GLUTEN FREE CHOCOLATE CREAM PIE & VEGAN CHOCOLATE CREAM PIE with a HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE COOKIE CRUST

Posted by Bryna Bear aka Gluten Free Baking Bear

     Creamy, chocolatey, rich and luscious Chocolate Cream Pie. I had been craving chocolate pudding and decided to make a cream pie since I had an empty chocolate cookie crust that was impatiently waiting to be filled.
     A friend asked me for a gluten free chocolate cookie crust recipe. The saying goes “Why reinvent the wheel?”  So I started by converting a (wheat) recipe I found on line that all the reviews raved about. It came out very tough and hard and gritty from the sugar not dissolving.  So I then turned by sights to my favorite cookie crust recipe.  My gluten free shortbread cookie crust is easy to make, holds together well, is tender and delicious.  I replaced some of the flour with cocoa and then increased the sugar.  The dough looked wetter when mixed than the non-chocolate crust, but came out with a wonderful texture and taste.  Then I decided to make a vegan pie so that my son could also have some pie.  For the vegan crust I replaced the butter with margarine and omitted the salt.  Of course, if you prefer, you can use a non-chocolate shortbread crust or any pie crust of your choice.
     The dairy pudding recipe has eggs so for a vegan version I used the vegan mousse recipe from my French Tea Party for the filling. For a dairy free pie I would have made the filling just like the dairy filling, but replacing the milk with a nondairy milk like soy or almond.  
     Traditionally a chocolate cream pie has whipped cream on top.  I followed tradition. For the vegan or dairy free pie I made coconut ‘whipped cream’.  Often coconut whipped cream gets soft, loses its shape and begins to dissolve once it reaches room temperature. I used coconut cream instead of coconut milk.  Coconut cream has more of the solids from coconut milk and much less of the liquid. I also added a small amount of xanthan gum to the coconut whipped cream to make it thicker and to hold its shape better.  This worked like a charm.  The ‘whipped cream’ held its shape at room temperature and in the refrigerator until the final piece was eaten the next day.

GLUTEN FREE CHOCOLATE CREAM PIE

Ingredients
CRUST

1/2 cup	Sorghum Flour
1/4 cup	Tapioca Flour
1/4 cup	Chickpea Flour
1/4 cup	Cocoa Powder
1/2 tsp.	Xanthan Gum
1/4 tsp.	Sea Salt (omit if using salted margarine or butter)
1/2 cup	Unsalted Butter or for Vegan or Dairy Free use margarine. (for a harder crisper crust reduce to 6 Tbs. margarine)

FILLING

1/2 cup	Sugar
1/4 cup	Corn Starch
6 Tbs.	Cocoa Powder*
1/2 tsp.	Sea Salt
3 cups	Whole Milk (for Dairy Free use nondairy milk such as soy or almond)
4 large	Egg Yolks
3 Tbs.	Butter (for Dairy Free use Margarine or Olive Oil) *
1 Tbs., plus 1 Tsp.	Vanilla Extract.

*You can use 2 squares/2 oz. of unsweetened chocolate instead of the cocoa and butter (oil or margarine).

Vegan or Non Dairy

1 package/12 oz. *	Silken Tofu
2 Tbs.	Maple Syrup
10 oz.	Vegan or dairy free chocolate chips - melted.
1 tsp.	Vanilla Extract

*My package of silken tofu was 16 ounces so I added an additional 2 ounces of chocolate and an additional Tbs. of maple syrup.

TOPPING
Dairy 

1 cup	Heavy Whipping Cream
3 Tbs. or more per taste	Confectioner’s Sugar
1/2 tsp.	Vanilla Extract

Vegan or Dairy Free

1 can/14 oz.	Coconut Cream or Coconut Milk (full fat) - refrigerated several hours or overnight
1/4 cup	Confectioner’s Sugar (or to taste)
1 tsp.	Vanilla Extract
1/4 tsp.	Xanthan Gum

Directions
First make the crust:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a large bowl add the flours, salt, xanthan gum, sugar & cocoa. Mix well.
3. Cut the butter into small cubes and add to the flour mixture.
4. Using a pastry blender cut the butter into the flour mixture until all the flour is coated. Mine came together like cookie dough.
5. You can also make this with a food processor. (I prefer this method.) Add the flours, salt, xanthan gum, sugar & cocoa to the bowl of the food processor.  Pulse several times until well mixed.  Add the cubes of butter and pulse several times until the mixture comes together.

