Fulfillment of a Dream!
I've always wanted to enter the raw food pie
contest ever since I attended the first raw food pie contest in
2003 that was held in Oregon at the International Raw Foods
Festival. Since then the pie contest has moved to the
Vibrant Living Expo at the Living Light Raw Food Culinary
Institute in Fort Bragg, California. I was especially
motivated to do it when my then boyfriend took 2nd place in
2004. To view past raw food pie contests click this link:
Past Raw Food Pie Contests
I also wanted to challenge myself to see if I
could make a pie with only whole ingredients like no oils or
agave nectar and truly raw ingredients. I only used 2
ingredients that didn't fit my criteria and there was only a
very small amount of them in the pie. The criteria for the pie
contest was that all entries had to be raw and vegan. Not even
honey was allowed. Even though it is called a raw pie contest,
any raw food cake, tart, or pie was fine. Entries were judged on
taste, texture, presentation, and originality by a panel of raw
food chef's and long term raw foodists. This year Paul Nisson,
Elaina Love, Sergi Boutenko, and Cheria Soria were all on the
panel of judges among others.
I was very nervous because I don't necessarily
consider myself a gourmet chef or anything. I like to think of
myself as the home cooking raw foodist cause the recipes I make
are simple and taste good and have allowed me to be on a mostly
raw path for almost 6 years. I've never taken any culinary
classes or anything so I didn't really know how my pie would
stand up to the others.
My other concern was that I was making this pie
miles away from my home in a hotel! I didn't even have a vitamix
or champ blender and had to take all the ingredients on a 3 hour
car ride in a cooler. I tend to be super creative so I just
kinda made up the pie as I went along and didn't have a practice
run or anything! I don't recommend that, if there is a next
time, I will for sure practice the pie before the competition.
Mulberry Bush?
Anyways because of the above mentioned criteria I had for my
pie and my concerns about not being ultra gourmet I knew I had
to have the best quality and most fresh ingredients. My friend
tipped me off on the fact that there was a mulberry tree (not a
bush) growing not to far from where I live. So I spent one
afternoon picking the mulberries from the tree and have the
stained jeans to prove it! The mulberries were purple and tasted
like berry cool aid from what I remember as a kid. A very unique
taste. They don't taste anything like the white mulberries which
I think taste more like vanilla. Then I used the white dried
mulberries for the crust, raw Hawaiian macadamia nuts,
organic sun dried vanilla,
farmer's market dates and strawberries, thai young coconuts,
fresh stevia leaf and a little of the stevia liquid. This pie
wasn't cheap but because it was a contest I spared no expense;
I'm sure it can be modified for people on a budget. It also was
very time consuming but like I said, it was a contest, I'm sure
you can just use one layer instead of three if you make it at
home and it will still taste great. If you want some similar yet
easier pie recipes check out my vanilla
bean recipe booklet.
Here is the recipe:
Berry Sweet Mulberry Strawberry Tart
by Cecilia Benjumea
Macadamia Mulberry Crust
1 cup macadamias
1 cup dried coconut ( I used the Mexican white or tan coconut
meat that was shredded and dehydrated at a low temp)
1/2 cup dried white mulberries
1 cup pitted dates
With the S blade in my food processor I
processed the dates and mulberries separately until they were
well blended. Then I processed the coconut and mac nuts until
the mac nuts were processed into medium small bits. Then I
processed both mixtures and stopped the food processor just
before the mixture balled up. Then I pressed it into a tart pan
that was lined with saran wrap or you could oil it with coconut
oil so it doesn't stick. I refrigerated the crust overnight or
you can do it for a few hours so that it sets.
Filling
1st Layer
Strawberry Pudding
2 cups strawberries tops removed
2 cups freeze dried strawberries (can used dried if don't have
freeze dried)
3/4 cups pitted dates
1 tablespoon pysllium powder
Stevia leaves or liquid or other raw sweetener to taste
Seeds from 1 vanilla bean
I blended the pysllium and the freeze dried
strawberries separately into a powder in a blender. Then I
blended the fresh strawberries, dates, stevia, and
vanilla in the blender. Then I
added the freeze dried strawberry pysllium mixture to the
strawberry date mixture and blended it some more. Then I put the
smooth strawberry pudding mixture into the refrigerator to set
for at least an hour.
2nd layer
Vanilla Cream
1 cup young coconut meat
1 cup raw macadamia nuts soaked overnight in
water. Rinse before using.
1 cup pitted dates soaked in 1 cup coconut water
1/4 cup coconut water (or enough to thin while blending)
1 vanilla bean, seeds scooped out
Stevia leaf or liquid or other raw sweetener to taste
I soaked 1 cup pitted dates in coconut water overnight or
you could do it for a few hours until the dates are soft Then I
blended all the above ingredients together (including the
coconut water that the dates were soaked in) in a blender and
let the mixture set in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
3rd Layer
Mulberry Cream
1 cup Mulberries (Can use blackberries if mulberries are not
available)
1 cup pitted dates
1/2 cup young coconut meat
1/2 cup macadamia nuts
1 vanilla bean, seeds scooped out
Stevia leaf or liquid or other raw sweetener to taste
I blended all the ingredients in the blender
until smooth and let the mixture set in the refrigerator for at
least an hour.
Assembly of Pie
4 pints of strawberries thinly sliced
Edible Flowers
Mint Leaves
As you can see from the pictures on the left I
added the 1st layer of filling and then I added a layer of the
thinly sliced strawberries. Then I added the 2nd layer and then
a layer of the thinly sliced strawberries. Finally I spread on
the 3rd layer of filling and garnished the pie with a design of
mint leaves, strawberries, and flowers. It's best for the pie to
be in the freezer for at least three hours before serving, if
not it gets kinda goopy, if I could do it again I would add a
thickener that Cherie Soria told me about called Irish Moss.
Final Judgement
The pie was kinda goopy especially out at room
temperature while judging, but to my surprise my pie actually
took 3rd place and it was auctioned off for 100 dollars by
Michael Saber the owner of E3 Live! I was really surprised my
goopy pie won third; I think it won solely on taste. I hate to
brag but the pie was heavenly:) The crust was the best crust
that I ever made and the creamy berriness just melted in your
mouth. I don't eat many raw desserts because I'm a stickler for
food combining but I admit that after
one bite of my pie I was actually craving for more:) I guess
using ultra fresh high quality ingredients really paid off:)
My congratulations go to all the participants in
the contest. All the pies looked amazing and I know how much
hard work and dedication it took to make them. It was a lot of
stress for me to go to the festival and make the pie but in the
end I'm so glad I did it. It was the fulfillment of a dream I've
had for a long time and I conquered my fears by trying to do
something challenging for me. I want to personally thank my guy
for all his support and encouragement. I couldn't have done it
without him!
I also want to thank the Living Light Raw Foods
Culinary School for putting on such a great event. Here are more
pictures of this year's pie contest:
http://rawfoodchef.com/images/rawsome2007/index.htm
Hope you enjoyed my pie story!
