YOU GUYS. I made you a Thanksgiving pie and it is bonkers good. It’s rich and light and creamy and crunchy and perfectly spicy and just the tiniest bit boozy. It’s a chocolate cream pie with a light spice, smothered with vanilla coconut whipped cream, topped with bourbon pecan crumble and shaved chocolate. In a gingersnap crust. What is even happening. Did I mention it’s vegan?
IT’S VEGAN.
And I made you a vegan gingersnap chocolate cream pie GIF. Because duh. Vegan cream pies and GIFs go together like bananas and peanut butter. Come to think of it, maybe that should be our next vegan cream pie. But I digress.
This is the perfect pie to grace your Thanksgiving and holiday tables for the following reasons:
1) It’s totally delish.
2) It can be made gluten-free, which would then make it both vegan AND wheat-free, which means that it would probably win some kind of gold award in the hipster pie olympics.
and
3) Because it’s made with chia seed and nut milks, it’s actually quite light. I mean, comparatively. It’s not a salad, but it will absolutely keep you from that puke-y post-Thanksgiving feeling of gastrointestinal terror and impending doom.
Because I love you, I prefer to keep you from such feelings, and instead allow you to enjoy this swooner of a chocolate cream pie in peace.
The whole thing is laced with maple syrup, which brings out bourbon’s caramel notes and commingles perfectly with the salty-sweet crumb of the gingersnap crust. And I’m so excited for you to experience the wonder of chia chocolate cream.
Ps, the recipe looks long but I promise it’s super simple. Just give it a read through before you start, and note that you have to do a couple things (like 5 minutes’ worth) the night before.
(And don’t forget to check out the full K&C vegetarian Thanksgiving feast in the past week’s post—plus more to come.)
GINGERSNAP CHOCOLATE CREAM PIE WITH BOURBON PECAN CRUMBLE (VEGAN).
Ingredients
chocolate cream filling
- 2 ¼ cups unsweetened almond or nut milk of choice
- ¾ cup chia seeds
- 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- ¼ cup + ½ tablespoon maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ½ tablespoons bourbon
- pinch sea salt
- 1 ½ cups semisweet chocolate chips
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
gingersnap crust
- 12 ounces gingersnaps (about 45-50 cookies gluten-free if desired)
- 6 tablespoons raw virgin coconut oil melted
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
bourbon pecans
- ¼ cup whole pecan halves
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon bourbon
- pinch sea salt
bourbon pecan crumble
- 1/3 cup pecans finely chopped
- 1 ½ teaspoons maple syrup
- 1 ½ teaspoons bourbon
- pinch sea salt
recipe from Oh, Lady Cakes, who has awesome process intel on her blog
- thick coconut cream scooped from 1 can coconut milk only use full fat
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
garnish
- 3 tablespoons dark or semisweet chocolate shavings
Instructions
- The night before you plan to make and serve the pie, place can of coconut milk in the fridge.
- Also the night before, combine chia seeds, almond milk, cocoa powder, maple syrup, vanilla extract, bourbon, and sea salt in a large bowl. Whisk to combine, and continue whisking until all cocoa powder clumps are gone and the chia begins to thicken. Cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge overnight.
- The next morning, make the pie crust.
- Preheat oven to 350º. Pulse gingersnaps in two batches in a blender or food processor until you have a coarse crumb, like coarse sand. Empty into a large bowl. Whisk in nutmeg and cinnamon. Pour melted coconut oil over the mixture and combine thoroughly.
- Press gingersnap crumb mixture into a 9" pie pan, spreading evenly along the bottom and up the sides. You can use the bottom of a measuring cup to even things out if you like.
- Bake for 8 minutes, then remove and let cool.
- Now, empty thickened chocolate chia pudding into a blender and blend on high until very creamy and smooth.
- In a double boiler over boiling water, in a microwave, or in a small saucepan over very low heat, melt 1 ½ cups semisweet chocolate chips until chocolate is completely smooth, like a ganache.
- Add melted chocolate, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg to the blender with the blended chia, and continue to blend on low until all is completely incorporated. Taste and add a touch more sweetness or salt if you like.
- Scoop chocolate cream pie filling out of blender and into the cooled gingersnap crust. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours, to set.
- Now make the bourbon pecans (whole and crumble). Preheat oven or toaster oven to 425º.
- Start by combining ingredients for the bourbon pecans (whole pecan halves, bourbon, maple syrup, and flaky salin a small bowl. Toss to coat evenly. Spread on a small baking sheet and pour remaining bourbon maple mixture over the top. Roast for 3-5 minutes, checking frequently—the moment you see browning, remove. Use a spatula to remove nuts from the tray and set on a plate to cool, in an even layer (otherwise they’ll stick together).
- Repeat for the pecan crumble, mixing finely chopped nuts with maple, bourbon, and sea salt, baking for 3-5 minutes, and removing at the first sign of browning.
- When the pie is ready to serve (after setting for 2-3 hours), make the coconut whipped cream. Open up the can of chilled coconut milk and scoop out the thick coconut cream at the top. You can discard the rest of the liquid. In a large bowl, mix coconut cream with powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Whip with an electric mixer on high until the mixture becomes completely smooth, light, and whippy.
- Spread coconut whipped cream over the top of the chocolate cream, starting from the center and working your way out, leaving a 2" perimeter around the out edge of the pie, closest to the crust. Top with bourbon pecan crumble as you like, add bourbon pecans, and sprinkle with shaved chocolate.
- Let refrigerated pie sit at least 20-30 minutes before eating, then slice and serve!
