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
Paleo Grain-Free 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)
Gluten-Free Crust:
- 2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour
- 5 tbsp butter (room temperature)
- 1/2 cup almond milk
- 1 tbsp butter (for greasing the pan)
Filling:
- 3 cans coconut cream (3 standard sized 13oz. cans- more for smaller cans)
- 1/2 cup sugar free maple syrup (for keto) (sub regular maple syrup for vegan, or honey for paleo)
- 1 cup cocoa powder
- dash sea salt
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
For the paleo grain-free 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 gluten-free crust:
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Pre-heat the oven to 350°F.
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Add the gluten-free flour to a large bowl. Add in room temperature butter and use a folk to blend. It will still be somewhat dry and be in chunks.
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Add in the almond milk and mix together until it's mixed into a pliable mound.
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Grease an 8-9 inch pie dish with butter or oil. Press the pie dough evenly into the pie dish.
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Bake at 350°F for 10-15 minutes or until cooked through. It may or may not become golden brown depending on your flour choice. Let cool completely before adding filling.
For the filling:
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You want to make sure to get the thick canned coconut cream for the right texture. Sometimes cans of full fat coconut milk that have been refrigerated will work as well as long as the cream separates to the top and leaves the clear liquid at the bottom (I've had luck with Thai Kitchen coconut milk brand). This brand of coconut cream also works for this recipe. Coconut cream 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. (See "Recipe Tips" above for more info and tips on finding the right coconut cream).
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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. Sometimes cans of full fat coconut milk that have been refrigerated will work as well as long as the cream separates to the top and leaves the clear liquid at the bottom (I've had luck with Thai Kitchen coconut milk brand). Native Forest brand of coconut cream also works for this recipe. A good rule of thumb for me when shopping at the store for coconut milk or cream is to shake the can, if it sounds like sloshing liquid it won't work, if there's no sloshing, then it's likely solid cream and can be used for this recipe.
- 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.
- 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.
- For the pie crust, you can choose from two different recipes. One is paleo and grain-free and made with almond flour and it more of a soft cookie type texture. The other is a gluten-free crust made with gluten-free flour and is a little more flakey like a traditional pie crust.
- To make this recipe vegan, I use flax seed "eggs" which is basically just ground flax seeds mixed with water that help to thicken and bind ingredients without eggs. 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 an estimation for one serving of chocolate cream pie made with Lakanto sugar free maple syrup. Actual nutrition facts may vary. 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 roughly 4 grams of net carbs per serving when using Lakanto sugar free maple syrup.