Name: Recipe for Piña-Colada Banana Cream Pie
Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 15-20 minutes, divided
Total time: 5 hours, includes chilling
Yield: 6 (1 slice) servings
Ingredients: 1/4 shredded coconut; 1/4 quick oats; 1/4 whole wheat pastry flour, stirred; 1/4 salt; 3/4 almond flour, pressed lightly to measure; 1 1/2 agave; 1/2 pineapple juice; 1/2 full-fat coconut milk; 1/3 raw cashews; 1/4 cornstarch; 1/4 salt; 1 1/3 unsweetened almond milk; 1/3 agave; 1 1/2 vanilla; 1/4 butter flavoring; 1 ripe banana; 1/4 unsweetened coconut flakes, for garnish; 1/4 sliced almonds, for garnish

Sweets

Tropical and Nutty

This pie’s creamy filling and combination of nuts bring together delightful tropical flavors. It is easy to make, as there is no rolling required; just press the crust into the pie plate. Because bananas contribute much to the sweetness in this recipe, it is essential that they are nice and ripe with plenty of spots on the skins.

Piña-Colada Banana Cream Pie

Recipe courtesy of

Heather Leno

Prep Instructions

Yield: 6 (1 slice) servings
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 15-20 minutes, divided
Total Time: 5 hours, includes chilling

Recipe Ingredients

1/4 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup quick oats
1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour, stirred
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup almond flour, pressed lightly to measure
1 1/2 tablespoons agave
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk
1/3 cup raw cashews
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups unsweetened almond milk
1/3 cup agave
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 teaspoon butter flavoring
1 ripe banana
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes, for garnish
1/4 cup sliced almonds, for garnish

Preheat oven to 375°F.

For Pie Crust:

Combine shredded coconut, quick oats, pastry flour, salt, and almond flour in a food processor and process until the oats are milled.
While the processor is running, add the agave just until all is moistened. It shouldn’t be wet, but damp enough to hold together when pressed between your fingers. If mixture doesn’t want to hold, process a little longer or spritz with water and process briefly. Additional liquid could cause the crust to not be as tender, so avoid adding too much.
Prepare an 8-inch glass pie plate with nonstick spray; crumble the mix from the processor evenly over the bottom. Begin by pressing it lightly up the sides of the plate, holding your thumb along the top to make a nice edge that isn’t too thin, or it will burn. Continue pressing it until the plate is covered and all the mixture is evenly distributed (not too thick or too thin) and firmly in place.
Bake 6 minutes and then cover the edge of the crust with foil; continue cooking another 4 minutes, then check every 2 minutes until crust is a nice golden color, watching carefully, as it can burn quickly with the coconut. Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack.

For Filling:

Combine the juice, coconut milk, cashews, cornstarch, and salt in a high-speed blender and blend until nuts are smooth as cream. Add the almond milk and agave and blend once more to mix.
Pour blended mixture into a saucepan and cook on low heat. Stir until bubbly and thickening. Remove from heat; stir in the vanilla and butter flavoring. Continue to stir occasionally to keep a film from forming. Allow mixture to cool as much as possible.
Slice the banana as needed to cover the bottom of the cooled pie crust and then pour filling on top. Cover with a paper towel until completely cooled, then cover with plastic wrap and chill several hours.
Toast the coconut flakes 3–4 minutes at 300°F, and then the sliced almonds for 8–10 minutes, watching carefully so they don’t burn. Once toasted, remove quickly from the baking sheet so they do not continue to cook.
To serve, garnish each piece with a little mound of toasted coconut and almond slices, approximately ½ tablespoon each.