Decadent Chocolate Mousse Pie
A decadent gluten-free, grain-free, and vegan chocolate mouse pie recipe with a chocolate topping.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 7" pie
- Category: Pie
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Dessert
Ingredients
Crust:
- 1 cup cashews
- 6 soft medjool dates, pitted
- 2 tbsp non-dairy yogurt*
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
Filling:
- ¾ cup raw cashews, pre-soaked and strained**
- ¾ cup non-dairy yogurt
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 3 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 tbsp ground chia seeds
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp almond extract
- ¼ tsp raw ground vanilla bean
Topping:
- ½ cup non-dairy yogurt
- ⅓ cup melted dark chocolate of your choice, melted
- a few tbsp shaved dark chocolate for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Oil a 7" tart pan (the walls should be at least 1½" tall -- like this one) with a removable bottom and set aside.
- Process all crust ingredients into a fine sticky crumble in a food processor. Transfer this mixture into the tart pan and press down into an even thin flat crust along the base with your hands. Set aside.
- Blend all filling ingredients until completely smooth in a high power blender. Pour the filling over the crust in the pan and bake in a pre-heated oven for 40 mins. Note: keep an eye out to make sure the top is not burning.
- Remove the pie from the oven and cool on a cooling rack for 30 mins or so, then remove out of the pan. Note: the cake will be domed when it comes out of the oven and will deflate as it cools -- this is normal.
- Once the pie is cooled off, stir the yogurt with the melted dark chocolate to make the topping. Spread this topping over the baked pie. Sprinkle with some shaved chocolate (note: it's important that the cake has cooled off for this, as otherwise the sprinkled chocolate will melt from the warmth of the cake). Chill the pie in the fridge for 20 mins (or longer) to let the topping set and enjoy! Keep leftovers refrigerated.
Notes
*I used an agave-sweetened vanilla coconut yogurt. If using an unsweetened yogurt, add 2 tbsp coconut sugar to the filling (or to taste), and 1 tbsp maple syrup to the topping layer.
**To pre-soak nuts: place in a glass bowl, cover with water, and leave to soak for 4 hours (or overnight in the fridge). Then strain and discard the water.
For a quick pre-soak, cover with boiled water and soak for 15 mins, then strain and discard water. (Note: this technique doesn’t preserve the nutrition of the recipe as well as the traditional soaking technique above).
Note: the purpose of soaking the nuts is to re-hydrate them and plump them up for blending into a smooth, cheesecake-like consistency. Proper soaking techniques also maximize nutrition and digestibility. If you’re interested in learning more about nut soaking and other dessert prep tips and tricks, I delve into these subjects in detail in my book Unconventional Treats.