   

   Dough after coming together.

6. Place the dough into a 9-inch pie pan and, using your fingers, press the dough down along the bottom and sides of the pan. Prick some holes around the raw crust.

   

   Dough pressed into the bottom and up the sides of the pie pan.
   I pricked holes with a fork.

7. Bake 10-20 minutes depending upon your oven and how thick the crust is. The crust will still be soft to the touch when done and while warm.  It will harden as it cools.

   

   Baked chocolate cookie crust.

8. Let the crust cool completely before filling it.

Next make the filling:
Dairy or Dairy Free

1. In a large sauce pan add the sugar, cornstarch, cocoa and salt.  Mix well.
2. Add the milk (or dairy free milk) and egg yolks. Whisk together with the dry ingredients until smooth. If using melted unsweetened chocolate squares instead of cocoa add the melted chocolate when you add the milk and eggs.

   

   Milk mixed into the dry ingredients with a whisk until smooth.

3. Over medium heat cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and boils.
4. Boil and stir for one minute.  Remove from the heat.
5. Add the butter or margarine or oil (omit if using melted chocolate) and the vanilla and mix well.
6. Pour the pudding immediately into the prepared pie crust and spread out evenly with a rubber spatula.

   

   Filling poured into the pie shell while hot.

7. Press plastic wrap on top of the pudding to prevent a crust from forming on top.
8. Refrigerate 2 or more hours to allow the pie to set before serving. 

   

   Filling after chilled.
   It was covered in plastic wrap that has been removed.

Vegan or Dairy Free

1. Add the silken tofu to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl once.
2. Add the melted chocolate, maple syrup and vanilla.  Run the food processor until well combined, scrap down the sides of the bowl once or twice.  
3. Pour the filling into the prepared pie crust.
4. Cover and chill for at least two hours or until firm.

   

   Vegan filling after chilled.

Next make the topping:
Dairy

1. Add the whipping cream to a medium sized bowl and whip with an electric mixer until it just starts to thicken.
2. Add the sugar and vanilla and mix until combined. Taste and add sugar as needed per taste preference.
3. Continue whipping on highest mixer speed until soft peaks form.
4. You can just spread the topping on top of the pie and smooth it out with a rubber spatula.  For a fancier presentation, use a pastry bag with a large star tip, fill the bag with the whipped cream and pipe out stars in circles around the entire pie, starting at the center.

   

   Whipped cream in a pastry bag with a large star tip.

Vegan or Dairy Free

1. Open the can of coconut cream or milk. Scrape out the solid part and reserve the liquid for another use.
2. Add the solid part of the coconut to a bowl with the sugar, vanilla and xanthan gum. 
3. Mix on the highest speed of an electric mixer until thick and soft peaks form.

   

   Coconut whipped cream after being whipped.

4. You can just spread the topping on top of the pie and smooth it out with a rubber spatula.  For a fancier presentation, use a pastry bag with a large star tip, fill the bag with the whipped cream and pipe out stars in circles around the entire pie, starting at the center.

   

   Vegan Chocolate Cream Pie.

Keep the pie refrigerated until just before serving.  Store left over pie well covered in the refrigerator.  You can freeze pieces, if well wrapped, for later use.  Just thaw for 2 hours in the refrigerator or 1/2 hour at room temperature before serving.

A slice of the vegan pie.

