Vegan Dark Chocolate Coconut Pies
Vegan Dark Chocolate Coconut Pies- all you need is 5 ingredients to make these decadent mini chocolate pies! (gluten-free + grain-free)
One of my all time favorite desserts is chocolate pie, better known as French Silk pie. There’s just something about the way the decadent, creamy chocolate melts in your mouth that seems to make all of your worries wash away.
But of course, like most prepared foods that I take the time to investigate, the ingredient list is usually full of unrecognizable ingredients. In attempt to make a somewhat healthier version, I set out to bake my own chocolate pie at home. Then as I paged through all of the traditional recipes, I found that most recipes use raw eggs, loads of butter, sugar and heavy cream. I honestly can’t tell you the last time I bought butter or heavy cream and the thought of eating raw eggs makes me gag a little.
Recently I found myself perusing Marin Mama’s site and saw a recipe for a dark chocolate pie made with a coconut crust that stopped me in my tracks. As a lover of dark chocolate and coconut, I absolutely had to make this happen in my kitchen. Jackie’s recipe didn’t have any added sugar or raw eggs; just heavy cream and butter which I could easily replace with vegan margarine and coconut cream.
Somehow after moving through three different states, I managed to lose my pie dish but the recipe worked fine as mini pies made in my muffin tin.
The tricky part is that the coconut can burn pretty easily, so you have to get fancy and cover the parts on the edges with tin foil so that they don’t burn in the oven.
I cooked mine for ten minutes with the foil on and then five more without the foil but I’m sure you could cook it less or more depending on how crispy you like the coconut.
The crust comes out with slightly crunchy edges but the inside still has that delicious soft and chewy coconut texture.
And I think the chocolate filling speaks for itself. It’s not as light and airy as French silk pie but it’s still creamy and chocolately enough to satisfy the craving.
Vegan Dark Chocolate Coconut Pies
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons dairy-free butter, or coconut oil
- 2 tablespoon unrefined coconut oil
- 24 ounces sweetened shredded coconut
- 12 ounces dark chocolate
- 1 14.5-ounce can regular coconut milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F then grease or line a non-stick muffin tin. If your pan isn’t non-stick then you will need to use liners.
- Place 1 cup of the coconut into a food processor along with the vegan butter and coconut oil. Pulse for thirty seconds until the butter appears blended with the coconut. Remove the mixture and place it into a large bowl with the remaining coconut. Combine everything with your fingers until it is mixed together well.
- Taking a few tablespoons of the coconut mixture at a time, press it into the muffin tin, shaping it up the sides to form a crust. Continue until you have used all of the mixture which should make ten mini pies. Cover muffin tin with a sheet of tinfoil and then feel for the center of each one and poke a hole with a sharp knife. Pull the tinfoil back so that hole is about 2 inches in diameter.
- Bake in the oven for ten minutes then remove foil and cook for another five minutes until light golden brown. The coconut can burn easily if you don’t keep an eye on it, so be sure to stay in the kitchen while you’re baking the crust.
- Make the filling while the crust is cooking by warming a sauce pan over medium heat. Pour the coconut milk into the pot and heat until it starts to bubble. Chop your chocolate with a knife or break it apart with your fingers then add it to the saucepan. Turn the heat to low and whisk until chocolate and coconut cream are well-combined. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Pour about 1/4 cup of the chocolate mixture into each muffin tin then put it in the refrigerator to chill for at least 4 hours. When you are ready to remove them from the muffin tin, you will have to use a butter knife to release the edges. Serve with coconut whipped cream and/or chopped nuts and enjoy!
What?? A coconut crust! That sounds soooo good! I was expected to see a lot of ingredients when I got to the recipe … but that’s definitely not so! Love this!
OMG are these even real?! I’ll take twelve please!
Amazing photos and recipe. and only 5 ingredients? WOW. I’m afraid to check out Marin Mama’s site because you have officially made 3 of her recipes which means I won’t be able to leave there without having bookmarked at last 6 and my pinterest is already overflowing and I still need to make your pumpkin muffins and quinoa chilli. So many recipes! So little time grrr
Girl! These look amazing! I always thought about putting them in muffin tins, as they would be great to take to a party. I’m so going to do that for Thanksgiving and bring them down to my friends. We made this pie last year instead of the traditional thanksgiving pie and it was a hit! People are ready for a break from the traditional apple and pumpkin pies. I’m so going to link to you on my post for this vegan version! xoxo, Jackie
Thanks Jackie! It was a great recipe so thank you for sharing it! Have a great weekend! :)
I just linked my recipe over to yours. BTW, my hubby saw your image and he was begging me to make this pie up in muffin form. So, I guess I know what I’ll be doing next week ;) Also, your photos are amazing and I’m totally pinning this recipe! xoxo, Jackie
Thanks for the link love, girl! They’re a little more tedious to make in muffin form but they look cute, haha. And they freeze well too!
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Coconut cream pie is my favorite, so I LOVE this light chocolate and coconut version of creamy pie!!
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Hi! These look amazing! How long do they last? Stored in the fridge? What is the best way to store them?
Hi Jessica! Sorry I didn’t specify that. They can be stored at room temperature (if you live in a cool environment) or the refrigerator in an air tight conatiner. I actually froze some of them and then defrosted them later and they tasted great.
They should last for up to a week but if you freeze them then I would say three months. Hope that helps! :)
This recipe looks delicious. I’ll be trying it this weekend, but I’m wondering what I could use in place of Earth Balance. I’m in a rural area and local stores don’t carry it. Could I use coconut oil in place?
I think it would work if you kept a close eye on the crust because it might cook faster/slower. Also, I’m not sure the crust would hold together as well but you could half the recipe and give it a trial run. Worst case scenario, you have to eat them falling apart. I’m sure they’d still taste good! :)
I tried it with coconut oil and it worked very well. Next time I think I’ll use half of the chocolate to line the coconut cups and then use the rest to dip berries in and fill the cups with the chocolate covered berries. Thanks again!
I’m happy to hear it worked out! I bet they will be delicious with the berries. Great idea!
these look lovely!
question: why does the coconut milk need to be chilled when you’re cooking it?
Thanks Andie! It’s so that you can separate the cream. But you could always use a can of coconut cream instead of coconut milk and skip that step. :)
I just made these and they turned out great! The amount of shredded coconut confused me though. I used a regular muffin tin with 3-4 tablespoons of the crust mixture in each cup. But I had so much of it left over. Am I missing something with the measurements?
Hi Aimee! I’m happy to hear they turned out good for you! I’m not sure why there was so much coconut left over…I guess it could depend on the brand or style you used (sweetened vs. unsweetened). Sorry for the confusion!
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Hi Sarah. Love your recipes! Want to try this one but I don’t use cocoa so want to make this using carob powder. What fat would you suggest along with carob powder and milk to make the filling?
Thanks.