Beyond my own personal enjoyment of food, however, I like pushing people outside of their comfort zones with (healthy) ingredients that they normally wouldn’t consider, much less cook with, and opening their eyes to the power of food. Soy is one of those foods, and although tofu is best eaten in moderation, it’s a great source of protein, and makes for perfect textures in dishes, from appetizers to desserts.
This pie is not only delicious and decadent, it’s also full of antioxidant rich dark chocolate, and has the added benefit of a few grams of protein, and less than 290 calories per serving. You may substitute any flavor (like peppermint, almond, raspberry puree, toasted coconut, or cherry) in lieu of the orange, or leave it out altogether.
Vegan Chocolate Orange Pie with Coconut Oil Crust
- 1 recipe Baked Coconut Oil Pie Crust (recipe below)
- 12 oz silken firm tofu
- 2 tsp unsweetened organic cocoa powder
- 14 drops Chocolate SweetLeaf Sweet Drops
- 12 drops Valencia Orange SweetLeaf Sweet Drops
- 2 tsp Pierre Ferrand Dry Orange Curacao (or you may use vanilla extract)
- ¼ cup organic almond milk
- 1 ¾ cups vegan dark chocolate pieces, melted and cooled
- 1 tsp granulated SweetLeaf Stevia sugar substitute
- Zest of ½ an orange (medium size)
- Vegan Whipped Topping (optional)
- Vegan Chocolate Shavings or toasted, chopped almonds (optional)
- Mint for garnish
Directions:
Prepare and bake the Coconut Oil crust, set aside.
Place the tofu in a food processor, replace cover and blend until very smooth. Add the cocoa powder, the Sweet Drops, the Curacao, the almond milk, and blend. Add the melted chocolate, granulated stevia, and the orange zest, blend again until smooth and creamy. Refrigerate for at least 2.5 to 3 hours, or until set (the pie will be firm to the touch, and not jiggly at all).
Just before serving, top with the vegan whipped topping, and chocolate shavings and/or almonds. Garnish each piece with mint, and serve.
Coconut Oil Pie Crust
- 1 1/3 cups unbleached pastry flour
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1/3 cup Nutiva Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
- 3 tbs almond milk
Preheat oven to 450°F. In a medium sized bowl, stir together 1 1/3 cups of unbleached pastry flour and ¼ tsp of salt. Add 1/3 cup of coconut oil, and 3 tbs of almond milk. Stir lightly with a fork or pastry cutter, form into a ball.
On a lightly floured surface, slightly flatten dough. Roll from center to edge into a circl about 12-13” in diameter. To transfer pastry to the pie pan, lightly flour the rolling pin, and wrap the pastry around it; unroll onto a 9” pie pan. Ease the pastry into the pan, being careful not to stretch or tear it. Trim the pastry to ½ inch outside of the edge of the pan, fold under, and crimp or flute as desired.
Line the pastry with a double thickness of foil, bake for 8 minutes, or until edge start to turn golden. Remove the foil, and bake for an additional 5 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
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