I try to prepare a whole bunch of food on Sundays in order to make it easier for me to pack my lunches for school each day. I usually wash and cut some vegetables, make some salads, or maybe I'll assemble an easy trail mix. But when I have a particularly difficult week ahead, I might make myself some extra treats. They have to be sweet enough (and chocolatey enough) to be a treat, but also wholesome enough to give me extra energy to handle the rough week's worth of papers, projects, tests, or problem sets. I am a sucker for a raw vegan dessert.
These mini pies make the perfect dessert - they're wholesome, gluten-free, raw, and vegan. It's a delicious special treat for my rough school weeks, and it's not a big deal to eat a half of one or a whole one. Unlike other chocolate silk pies, this is made entirely out of wholesome ingredients. How often is your dessert as healthy as your meal?
Mini Chocolate Silk Pies
(makes 5 mini pies, with some leftover coconut whipped cream)
Ingredients:
Directions:
(makes 5 mini pies, with some leftover coconut whipped cream)
Ingredients:
- 1 cup raisins
- 1/3 cup of cashews, soaked in warm water
- 2 tablespoon of cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup of flax seeds (optional)
- 2 cans coconut milk, refrigerated for at least 24 hours
- liquid sweetener to taste (agave, stevia, maple syrup, etc.)
- 1 tablespoon of water
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
- optional toppings: cacao nibs, chocolate shavings, mini chocolate chips, chia seeds, etc.
Directions:
- In a blender, combine the raisins, the cashews, the flax seeds and 1 tablespoon of the cocoa powder. Blend until it forms a gooey dough.
- Press the dough into a cupcake pan, lining five of the cups to create the pie crusts. Store the cupcake pan in the refrigerator while you make the filling.
- Open one of the cans of coconut milk. Pour out the liquid and scoop the solid part into a bowl. Add in the other 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder, the liquid sweetener and the water. Whip this mixture until it forms a creamy paste. (To see more details about the process of making coconut whipped cream, see my recipe post about it here.)
- Scoop it into the crusts you made in steps 1-2, being sure to leave a little space at the top for the whipped cream layer. Put the cupcake tray back in the refrigerator so the chocolate filling can congeal a bit more while you make the whipped cream topping.
- Now open the other can of coconut milk. Again, you can drain out the liquid and scoop out the solid into a bowl. Add in the vanilla extract and liquid sweetener to taste. Whip this mixture until it forms a creamy paste.
- Top the mini pies with the whipped cream. Sprinkle on toppings, if you'd like.
- Refrigerate the pies until you serve them. Enjoy!