Multiberry Custard Pie...a preview

It's summer and I was determined to put our farmers' market berries to some use. I came up with a GAPS-friendly pie, assuming that a person can eat fruit comfortably. There's no added sugar. There are eggs in the custard and the crust, but no dairy. It is not sugar-free, though, since the fruits, although low-sugar, are still sweet and I added dates to the berries to give it a more dessert-like quality.

I can outline the recipe here, but I'd like to do it again before I put it out there officially, since it didn't quite become what I intended.

As you can probably see, it didn't quite make it to the table long enough to get a photo of it whole. :)

Honestly, if you're a die-hard low sugar eater and you're looking for a dessert to really enjoy, this is the one. If you're used to high sugar desserts, then this is one to modify. It was very, very fruity, (Snackboy said that it smelled like a Pop Tart) and had a nice coconut flour crust. The custard was made extra special because Little Moo and I had a great time slicing and scraping out a vanilla bean into the heating coconut milk. I also added our last box of coconut cream to the mix. 

It was a three-stage pie. Little Moo was my very excited assistant. First we made a coconut flour crust, based on Bruce Fife's recipe. (See Cooking With Coconut Flour) We lined the crust with three sliced bananas because it tends to be a bit dry. Then we made a gently stewed mixture of strawberries, blueberries and raspberries with a spoonful of ghee and a goodly amount of gelatin mixed in. I added chopped dates to the mixture for some extra sweetness. That was allowed to cool for about 10 minutes or so and added to the cooled crust. We put two boxes of coconut milk and one of coconut cream into a pot, added the seeds of one vanilla bean (I wish I had some pictures of that! We had so much fun that we didn't bother to shoot any!) and a few drops of stevia to the coconut milk. It took about 5 egg yolks, more ghee and a tablespoon of gelatin to turn that into a lovely custard that was unlike anything I've ever made before. I think it was the vanilla bean, which had been sitting on a shelf for months awaiting the right day to be used. And so it was.

I let the custard cool for a few minutes, then added it to the top of the fruit. We decorated it with sliced strawberries. It was covered with waxed paper and put in the refrigerator to chill. 

My sense was that the fruit did need to be a bit gooier and the custard could have used a bit more gelatin or egg (although the bit that didn't fit in and wound up in a ramekin was perfect!). I suppose I could have given in and added some maple syrup or something. Maybe date sugar. On the other hand, I pride myself in fully sticking to the GAPs protocol, at least as my family eats it. (That's no sugars or syrups, although added fruit is okay. Stevia's bending the rules, actually. Honey is okay, but not for my allergies. Maybe someday.) 

This pie, though, could also be eaten with some egg-laden coconut bread or after an entree of scrambled eggs for breakfast, since it is a bit more like fruit and cream than a super-sweet dessert. It's all good, I guess.

I'll keep thinking and will try this again soon.