Decadent Chocolate Cream Pie

This chocolate pie is rich and creamy and totally satisfying. I love desserts that are delicious and made with healthier ingredients. What can I say - I love to eat well AND I love to feel well. This dessert made me very happy on both counts...it was definitely good eating and had me feeling balanced and not sluggish (as opposed to dealing with a processed sugar hangover).

Vegan Decadent Chocolate Cream Pie

I do not follow a completely raw diet, but do draw inspiration from the many awesome raw chefs that are making amazing desserts. I do not consider myself macrobiotic either, but again find inspiration from the macro chefs' focus on wholesome seasonal ingredients. This pie is inspired by both raw and macrobiotic dishes. The chocolate cream in particular was to satisfy a craving I had after eating at Seed Kitchen in Venice Beach California a year and a half ago. My son and I shared an order of the chocolate mousse that was so rich and amazing....I never forgot it. So, I ordered the chef's cookbook , which broadened my understanding of macrobiotic foods and techniques. My chocolate cream is adapted from his mousse recipe, and I highly recommend his restaurant, his books, and his chocolate mousse!

Crust Ingredients:

1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1 cup rolled oats
6 dates
1 tbsp maple syrup
3 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp cocoa nibs
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp water

Chocolate Cream Ingredients:

2 cups soy milk
2 tbsp agar powder
2 tbsp arrowroot powder
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup vegan chocolate chips

Coconut Milk Whipped Cream Ingredients:

1 can coconut milk (full fat), chilled for 24 hours
3 tbsp agave nectar
1/2 tsp vanilla

Crust Directions:

Heat a non-stick pan over medium high heat and add the raw sunflower seeds. Stir often, and toast these until they are fragrant and starting to turn golden brown. Pour the seeds into a food processor or blender. Then toast the coconut, which will go much faster than the sunflower seeds, and then add it to the blender or processor. Finally, toast the oats until the are starting to brown (be sure to stir often and watch them closely) and dump them in with the seeds and coconut. Add the dates, maple syrup, coconut oil, cocoa nibs, salt and water and process until they are broken down and starting to pull together. I like mine with small bits of sunflower seeds and cocoa nibs still recognizable, rather than completely pulverized into a paste. You really can't mess this up, just pulse them for a few seconds and check the consistency until you like what you see.

Dump the contents into a pie pan, or a springform pan and press into an even layer than goes a little up the sides. If it is not holding together, add another tbsp of water.

Chocolate Cream Directions:

Heat the soy milk in a saucepan over low heat. Add the agar powder and arrowroot and stir continuously as it starts to simmer. It will begin to thicken (you want it a bit tighter than gravy, but not a paste) and when it does, add the vanilla and the chocolate chips. Let the chocolate chips melt, and then pour it into the crust. If the sauce developed any clumps, you can quickly run it through the blender to get a consistent texture before pouring into the crust. Put the pie in the refrigerator to cool.

Coconut Milk Whipped Cream Directions:

Take your chilled can of coconut milk out of the fridge and turn it upside down. Open the can and pour off any excess liquid that has separated. Put the coconut milk solids into a chilled metal bowl. Whip the coconut milk with beaters until it fluffs up and starts to form peaks. Add the agave and vanilla and beat again to completely incorporate. Taste and adjust the sweetness to your liking. You can add a bit more agave if you like. Put the whip cream on top of the pie and chill until ready to serve.

Oh She Glows has a good tutorial on how to make coconut whip cream, if you are interested.

For 8 servings. Nutritional information from caloriecount.about.com

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 146 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories  312 Calories from Fat  173

% Daily Value*

Total Fat  19.3g 30%

Saturated Fat  13.7g 68%

Trans Fat  0.0g

Cholesterol  0mg 0%

Sodium  120mg 5%

Potassium  284mg 8%

Total Carbohydrates  31.9g 11%

Dietary Fiber  4.5g 18%

Sugars  19.7g

Protein  5.6g

Vitamin A 0% • Vitamin C 2% Calcium 4% • Iron 17%

Nutrition Grade C-

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet