It’s grandpa’s birthday, my husband’s father Tom, and today he is 65! He’s usually here in Arizona from Indiana, visiting the kids on his birthday. I joke with him It’s because we make a big deal about birthdays around here and I’m always making him some kind of dessert from scratch.
This year he requested cherry delight. Now this was particularly challenging for me because I’ve never eaten cherry delight!! But i love a good challenge. So i did my research and decided to give it a go.
But did i decide to make it easy on myself and get the premade ingredients? No. What would be the fun in that?! So here is the recipe from scratch. Now if you would like to get the premade items I’ll make those suggestions in the notes section.
My favorite reaction thus far was the taste test i gave nana to tell me if the cream cheese whip was sweet enough. She said “oooh that’s perfect. So yummy. Tastes just like it! ” and she isn’t one to fluff anyone. Winning.
after we enjoyed my Chickpea Coconut Curry Soup (also on the blog), it was time for the big reveal.
The results were in and…. it was a slam dunk! I’m so elated. i just love making food for my loved ones, especially on their special day. i hope your family enjoys this too.
Makes: 2 pies or 9×11 rectangular one.
Prep from scratch (if you buy the premade suggestions then there is no prep time):
- need to chill the canned coconut milk overnight 8 hours
- Defrost frozen cherries.
- Make the cherry filling the day before so it can cool in fridge and thicken overnight.
- Chill the glass bowl for the whipped cream for 15 minutes.
- The whole pie needs to sit in fridge for 4 hours before serving.
INGREDIENTS:
- Cherry Pie Filling:
- 3 cups frozen dark cherries *2 10oz bags
- 1 cup organic vegan sugar (no bone char)
- 1/4 cup corn starch with 3 Tbs cold water to make a slurry
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- The juice from the frozen cherries or water (about 1/4 cup) especially if using fresh pitted cherries instead of frozen.
- Premade Notes: can buy 2 cans organic dark cherry pie filling from health food store instead.
- Whipped Cream
- 1 can chilled coconut cream
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup sifted organic vegan powdered sugar
- Premade Notes: can buy 1 tub of coco whip from the health food store. I didn’t test this so i can’t advocate for the viscosity results. Could be thin. But you could play with adding tapioca starch to it to thicken it as you whipped in the cream cheese and sugar. See below.
- Cream cheese whip
- 8oz vegan cream cheese. *i used kite hill almond cream cheese.
- The whipped cream you made or bought.
- 1/2 cup sifted organic vegan powdered sugar
- Graham Cracker Crust
- 2 cups vegan graham cracker crumbs (20 whole crackers)
- Nabisco Graham crackers from Walmart in the red box or the gluten free ones from kinnikinnik. These are both vegan options that are honey free.
- 2/3 cup vegan sugar
- 1 cup melted vegan butter (i used earth balance)
- Premade Notes: Two premade vegan pie crusts from health food store. I found at whole foods. 365 brand.
- 2 cups vegan graham cracker crumbs (20 whole crackers)
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Cherry pie filling: in a medium saucepan add the defrosted cherries reserving the cherry liquid and adding that at the end if needed or if using fresh pitted cherries then adding the water. Let boil on low mixing often until about half the cherries burst. Then add the sugar and lemon and slurry you made up. (The slurry is made with the cornstarch and water in a little dish and mixed so there is no lumps). Stir all this and then remove from heat. Let cool a minute then transfer to glass dish and store in fridge overnight. Try not to snack on it if you can help it.
- Whipped Cream: use a large chilled glass bowl and dump the chilled coconut cream in it without adding the coconut liquid. Whip for at least 4 minutes until peaks form using a hand mixer. Add the vanilla and the sifted powdered sugar without the clumps. Mix on low careful not to spray sugar everywhere.
- Cream Cheese Whip: add the vegan cream cheese to the bowl of whipped cream, whip. Add one more half cup sifted powdered sugar. Store in fridge to let it cool and thicken more.
- Graham Cracker Crust: in a large bowl mix with a fork the crumbled graham cracker, sugar, butter. Press it into a greased 9×11 baking dish or two 8 inch pie dishes *set 4 spoonfuls aside to decorate the top with!
- Cherry Delight: on top of the crust scoop half the cream cheese whip and spread evenly. (Or 1/4 if using 2 pies) Then add the cherry pie filling and carefully spread without mixing it all up. Add a second layer of cream cheese whip. Top with extra crumbled graham crackers. Let chill in fridge 4 hours.
- Enjoy!
Vegan Cherry Delight baking video on Bella Virtue Vegan Kitchen:
Here in the Mama Bella kitchen we love hearing from you! Please leave your comments below to let us know how our recipes turned out for you and your beautiful family.You can also follow us at
http://www.instagram.com/bellavirtueeat Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/bellavirtueeat/ YouTube at the Bella Virtue Vegan Kitchen https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOmCEAQ54a5RIoVyGOa8pVQ
