You can make preparing this gluten-free fig pie a little complicated or very simple. You choose. Make your own crust or buy a frozen one. There are plenty of gluten-free pie crusts available. I have included a traditional gluten-free pie crust recipe if you want to make one from scratch. For a quick and easy pie crust option, use my 3-ingredient pie crust shown in my strawberry pie recipe. If you use a prepared crust, just be sure to pre-bake it with pie weights. See the instructions below.
No-Bake Pie Filling
This creme fraiche (or sour cream)-based pie filing just needs a little simmering on the stove. The fresh figs will simmer in a wine, honey and star anise mixture to soften them. The liquid is reduced to a syrup that will flavor the sour cream for a super easy filling.
Gluten-Free Pie Crust
Ingredients
- 1¼ cup gluten-free flour blend*
- ⅓ cup non-gmo corn starch
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- ¾ tsp salt
- ½ tsp xanthan gum
- 8 Tbsp cold butter
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp vinegar
- 2 tsp cold water
- 1 additional egg for egg wash
*Most all purpose gluten-free flour blends will work. If you use a blend that includes xanthan gum, omit the xanthan gum in the recipe. I prefer to mix up my own flour blend. It gives me a chance to use different flours. Most store bough blends are rice based and I like to add variety. Here is the link to my post on DIY gluten-free flour blends. I you like the convenience of a store bought blend, my favorite is King Arthur Flour’s Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour.
Make the dough
Place the dry ingredients into the food processor and pulse a few times. In a separate bowl, thoroughly beat the egg, water and vinegar together. Cut the butter into cubes.
Add the butter to the flour mixture.
Pulse (around 25 times) until it resembles a coarse meal (small pearl-sized pieces of butter). The mixture will start to take on a light buttery yellow tint.
With the processor running, drizzle in the egg mixture. Run until the dough comes together into a ball.
Form the dough into a thin disk and refrigerate wrapped in plastic for 30 minutes.
How to Roll out Gluten-Free Pie Dough
Splash or spray some water onto your counter top (this will keep the plastic wrap from shifting). Lay two 24″ long pieces of plastic wrap side-by-side on the counter, overlapping the long sides at least 1½ inches. Smooth them out. Unwrap the pie dough and place in the center of the plastic.
Place 2 more side-by-side pieces of plastic over the dough. Try to pull out some of the wrinkles.
Roll out the dough to about 1/8″ thick. Roll from the center to the outside going around in a circle to keep it round. Imagine the dough is a clock face. Roll at 12:00, then 2:00, 4:00, 6:00, 8:00, 10:00 and repeat.
Remove the top layer of plastic. Slide both hands underneath the plastic so that your hands and lower arms are supporting the dough. Lift and flip it over into into the pan. Gently remove the plastic. Don’t worry too much if it tears-just use your fingertips to press it back together. Form the edge and refrigerate again for 15 minutes.
To pre-bake or “blind-bake” the pie crust:
Heat the oven to 350º Cover the crust with a large sheet of tin foil or parchment and weigh it down with raw rice or dry beans. This will assure that the crust holds its shape while it bakes.
Gluten-Free Fig Pie
This fresh fig pie with an easy no-bake filling is a beautiful summer dessert. Use a ready-made crust and this pie will be done in no time.
Ingredients
Gluten Free Pie Crust
- 1¼ c gluten-free flour blend
- ⅓ c corn starch
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- ½ tsp xanthan gum
- ¾ tsp salt
- 8 Tbsp unsalted cold butter
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp vinegar
- 2 tsp ice water
- 1 beaten egg for egg wash
Fig Pie Filling
- About 20 fresh figs
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 whole star anise
- ⅓ c dry white wine*
- 2 Tbsp water
- 2 Tbsp honey, agave, date syrup
- pinch of salt
- 1½ c creme fraiche or sour cream
Instructions
Make the Pie Crust
See this post main page for instructions on using the food processor to make the dough.
- Whisk the dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl.
- Cut the shortening and butter into the flour until it resembles a coarse meal.
- Beat the egg, vinegar and water together and stir it into the flour mixture.
- Dust your fingers with a little flour, pull the dough together and work it until it is well combined. Don’t worry about over-working the dough, there’s no gluten to worry about. Form the dough into a thin disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Roll out the dough to about 1/8″ thick. Gluten-free dough tends to be kind of sticky so I like to roll out my dough between 2 layers of plastic wrap. This way, you don’t have to worry about it sticking and you can lift it up using the bottom layer and flip it onto the pie pan (I used a 9″ pie pan). See main page for this blog post for step-by-step visuals.
- Cover the crust with a large sheet of tin foil or parchment paper and weigh it down with raw rice or dry beans. This will assure that the crust holds its shape while it bakes. Bake it for about 30 minutes or until it’s light golden.
While the pie crust is baking, prepare the filling:
- Place the sour cream in a small mixing bowl and set aside. Remove the stems from the figs and slice them in half.
- Combine the wine, water honey, and salt – you can save a bowl and just put these ingredients in the measuring cup.
- Heat up a large skillet over a medium flame for a minute or two. Add the butter and star anise. When the butter starts to bubble add the figs, cut side down. Cook for about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the wine mixture and turn the flame down so that the liquid bubbles gently. Give the skillet a few shakes to combine the liquid. When the liquid is reduced by about half remove the skillet from the heat.
- Carefully remove the figs and place them on a plate. Pour the liquid left in the pan over the sour cream (use a rubber spatula to scrape it all out) and stir to combine.
- Spoon the sour cream mixture into the prepared crust and arrange the figs on top.
Notes
*If you prefer a non-alcoholic substitute for the wine, here are a couple of options:
5 Tbsps apple juice + 2 tsps apple cider vinegar
5 Tbsps fruit juice + 2 tsps lemon juice
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