Saturday, December 10, 2011

Chocolate Tofu Pie and Nut Crust Recipe. You're welcome.



When ever I am going to have dinner at someone's place and there appears to be some skepticism about the potential for supreme deliciousness in vegan cuisine, I bring pie - and, most frequently, chocolate pie. What makes this pie a factual miracle, other than its ability to convert vegan doubters at first sight, is that this pie is additionally both gluten free and really, really easy to make


Consider this my gift to you and your entire pot-luck community. I will even give you some little tricks to amplify the beauty and taste factor of this impossibly delicious dessert.  


It starts with an all nut crust. I think pecan or hazelnuts are your best bets, but that's your decision.


Ingredients
2 1/2 cups ground nuts (place them in the blender, put some earplugs on and let 'er rip until they are mostly powder-like)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup maple syrup
4 tablespoons earth balance (the best margarine)


Directions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degree F (175 degree C)
  • Stir together ground nuts and then cinnamon, and then mix in melted butter earth balance and maple syrup. Dump this mix into a 9" deep dish pie pan. I use a pampered chef stoneware pan, and think it's pretty spectacular.   
  • Press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the pie pan. If it sticks to your fingers, wet your fingers with some water
  • Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until lightly browned. It's really easy to burn a nut crust, so err on the side of caution. Allow this to cool completely before filling.   



Chocolate filling.
Ingredients
600g of soft tofu (I use 2 boxes of sunrise brand soft tofu. I often use one dessert and one plain)
3 tablespoons of maple syrup
300g good quality dark chocolate
Fruit topping (raspberries and/or strawberries work exceptionally well).

Directions

  • Start by preparing the fruit, you want it to be ready to go as soon as you pour the filling into the pie crust. Wash it, but make sure it's dry before placing it atop the pie.
  • Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. While you are doing this, blend the tofu in a, well, blender. 
  • Once the chocolate is melted, add it to the blended tofu, which I would imagine to still be in the blender. Blend the chocolate and tofu together until it's smooth, scrape the sides as needed. 
  • Pour chocolate into cooled pie crust, top with fruit and possibly other pretty, yummy things like chocolate shavings and/or coconut flakes (as seen in the above photo).
  • Chill in the fridge until serving.  
That's all you need to know.