Rich Chocolate Cream Pie Recipe (Vegan, Keto & Paleo)
This chocolate cream pie recipe has a rich chocolate flavor and a smooth creamy texture with a nutty crust. It's the perfect dessert for holidays or special occasions and can be made vegan, keto or paleo.
Ingredients
Crust:
- 2 cups almond flour
- 2 tbsp ground flax seeds
- 2 tbsp warm water
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 cup sugar free maple syrup (for keto) (sub regular maple syrup for vegan, or honey for paleo)
- 1/3 cup coconut oil softened
- dash sea salt
- 1 tbsp coconut oil (to grease the pan)
Filling:
- 5 5.4oz cans coconut cream OR 2 (13oz) cans
- 1/4 cup sugar free maple syrup (for keto) (sub regular maple syrup for vegan, or honey for paleo)
- 2/3 cup cocoa powder
- dash sea salt
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
For the crust:
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Preheat the oven to 350°. In a small bowl, combine the ground flax seeds and warm water, stir and set aside. This mixture should thicken and congeal within about 1 minute.
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In a separate large bowl combine the almond flour, baking soda, salt and mix. Then add the thickened flax mixture, maple syrup and 1/3 cup coconut oil and mix.
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Grease an 8 or 9 inch pie pan with coconut oil, then press the crust mixture into the pan to cover. Poke a few holes in the crust with a fork, then bake the crust for 5-10 minutes at 350° until it's golden brown on the edges. Set aside to let cool completely.
For the filling:
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Scoop only the white coconut cream out of the cans and leave any remaining clear liquid at the bottom of the can. Put the coconut cream in a large mixing bowl. Using a whisk, mix the coconut cream and whisk it until the lumps are broken up and it is a thick cream consistency.
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Once the coconut cream is smooth, add the maple syrup, cocoa powder, sea salt and vanilla and gently mix it with the whisk until it is fully blended and there are no lumps.
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Make sure that the pie crust has cooled after baking, then pour the chocolate coconut cream filling in the pie crust. Spread the filling evenly and place in the refrigerator for 2 hours or more to allow it to set and harden.
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To serve, you can place a small amount of coconut cream on top for garnish and add shaved dark chocolate.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
- Selecting the Right Coconut Cream: Unfortunately, coconut cream that is sold commercially can vary in texture quite a bit. You want to make sure to get the thick canned coconut cream for the right texture (this is the brand that I found to be most consistent for this recipe--Trader Joe's changed their formula and I find that it doesn't work anymore). Avoid coconut cream in a cardboard box because they usually are too watery or sometimes too oily. It should be bright white and the texture of room temperature butter–thick and solid but pliable. It should keep its shape, but you should be able to easily stick a knife through it. Watch the recipe video below to get an idea of the texture. I generally try to avoid additives so I hate to say it, but I've found that brands with guar gum as an additive tend to work much better for this recipe. When scooping coconut cream out of the can, only get the white solid thick cream at the top and leave the clear liquid at the bottom.
- You'll need a total of about 25-26 oz. cans of coconut cream. Since I like to use these small cans I end up needing 5 of these cans, but if you find a larger 13 oz. can of coconut cream with the right texture, then 2 of those will suffice.
- Substitutions: There are a few substitutions that I have tried that will work for this recipe. You can use regular cocoa powder or raw cacao powder--either will work. For a low carb and keto pie, I use this brand of sugar free maple syrup. You can also use regular maple syrup for vegan or honey for paleo. Blanched almond flour or almond meal will work for the crust. You can also substitute this for another nut flour or meal like pecan meal or walnut meal. Apart from those changes mentioned, I can't speak on any other major substitutions and can't guarantee any other changes to the recipe. If you do decide to experiment with substitutions, please leave a comment to help others who may be interested in your changes.
- To grind whole flax seeds, use a coffee grinder. You can also buy already ground flaxseed meal (like this). I prefer golden flax seeds because the flavor is lighter.
- For the coconut oil in the crust make sure it is softened, but not totally melted. This helps with the crust texture.
- Be sure to let the pie crust cool fully after baking before adding in the pie filling otherwise it can melt the coconut cream too much and mess up the texture.
- You can reserve a small portion of the coconut cream--about 2 tbsp-- to top the pie like whipped cream if you want.
- Be sure to store this pie in the refrigerator and keep it away from direct heat--if it sits out in the sun for a while or is on top of a hot oven it could melt. In my experience it holds shape perfectly sitting at room temperature on the dinner table for a while during dessert. But for overnight storage or longer keep it in the refrigerator.
- Nutrition Facts below are for one serving (out of 10 total) of chocolate cream pie made with Lakanto sugar free maple syrup. Sugar alcohols are not shown on the nutrition label below. Be sure to subtract 2 grams of sugar alcohol from total carbs to achieve net carbs. There are 4 grams of net carbs per serving when using Lakanto sugar free maple syrup.