Dairy-Free Brownie Easter Pie

For some, the new year brings diets, new exercise regimes, 10-day green juice smoothie cleanses…you get the idea. For our Founder, the new year brought a baby. And after years of lovingly embracing dairy products and its derivatives on a multiple-times-per-day basis, Marlo was told she had to cut dairy out of her diet for said baby (only temporarily, don’t worry).  Needless to say, thank goodness all Marlo’s Bakeshop products are dairy-free. Finding desserts that are free of butter and/or cream but that are creamy in texture can be challenging though. Enter our friend, Dabbling Chef’s, Italian Easter Pie, featuring Chocolate Chip Brownie Soft-Baked Biscotti as the crust.  Not only does this pie have all the creaminess of a cheesecake without the dairy, we made it with date sugar and quinoa flour to up the ‘health’ quotient. Not to mention, the heart-healthy benefits of coconut oil.

For us, this dessert checks all our boxes and pushes allllll our buttons: rich chocolate, creamy cheesecake vibes and crunchy crust (and could be gluten-free if you use our GF Banana Bread Soft-Baked Biscotti in the crust). But most importantly, this chocolate pie’s elegant and nuanced flavors are so satisfying that even a little slice satiates. We still had 3 though….after all, life is so much sweeter with a little chocolate in it.

Chocolate Coconut Pie with Brownie Biscotti Crust, adapted from Dabbling Chef

*Dairy- &  Nut-free (Soy-free, too, if you use chocolate with sunflower lecithin instead of soy, like we did. Try Guittard)

For the crust:

1 box Chocolate Chip Brownie Soft-Baked Biscotti (2 cups coarsely chopped)

2 tbsp coconut oil (not melted), plus more for greasing pie pan

4 medjool dates, pitted

½ tsp vanilla extract

A pinch of salt

For the filling:

1 x 13.6oz can coconut milk (full-fat, unsweetened)

½ cup date sugar (or coconut sugar)

1 tbsp quinoa flour (or coconut flour- or anything you have)

1 tsp fresh orange juice

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

A generous pinch of salt

2/3 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. To prepare the crust, place biscotti, coconut oil, dates, salt and vanilla in food processor and pulse a few times until mixture resembles coarse sand and sticks together when pressed between fingers.
3. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9” springform pan with coconut oil. Transfer crust to pan and press firmly with the heel of your hand to evenly coat the bottom. Place in fridge to set.
4. Meanwhile, prepare the filling. In a large bowl combine the coconut milk, sugar, flour, and orange juice. Whisk together until no large clumps remain (small curdles are ok and will melt down as it bakes.)
5. In another mixing bowl whisk the eggs until frothy and bright yellow, about 5 minutes. You can do this by hand or in a stand mixer with whisk attachment.
6. Fold eggs into the coconut mixture followed by the chocolate chips.
7. Place the springform pan on baking sheet to make it easier to transfer to oven. Pour filling into prepared pie crust.
8. Bake for 50 minutes, with no peeking in the oven, until custard is set.
9. When the 50 minutes is up, turn off the oven, place a wooden spoon in the door to keep it cracked open slightly or simply leave it ajar. Allow the pie to cool completely in the oven for at least an hour. Place in fridge to set for a minimum of 2 hours. Feel free to bring out to room temp before enjoying or keep cold when serving for a cool and creamy treat.

Notes: when using chocolate chips instead of chopped chocolate (for the lazy baker in us), beware that your chocolate may sink to the bottom of the tart. We didn’t mind, it created a layer of rich chocolate underneath the custard layer. If you’d prefer the two layers to mesh, use chopped chocolate. 

Enjoy!