Lemon Torta with Vegan Pasta Frolla

I made this dish with a total master cook, Marinella, my dear friend and owner of Hotel Z’Antonio in Scala on the Amalfi Coast. My version is touch different than hers because of some ingredient swaps, but the result is just as yummy.

Makes 1 standard cake, 8-10 servings 

Ingredient List:

• Makes 2 crusts
• Pasta Frolla
• 500 grams (4 cups) sprouted whole wheat or whole wheat pastry flour
• 250 grams (2 cups) coconut or turbinado sugar (coconut sugar will darken your color so if you want a light color, use the turbinado)
• Pinch sea salt
• 12 grams (2 teaspoons) baking soda
• 70 grams (1/3 cup) extra virgin olive oil 
• 70 grams sunflower oil (1/3 cup) (Marinalla used only sunflower oil)
• 125 grams (approx. ½ cup) water
• Grated zest each of 1 lemon and 1 orange
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Lemon Filling:
• 2 1/c cups unsweetened rice (or oat or soy) milk
• 1/3 cup turbinado sugar (I use coconut sugar, but it does darken the color of my filling)
• Juice of 3 lemons
• ¼ cup arrowroot (Marinella used potato starch)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or the seeds of 1 vanilla bean
• Generous pinch powdered turmeric (for yellow color, optional), you won’t taste it

Step By Step Instructions:

Make the pasta frolla: Mix together the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, salt and baking soda.

Mix together oil, water, zests and vanilla. Mix with the dry ingredients to create a soft dough. Knead on a floured surface for a few minutes to pull the dough together and form a round disc. Wrap in plastic and chill for one hour before proceeding.

Roll the dough out onto a lightly floured surface to be 1 inch larger than your pie plate (standard is 9-10 inches), taking care that the dough is even thickness. Lay in the pie plate gently pressing it to the surface of the pan. Pierce in several places with a fork. Remove the excess but leave a small bit to create a decorative crimp on the edge of the pie plate.

Bake at 350F until the crust is golden and the edges lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Allow to cool before filling.

Make the filling: 

Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan over medium-low heat. Whisk constantly until the mixture thickens, around 3-4 minutes. Spoon the thickened filling into the baked pie shell and smooth to ensure it is evenly distributed in the pan. 

Chill until set, around 30 minutes. Serve garnished with berries or other fruit.