This delicious and summery Vegan Peach Berry Pie is the perfect dessert. The goodness of three kinds of berries and peaches is encased in a golden, vegan crust. A nut-free and soy-free recipe.
I love baking up a pie for the Fourth because I can make it in advance, and there’s never a better time to bake a vegan Peach Berry Pie than when the markets are overflowing with berries of all colors and ripe, juicy peaches.
Besides, who doesn’t love pie?
At our home, a pie goes down fabulously, no questions asked. While an Apple Pie is Desi’s favorite, he pretty much adores just about any fruity pie, and so does Jay. So when I find myself with more fruit on hand than we can eat fast enough, I put it into a jam or a pie and I can be sure that it will disappear — fast.
I used a mix of berries in this vegan Peach Berry Pie: blackberries, strawberries, and blueberries. You can use any combination — I wish I had raspberries, my favorite berry, on hand, although I’ll admit that when I do, I much prefer to eat it on its own because there’s nothing in the world that compares to that flavor.
We have a raspberry bush — and a blueberry bush — in the backyard but we’ve pretty much given those over to the birds who rarely leave anything for us behind. We have some eight bird feeders in our small, urban backyard and several families of birds living under the eaves and in the trees, and each time Jay — whose job it is to fill the feeders — puts them out, the birdseed is gone in hours.
We have plenty of other wild visitors too, including a few outdoor cats. Recently, Georgia and Canoli, who have been living in our neighborhood for years, were joined by an incredibly friendly black cat with bright green eyes. She is eartipped, which indicates a spayed outdoor cat, but when I go into the yard with the cat food most evenings, she will happily run to me, rub herself against my legs, and demand that I give her a good scratch behind the ears. I’ve been thinking of getting her into the house, although Lily, Leo and Billy might take some convincing.
There’s a fox who sometimes tries to beat the cats to the food, and the other day, coming home late one night, Desi surprised a raccoon who was patiently waiting on the front stoop for us to put the cat food out.
The deer come by too, sometimes, and they munch on the lilies and the hostas almost as soon as they begin to bloom. A small piece of woods not far from our home was recently razed to widen a road, and as a result a handful of deer who called it home have now been pushed out to heaven knows where, but we still see some occasionally.
But coming back to the pie, which you’re really waiting to hear about, this is a recipe you’re going to be happy you tried. It’s really simple and easy as pie, and although turning on the oven in the summer seems a burning pain, you turn on the barbecue in your oven-like yard, don’t you?
If you make this Vegan Peach Berry Pie, be sure to come back and tell me about it. Or tell me about your wild visitors. How boring would our world be without them?
And for the Fourth, be sure to bring your pets in and keep them safe during the fireworks. Lily and Leo are pretty cool around all that noise, but my big ol’ Lucy would tremble like a leaf when the fireworks started, and they do scare many dogs. Remember, they can hear better than you and me.
This delicious and summery Vegan Peach Berry Pie is the perfect dessert. The goodness of three kinds of berries and peaches is encased in a golden, vegan crust. A nut-free and soy-free recipe.
- 2 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
- 12 tbsp vegan butter (Cut into small cubes. If soy-free make sure you use the soy-free butter)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp sugar
- Ice cold water
- 5 ripe peaches (cut into slices)
- 3 cups mixed berries (I used blackberries, blueberries and strawberries. If using strawberries, slice before measuring)
- 3/4 cup sugar (you might want to adjust the sugar up or down depending on how sweet your fruit is)
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/3 cup unbleached all purpose flour
- Juice of one lemon
- 1/4 tsp salt
Whisk the flour, salt and sugar in a bowl and add the butter. Cut it into the flour using a pastry cutter or a fork until you have small lumps of butter dispersed througout the dough. The butter should not melt into the flour if you want a flaky pastry, so work fast.
Drizzle the cold water into the bowl, a tablespoon at a time, and mix with a fork until the dough is just moistened and comes together in a ball. Do not overmix or overmoisten. You don't want to develop too much gluten in the flour because that will make your crust hard.
Divide the dough into two balls and wrap tightly in cling wrap, flattening the ball into a disc as you wrap. Refrigerate the two discs of dough while you make the filling.
Place the fruit in a bowl and add the cinnamon, sugar, flour, lemon and salt. Stir well to mix and set aside for at least 15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Take one of the discs of dough from the refrigerator and roll into a circumference about an inch larger than your pie plate (use a 9- to 10-inch pie plate for this). Place the dough into the pie plate -- it's best to fold your rolled dough into half and then lift it into the plate to keep it from tearing.
Fit the dough into the pie pan and fold over any overhang. I prefer not to cut it out-- more crust! You can crimp the edges of your crust with your fingers or a fork for a decorative look.
Place the pie plate in the refrigerator while you make your lattice top. To make the lattice top, roll the second disc of dough until it's slightly larger than the circumference of the top of your pie plate. Cut it into 10 equal strips using a pizza cutter or a knife or a fluted pastry wheel, if you have it.
Place the filling inside the prepared pie plate, including any juices, and then form the lattice over the top of the filling by laying out five strips over the pie and then weaving the rest of the strips crosswise through them. It doesn't have to be perfect-- do your best and it will look great anyway. If you can't be bothered, skip the lattice and cover the pie with the rolled dough, then cut decorative vents in it to let it steam.
Place the pie plate on a cookie sheet to catch any juices that may drip during baking, then place in the hot oven. Bake 60 minutes or until the top is golden-brown- to ensure a better color, brush on a mix of 1 tsp nondairy milk and 1 tsp oil on the top crust before placing into the oven.
Once the pie comes out of the oven, place it on a rack and let it cool thoroughly before cutting. This can take 4-5 hours. You can slice your pie while it's still a little warm, but that could mean some of the juices may not have thickened yet and could run.
I enjoy so much reading about your pets, and the animals in your neighborhood. We live in the mountains, in Floyd, VA, with our three cats and one dog, and lots of birds, deer, rabbits, chipmunks, some snakes, foxes, raccoons, groundhogs, and the occasional bear. They are all welcome, although it is annoying when someone bites the tops off the flowers and nibbles on the ripe vegetables. But we really do have enough for us all. My husband has a garden, and I grow things on the deck, including lots of tomatoes, peppers, some ginger and turmeric, a few herbs, three small fig trees, a lemon tree, a lime tree, and two curry leaf trees. Never had much luck with berries, except the wild blackberries that abound, when the bears are not visiting.
After many years of aspiring, my husband has become vegan. I still have cream in coffee, and mayonnaise on a sandwich. One of our favorite recipes is you mushroom ragout, which we had yesterday. (We also grow shiitakes.) You give us a wonderful gift with your recipes. Thank you. And thank you for your kindness to the animals.
the occasional bear. They are all welcome, although it is annoying when someone bites
thank you