This is a recipe that I first tried out a really long time ago for a friend in high school who had decided to become a vegan. A pie with tofu may sound odd, but silken tofu is very smooth when you blend it, and helps make vegan desserts rich and satisfying without dairy products. Although the texture is a little different than traditional pumpkin pie, the taste is almost exactly the same. The only way to make this better is to find vegan whipped cream to put on top.

　　

Ingredients

serves 6

　　1 prepared piecrust (see page 5)

　　16 ounces silken tofu

　　1 (30-ounce) can pumpkin purée

　　1 1/2 cups sugar

　　2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice

　　1 teaspoon salt

　　

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Press the piecrust into an ungreased 8-inch pie pan.

　　

Step 2

Place the tofu, pumpkin, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and salt in a blender and pulse until smooth. (You may have to stop the blender and push down the ingredients a couple of times.) Pour the mixture into the piecrust and bake for 15 minutes. Turn down the oven to 350°F and continue to bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the pie filling is set in the center. Remove from the oven and cool completely before serving.

　　

food trivia

Step 3

Pumpkin pie’s primitive cousin, pumpkin pudding, originated with the early American colonists in New England. They sliced off the top of a pumpkin and removed the seeds. They then filled the inside with milk, spices, and honey and baked it in hot ashes.

　　College Vegetarian Cooking