crunchy bits

It’s dessert week for our workshop, and I’m kicking it off with Alissa Cohen’s recipe for Ann Wigmore’s Banana Cream Pie. I forgot to take pics before we served the pie, so you’ll just have to fill in the rest with your imagination.

Ann Wigmore’s Banana Cream Pie (from Alissa Cohen)

Crust:

• 1/2 cup pecans
• 2 cups dates, pitted and soaked
• 1 1/2 cup dried coconut
• 1 tsp vanilla

Filling:

• 4-5 bananas
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup apple juice
• 2 tsp tahini
• 2 tsp honey
• 1 tsp vanilla

1. Grind pecans in food processor til fine.
2. Add dates and blend til creamy. I think the dough came out too wet, and would probably not soak the dates next time around.
3. Add remaining crust ingredients, and blend well. Sabrina had made this for raw potluck once, and recommended cutting the coconut to a scant cup. Since I’m not a coconut lover, I took this advice. Also, I’m reading David Wolfe’s Superfoods, and in the chapter about Maca he recommends using it to help bind crusts made from dried fruit and nuts, so I put 2 Tbs of maca into the crust as well.
4. Pour into pie place or springform tart pan and chill while you make the filling.
5. Add 4 bananas and remaining filling ingredients to food processor and process. I used an apple instead of the 1/2 cup apple juice. I also added a 1 Tbs of flax meal, and 1 Tbs of psyllium husk because I didn’t have a lot of time to chill the pie and wanted to make sure it was firm.
6. Pour filling into a bowl, and cut remaining banana and stir. Pour filling into crust and chill in fridge.
7. Just before serving, decorate the top with extra banana slices, cacao nibs, various seeds, berries, dried fruit, etc.

I took this pie to a family birthday party so I could have a sweet treat, but surprisingly many of the other guests tried it. None was left on the plates, except a particularly thick portion of crust. My kids liked it, but preferred the filling, so I will probably just make banana pudding for them in the future and save the pie for something special. Easy peasy wholesome dessert treat! One half went at the party, and my family gobbled the rest of it for breakfast the following day. Mmmmm pie for breakfast!

Maca is a root vegetable found high in the Andes of Peru. Consumption of the maca root powder is shown to strengthen the immune system, increase energy, and  improve memory, endurance and libido. It is also an adaptogen, helping to relieve stress and depression. It has a malty flavor, and we like it in nut milk shakes with cacao. YUM!