Vegan Peach Rhubarb Crostata with Vegan Whipped Cream

I am so excited to once again be working with Melissa’sProduce and other San Diego food bloggers to bring you an amazing spring recipe challenge. Melissa’s selection of produce, with organic choices, is incredible. We San Diegans were sent complementary organic peaches, organic nectarines, rhubarb and young sweet coconut. I decided to take the healthy route and create a Vegan Peach and Rhubarb Crostata with Vegan Coconut Whipped Cream.

When I saw the young sweet coconut, I knew I could use these ingredients to make something spectacularly vegan. I found a wonderful recipe that makes a pie/pastry crust with coconut oil as opposed to butter. Instead of adding ice cold water to help the dough form, I added cold coconut water from the young coconut. I swear, I did not miss the butter!

The crostata is sweetened with Agave syrup and demerara sugar. You need a little extra of the sweet stuff to counter balance the rhubarb that has wonderful flavor, but not a lot of natural sugar.

I was also determined to figure out a vegan whipped cream because a crostata screams for this creamy, satisfying creation. Did you know that you could whip the cream portion of coconut milk into a beautiful and flavorful topping? It tastes like coconut (loving that) and has the perfect whipped topping consistency. I was out of my head excited to discover this – whipped cream sans cream!

I want to extend a huge thank you to Melissa's Produce for supplying us with fabulous produce to show off and I hope you enjoy the other spring challenge recipes from other SD food bloggers in the link up below.

Vegan Peach Rhubarb Crostata with Vegan Whipped Cream

Recipe by Liz Hughes - Virtually Homemade

Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 20 to 25 minutes
Yield: Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients

• 1 recipe vegan pie dough (recipe below)
• 4 large (about 1 pound) nectarines or peaches
• 2 stalks rhubarb
• 3 tablespoons Agave syrup
• 1 to 2 tablespoons demarera or turbinado sugar
• 1 can full fat coconut milk, chilled (in refrigerator for at least 4 hours)
•  vegan powdered sugar to taste

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Remove peach from pits and chop roughly into 1/2 inch pieces. Chop rhubarb into 1/2 inch pieces. Place fruit in a medium bowl and toss with agave syrup until thoroughly combined.
3. Place fruit mixture into the center of your rolled out dough leaving a 1 inch border. Gently fold the border over to form a pleated edge. At this point you can use extra dough to cut out shapes for the top of crostata, if desired. Sprinkle the top with the demerrera sugar.
4. Bake the crostata for 20 to 25 minutes until the crust is golden and the fruit is tender and bubbling. Let cool for 5 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack.
5. While crostata is cooling open the can of coconut milk, being careful not to stir or shake the contents inside. Carefully scoop the top, thick part of the coconut milk from inside the can; discard the remaining coconut liquid/water. Place thick coconut cream in a chilled medium mixing bowl and add sugar.
6. Whip or beat with an electric mixer until just smooth and thick, about 20 seconds. Do not overmix—mixture will fall and become thin. Use whipped cream immediately with warm crostata, or refrigerate up to 4 hours prior to use.

Vegan Pie Crust

Yield: 1 large pie crust or two small
Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup solid coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup icy cold coconut water or plain water

Directions

1. Start by placing the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the S blade. Pulse to combine. Add your solid coconut oil and pulse until mixture is crumbly and will stick together when you squeeze it. Pulse in 1/3 cup water, or until the dough holds together well when you make a handful of it and is visibly starting to come together in the food processor. It’s fine to have a lot of crumbs still--that’ll make a good, flaky crust--but it should be easy to shape into a large ball, too. If necessary, add a little more water until the texture is right. 

2. Turn dough onto a clean, dry surface that has been dusted with flour. If you’re not ready to use the crust, shape it into a flat ball, wrap with saran and refrigerate until ready to use. Cut off about 1/4 of dough and reserve for rolling out and cutting shapes. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a large circle (14 inches), using extra flour to keep things from sticking as you go.

Based on a recipe from Food 52.

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