I have often written about milk allergies and having to find recipes that allow for milk substitutions. The best alternatives to dairy milk I have found are Silk Coconut Milk, Silk Almond Milk, and Organic Rice Dream Rice Drink. I have used all three in recipes calling for milk without any problems. No one can believe the cakes, pies, and puddings are absolutely dairy-free. I made Coconut Pudding from the recipe below to fill my pies and it was a fantastic dessert.
I started with a home-made graham cracker crumble crust that was also 100% dairy-free.
DAIRY-FREE GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST FOR SMALL PIE
- 6-8 Graham Crackers ground in a food processor
- 4 Tbsp. Butter Flavor shortening (I use Crisco)
Preheat oven to 300 degrees
In a small bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbles with the shortening until it has a texture that will hold together loosely, you may need to add a little more shortening. Transfer the mixture to a small pie pan, pushing it into the pan to form a crust on the bottom and sides. The crust will be very fragile and loose, not like a regular pie crust. Bake in the oven for 5-8 minutes, watching constantly because it can burn. You will know it is done because the kitchen will have this wonderful scent of graham cracker/butter goodness, and the color changes to a slightly toasty brownish color.
Let the crust cool.
COCONUT PUDDING PIE FILLING
- 1/2 c. sugar
- 3 tbsp dairy-free butter
- 1/3 c. cornstarch
- 1 tsp. clear vanilla extract
- 3 c. Silk coconutmilk
- 1/2 tsp. salt
Whisk sugar, cornstarch and salt together and add in the coconutmilk. Keep whisking while bringing the mixture to a slow boil. Thicken the mixture by lowering the heat and simmering for 3-4 additional minutes. Shut off the stove and add in the dairy-free butter and vanilla, then cool.
Fill the Graham cracker crust with the cooled off pudding, garnishing with dairy-free whipped topping found at most grocery stores.
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