GLUTEN FREE CHOCOLATE CREAM PIE Ingredients CRUST 1/2 cup Sorghum Flour 1/4 cup Tapioca Flour 1/4 cup Chickpea Flour 1/4 cup Cocoa Powder 1/2 tsp. Xanthan Gum 1/4 tsp. Sea Salt (omit if using salted margarine or butter) 1/2 cup Unsalted Butter or for Vegan or Dairy Free use margarine. (for a harder crisper crust reduce to 6 Tbs. margarine) FILLING 1/2 cup Sugar 1/4 cup Corn Starch 6 Tbs. Cocoa Powder* 1/2 tsp. Sea Salt 3 cups Whole Milk (for Dairy Free use nondairy milk such as soy or almond) 4 large Egg Yolks 3 Tbs. Butter (for Dairy Free use Margarine or Olive Oil) * 1 Tbs., plus 1 Tsp. Vanilla Extract. *You can use 2 squares/2 oz. of unsweetened chocolate instead of the cocoa and butter (oil or margarine). Vegan or Non Dairy 1 package/12 oz. * Silken Tofu 2 Tbs. Maple Syrup 10 oz. Vegan or dairy free chocolate chips - melted. 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract *My package of silken tofu was 16 ounces so I added an additional 2 ounces of chocolate and an additional Tbs. of maple syrup. TOPPING Dairy 1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream 3 Tbs. or more per taste Confectioner’s Sugar 1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract Vegan or Dairy Free 1 can/14 oz. Coconut Cream or Coconut Milk (full fat) - refrigerated several hours or overnight 1/4 cup Confectioner’s Sugar (or to taste) 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract 1/4 tsp. Xanthan Gum Directions First make the crust: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl add the flours, salt, xanthan gum, sugar & cocoa. Mix well. Cut the butter into small cubes and add to the flour mixture. Using a pastry blender cut the butter into the flour mixture until all the flour is coated. Mine came together like cookie dough. You can also make this with a food processor. Add the flours, salt, xanthan gum, sugar & cocoa to the bowl of the food processor. Pulse several times until well mixed. Add the cubes of butter and pulse several times until the mixture comes together. Place the dough into a 9-inch pie pan and, using your fingers, press the dough down along the bottom and sides of the pan. Bake 10-20 minutes depending upon your oven and how thick the crust is. The crust will still be soft to the touch when done and while warm. It will harden as it cools. Let the crust cool completely before filling it. Next make the filling: Dairy or Dairy Free In a large sauce pan add the sugar, cornstarch, cocoa and salt. Mix well. Add the milk (or dairy free milk) and egg yolks. Whisk together with the dry ingredients until smooth. If using melted unsweetened chocolate squares instead of cocoa add the melted chocolate when you add the milk and eggs. Over medium heat cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir for one minute. Remove from the heat. Add the butter or margarine or oil (omit if using melted chocolate) and the vanilla and mix well. Pour the pudding immediately into the prepared pie crust and spread out evenly with a rubber spatula. Press plastic wrap on top of the pudding to prevent a crust from forming on top. Refrigerate 2 or more hours to allow the pie to set before serving. Vegan or Dairy Free Add the silken tofu to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl once. Add the melted chocolate, maple syrup and vanilla. Run the food processor until well combined, scrap down the sides of the bowl once or twice. Pour the filling into the prepared pie crust. Cover and chill for at least two hours or until firm. Next make the topping: Dairy Add the whipping cream to a medium sized bowl and whip with an electric mixer until it just starts to thicken. Add the sugar and vanilla and mix until combined. Taste and add sugar as needed per taste preference. Continue whipping on highest mixer speed until soft peaks form. You can just spread the topping on top of the pie and smooth it out with a rubber spatula. For a fancier presentation, use a pastry bag with a large star tip, fill the bag with the whipped cream and pipe out stars in circles around the entire pie, starting at the center. Vegan or Dairy Free Open the can of coconut cream or milk. Scrape out the solid part and reserve the liquid for another use. Add the solid part of the coconut to a bowl with the sugar, vanilla and xanthan gum. Mix on the highest speed of an electric mixer until thick and soft peaks form. You can just spread the topping on top of the pie and smooth it out with a rubber spatula. For a fancier presentation, use a pastry bag with a large star tip, fill the bag with the whipped cream and pipe out stars in circles around the entire pie, starting at the center. Keep the pie refrigerated until just before serving. Store left over pie well covered in the refrigerator. You can freeze pieces, if well wrapped, for later use. Just thaw for 2 hours in the refrigerator or 1/2 hour at room temperature before serving.