Vegan Chocolate Pie

I posted this picture on Chocolate Covered Anything Day and got some requests for the recipe.  So here is my vegan version and the original.  They both taste great!

My Grandma made AWESOME chocolate pies.  Fortunately she shared the recipe with the family and so my mom and I continue to make Grandma's chocolate pie.  We have massaged it a bit in order to use MUCH stronger cocoa.  Our preferred cocoa is VanHouten cocoa.  That's not always easy to find in the US, so, at a minimum use dutch process cocoa.  Now Grandma's chocolate pie recipe isn't compatible with vegan eating so I decided to veganize it and see how it tastes.  Well it tastes great!  I'll give you both recipes so you can choose which you prefer.

First things first you need to make a pie crust.  I use the crust recipe that came with my cuisinart since it comes out great every time.  If you're making a vegan pie use a plant based "butter".  READ THE LABEL!  Do NOT use a plant based "butter" with water as the first ingredient, it will not work well to replace butter since you need fats, not water for baked goods.  I use Earth Balance cubes as they've worked well for all the other vegan dessert recipes I've made.  Once you've made your crust, put it in a pie pan and parbake it (you can find instructions on the web).  Once you've parbaked it remove the weights (I use rice in a cooking bag) and cook it completely.

Now for the chocolate pie part!

Grandma Sparks' Vegan Chocolate Pie Recipe

Ingredients:

• 3/4 c. sugar
• 1/4 c. flour (heaping)
• 2 t. cornstarch
• 1 t. salt
• 1/3c cocoa (heaping) ... I start with this amount and check the color of the dry mix.  If it isn't dark enough I add more cocoa.
• 1 c. lite coconut milk (or use full fat if you prefer)
• 1 c. oatmilk for baristas (this has some oil in it) or almond milk
• 2 T. plant based butter (use one with a plant oil as the first ingredient, NOT WATER)
• 1/2 t. vanilla

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a pan that you can use on your stove.  If it doesn't look dark enough add more cocoa.  My family likes a REALLY chocolatey pie.  If you prefer yours more sweet then stick with the recipe and if you're a chocolate wimp use regular cocoa.  Heat up the milks for about 1 minute in a microwave.  This just reduces the time spent on the stove.  Slowly add the milks to the dry ingredients. Cook, stirring constantly, until it slightly thickens and boils.  Turn to low and cook 2 minutes.  Add butter and vanilla.  Mix well.  Cool slightly and pour into your pie shell.  Eat and enjoy!

I tested this recipe without the egg yolk substitute and it firms up nicely so it is not needed.  However I'll leave the recipe here in case someone finds this useful for some other vegan recipe conversion.

Vegan Egg Yolk Substitute (makes ~1/4c or 2 egg yolks)

• 2 T. chickpea flour
• 2 T. flour
• 1/2 c. water
• 2 t. vegetable oil

In microwave safe bowl whisk together flours and water until smooth.  Heat for 30 seconds, beat with a hand mixer, heat for 30 more seconds. Add oil and beat it in well with a hand mixer.  Add enough extra oil to make the consistency of the mixture like egg yolks.  It should be smooth, thick and stirrable.  Use immediately or store in the fridge for a month.

Notes:

• The original recipe I found on the web said to heat for a total of 2 minutes and beat the water/flour mix after 1 minute.  However after 1 minute my water flour mix turned into almost dough.  I still added the oil and mixed that in and I put it immediately into the pie.  I used a whisk to really mix it into the pie since it was somewhat solidified. 
• The original recipe said you REALLY should use an electric mixer to get it smooth enough.  I have an electric hand mixer so I used that.  And since mine partially solidified I could not have mixed in the oil with a hand whisk. 

Grandma Sparks' Chocolate Pie Recipe (the original)

Ingredients:

• 3/4 c. sugar
• 1/4 c. flour (heaping)
• cornstarch (might be needed if you notice the pie isn't getting thick as you cook it)
• 1 t. salt
• 1/3c cocoa (heaping) ... I start with this amount and check the color of the dry mix.  If it isn't dark enough I add more cocoa.
• 3-4 egg yolks - slightly beaten
• 2 c. milk - scalded (~3 minutes in my microwave) ... you may not need to do this as often this was done in old recipes because the milk they got was fresh, not pasteurized.  But I've not made a recipe without doing this so I can't say how it will turn out.
• 2 T. butter
• 1/2 t. vanilla

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a pan that you can use on your stove.  If it doesn't look dark enough add more cocoa.  My family likes a REALLY chocolatey pie.  If you prefer yours more sweet then stick with the recipe and if you're a chocolate wimp use regular cocoa.  Slowly add the scalded milk to the dry ingredients. Cook, stirring constantly, until it slightly thickens and boils.  Cook 2 minutes.  Add a small amount of chocolate mix to egg yolks to preheat them.  Stir the egg yolks into the chocolate mix.  Cook 1 minute.  Add butter and vanilla.  Mix well.  Cool slightly and pour into your pie shell.  Eat and enjoy!