanks for the tips! The apples are dressed in arrowroot, sugar, cinnamon, etc. for the first round of baking. The sauce itself, didn’t have any though. Maybe I should try that. And I’ve never heard of the vinegar trick. I’ll look into that.
I promise to post the recipe once it’s tweaked a bit more. I just can’t stand the thought of people making it and seeing the ugly mess that comes out of the refrigerator after “setting” overnight. Without the smoke and mirrors (and a good camera), it’s pretty weird looking, I swear.
I think you can subscribe to just the comments if you want, so I can post a comment here when I put the recipe up. Or you can subscribe to the whole shebang, just for kicks
Thanks for the link Sarah! I’m going to try that Ma-Po Tofu recipe. (the chicken soup mix is easy to replace.)
My go to for baking is Ener-G Egg Replacer. You can’t tell the difference between it and a real egg it anything I bake. You can even use it for quiche.
Wow…that looks amazing!
this is so amazing – no words. Beautiful photos. I really hope you will submit this recipe to my new “vegan finds” website:
http://www.FindingVegan.com ~Kathy
Ener-G egg replacer always works well for me. Its a powder you mix with water.
This looks yummy!
Looks like Dutch apple cake. It is also a very thick (though thin-crusted) pie with apple slices, though it doesn’t have vanilla sauce baked into it.
Cashew nuts are great for vegan desserts and they also work nicely if you want something custard-like that sets in the oven.
Wow, that looks so great! I have to make this now for sure
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