An easy vegan custard pie recipe with a topping for fresh pears for an additional layer of custardy goodness. Enjoy as dessert or with an afternoon tea as is customary in Mauritius.
Prep Time20 minutesmins
Cook Time45 minutesmins
Total Time1 hourhr5 minutesmins
Course: desserts
Cuisine: Mauritian-Fusion
Keyword: custard tart, pear custard tard, pear tart, vegan pie
Servings: 1pie 24-cm or 9-inch diameter
Author: Teenuja Dahari - veganlovlie.com
Ingredients
1block of pie crust or you can use my recipe for the oil-based shortcrust pastry (see notes)
Custard:
500mlhomemade coconut milkor one store-bought can + 100 ml water
1/8teaspoonturmeric powderor a few drops of yellow food colouring. Omit if using custard powder that already contains colouring
Pear filling:
3pearsI used Abate Fetel variety. Bartlett or any type of dessert pears are also suitable
1-2slicesof lemon
Strawberry jamor other jam of choice
Instructions
Preheat the oven at 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).
Peel the pears then rub them with the lemon. Cut the pears in half. Remove the seeds and inner stem. Then slice the pears across but do not disturb the slices. Set the pears aside.
Place the pie crust in the oven and bake for 10 minutes only.
Meanwhile, make the custard.
Place coconut milk in a saucepan on medium heat.
Add in the vanilla and sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved.
In a small jug or cup, mix the cornstarch with 150 ml water. Add the turmeric powder and mix well.
Add this mixture to the coconut milk while stirring constantly.
The mixture will thicken considerably very quickly. You may lower the heat if the mixture is becoming lumpy and mix it more vigorously.
It will take about 7 - 10 minutes for the custard to reach the desired consistency. It should not be a runny custard but rather thick. It will thicken further upon baking.
The thicker the custard is, the firmer the resulting texture of the pie will be.
Remove the crust from the oven.
Pour the custard into crust. Smooth it out lightly.
Arrange the pears on top and lightly press them into the custard.
Brush the pears with a little strawberry jam. You may want to dilute the jam with a little water first if it is too thick.
Put the pie back in oven and allow to bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until the pears are lightly caramelised and crispy on top.
Video
Notes
The pears will release some juice but this will thicken into a caramel consistency once out of the oven and cooled.For the crust, you may use this:Flaky oil-based shortcrust pastry recipe - https://veganlovlie.com/oil-based-vegan-shortcrust-pastry/Link to original recipe - Vegan Pear Custard Pie - https://veganlovlie.com/vegan-pear-custard-tart-pie/