Mexican Chocolate Cream Pie

Grain Free. Dairy Free. Soy Free.

We ate this pie last night but as I'm writing this blog this morning I'm eating yet ANOTHER piece!! Very bad behavior on my part right now since I'm on a VERY LOW SUGAR diet for health reasons, but I just had to indulge once more because this pie is simply amazing!! The rich, chocolaty pudding-like center has just a slight hint of ground red pepper and coffee to it, making it an excellent dessert to add to your Cinco de Mayo celebration this year. 

The even more amazing part is that this pie has no refined sugars, refined flours or GMO ingredients - I relied on some my favorite cleaner, whole food ingredients - coconut palm sugar**, dark chocolate, almond & coconut flours, coconut oil, and coconut milk when I was designing this recipe. This homemade "Graham Cracker Crust" is a must try and a way for you to control the ingredients instead of purchasing a store bought crust or packaged graham crackers. This soft dough comes together easily and quickly  -  you will simply press it into a 9-inch pie plate with your hands. I use a piece of parchment paper between my hands and the crust to make it less sticky to work with. 

As your crust cooks and cools, you will make your filling ingredients - this is definitely a hands on type of recipe but I promise it is worth it. You will need to stand by the stove and whisk almost constantly as your filling mixture thickens and bubbles so that it doesn't burn. Then, you will place the filling in an ice bath for 8-10 minutes. It will start to thicken fairly quick into a pudding-like consistency, you will want to stir it occasionally as it cools. 

Then pour or spoon it into your cooled cooked pie crust and smooth out using a spatula. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving so that it has time to set. 

The final step is adding some Coconut Milk Whipped Cream to each piece of pie as you slice and serve it. Making your own healthy, dairy free whip cream is super easy. It takes less than 10 minutes and only requires two cans of coconut milk, a bit of honey, and an electric beater or stand mixer. We like to use this as a replacement for store-bought Ready Whip Topping as those types of products are filled with GMO's, hydrogenated vegetable oils and high fructose corn syrup.  You can use this homemade whipped cream as a topping for pies or other sweets or I LOVE to eat it by itself with some fresh berries for a light, low-sugar dessert. 

Whether you enjoy this pie following your Cinco de Mayo dinner celebration, with a cup of coffee the next day or ANY DAY for that matter, I promise you will love it!  Here is the recipe...enjoy....

Mexican Chocolate Cream Pie (PRINT RECIPE)

Ingredients:
½ cup coconut sugar
2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
½ teaspoon instant espresso powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 ¾ cup unsweetened coconut milk
2 ounces 65% of higher dark chocolate, chopped

Homemade “Graham Cracker” Crust:*
¼ cup blanched almond flour
½ cup, plus 2 tablespoons coconut flour
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ cup coconut oil, melted
2 tablespoons honey
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1. To prepare the crust, preheat oven to 350 degrees and place dry crust ingredients in a small bowl and mix well.
2. Place wet crust ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer or use a hand mixer and beat to combine.
3. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until well combined and forms a soft dough sticks together.
4. Press dough evenly into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie pan, then place a piece of parchment inside to cover the crust and fill with pie weights or dried beans.
5. Bake crust for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned.
6. Remove crust from oven, then remove beans and parchment and save for another use. Allow crust to cool completely before filling.
7. To prepare filling, whisk together coconut sugar and next 7 ingredients (through egg yolk) in a medium bowl.
8. Place milk in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat; cook until milk reaches 180 degrees or until tiny bubbles form around the edges (do not boil). 
9. Gradually add hot milk to egg mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk. Return milk mixture to saucepan and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes or until thick and bubbly, stirring constantly. 
10. Remove from heat, add the dark chocolate and stir until smooth.
11. Place saucepan in a large bowl filled with ice cubes and let cool for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
12. Pour/spoon pie filling into prepared crust and smooth with a spatula to evenly distribute. Then cover with plastic wrap and chill for 3 hours or until set.
13. Slice and serve, topped with Coconut Milk Whipped Cream** (see recipe).
    
    

Coconut Milk Whipped Cream (PRINT RECIPE)
Coconut Milk Whipped Cream (PRINT RECIPE  - VEGAN)

Happy Eating!
~Billie

**Check out our blog, "Why Use Coconut Sugar?" to learn more about this lower-glycemic sweetener.