Chocolate Cream Pie, GF

By MaryEllen

Ingredients

• cookie crust:
• 1 homemade gluten free pie crust, pre-baked
• OR
• 2 1/2 -3 cups gluten-free chocolate chip cookie crumbs (approximately 16-18 3″ cookies)*
• 2-3 Tbs. melted butter or non dairy alternative (I used Earth Balance® Buttery Sticks)
• pie filling:
• 1 1/3 cups regular coconut milk, canned with 12-14 grams of fat (I used So Delicious® Original Culinary Coconut Milk)
• 1 cup + 3 Tbs. egg nog (So Delicious® Coconut Milk vegan Nog) OR coconut or almond creamer (So Delicious® or Silk® have options in most grocery stores)
• ½ cup granulated cane sugar
• 1/3 cup gfJules™ Gluten Free All Purpose Flour
• 3 large egg yolks (or substitute like 9 Tbs. egg-free vegan mayo)
• ¼ tsp. sea salt
• 8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips or chocolate bars broken into squares (I used Pascha® Organic Allergen-Free Dark Chocolate 55% cacao with cocoa nibs for crunchy texture)
• 4 Tbs. butter or vegan butter (I used Earth Balance® Soy Free Buttery Sticks)
• 9 oz. So Delicious® CocoWhip (or regular whipped cream)
• 1 Chocolate bar (I used Pascha® Organic Allergen Free Dark Chocolate 55% cacao) – optional to make chocolate curls for garnish

Preparation

Step 1

Prepare and bake 1 homemade gluten free pie crust according to directions in recipe link. Bake with pie weights or dried beans for 15 minutes, then remove weights and bake another 10-15 minutes, according to recipe. Remove and set aside to cool.

OR, if making a cookie crust, have ready a 10 – 11 inch tart pan with removable bottom or 10 inch pie pan.

Be sure your cookies are crispy before trying to crush them into crumbs. If fresh baked, take several cookies at a time and place them in the freezer for 5-10 minutes (unwrapped). This will harden and dry them, making them easier to crush into crumbs.

To make the crust, process in a food processor or use a gallon size zip-top bag (freezer bags are stronger) and fill it with approximately 2 1/2 – 3 cups of chocolate chip cookies. Remove the air from the bag and seal, then begin rolling over the cookies with a rolling pin, crushing the cookies to a very small crumb size — if the cookies aren’t crushed quite finely, the crust will fall apart when cut.

To make the crumbs even more chocolately, add some extra chocolate chips to the food processor — the top layer of crumbs shown has chocolate chips added.

Once uniformly crushed, measure out to be sure you have enough crumbs – repeat if you need more crumbs. Note: this step is even easier using a food processor instead! If you want your crust to be extra chocolatey, add 1/3 cup chocolate chips to the food processor and process with cookies (as pictured in the top portion of the prepared crumbs).

Pour the crumbs into a medium-sized bowl and stir in the slightly cooled, melted butter or Buttery Sticks, stirring with a fork until the crumbs begin to stick together when pressed. It is important that the mixture not be too wet, so if the crumbs are very wet at this point, crush more cookies to add to the mixture. The consistency is right when you can press the mixture between your fingers and it sticks together but is not at all drippy with butter.

Transfer the crumb-butter mixture into a pie pan and press with your fingers to create an even thickness along the bottom and sides of the pan. If using a tart pan with removable bottom, you may find it easier to place the pan on a cookie sheet so the crust bottom is not disturbed during transfer.

Refrigerate the crust for 20 – 30 minutes to help it set. Preheat oven to 350° F (static) or 325° F (convection).

Bake crust for 10 minutes or until firm. Remove to cool completely in the refrigerator or at room temperature before filling.


Chocolate Cream Pie Filling:

Whisk coconut milk, egg nog, sugar, gfJules flour, egg yolks and salt together in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Continue stirring periodically so the mixture does not burn. Continue to stir until the mixture thickens noticeably to warm pudding-like texture, approximately 8-10 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in chocolate and butter until melted and smooth. Pour into cooled pie crust, cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator until firm, at least 3 hours.

To top with frozen whipped cream dollop out onto slices of pie, or to prepare the pie as pictured, whip the entire container of CocoWhip in a large bowl using a whisk or the whisk attachment on a mixer. Stir until smooth and spreadable. Spread on top of cold pie and place entire pie into the freezer for 30 minutes or until the CocoWhip has set. If using this method, the CocoWhip will no longer be as fluffy, but will make a creamy, smooth layer on top of the pie.

Refrigerate pie before serving, no need to freeze once the CocoWhip has set again.

Garnish with or without chocolate curls.

To make chocolate curls, soften a chocolate bar gently by microwaving only until the bar is slightly softer, but not melted. Using a vegetable peeler, go along the length of the bar and shave down in one long movement. The curl will fall off and once at room temperature again, can be picked up and sprinkled on top of the pie. Repeat until you have enough curls to garnish to your taste. Reserve any remaining chocolate for other applications.