DAIRY-FREE CHOCOLATE CREAM PIE WITH CHOCOLATE CRUST
on Oct 28, 2024, Updated Nov 11, 2024
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Luxurious, indulgent, and silky smooth, this chocolate cream pie is everything you could ever wish for (and more) for a phenomenal dairy-free holiday dessert.
What’s your ideal holiday dessert spread?
For my mom, the spread had to have a little something for everyone. We’re talking apple and pumpkin pies, fruity cobblers, sensational cheesecakes, chewy cookies, and, of course, something chocolatey.
Some years, this looked like a rich chocolate cake with mocha frosting while other years fudgey brownies took center stage.
But my personal favorite was always the silky chocolate cream pie. That’s why I’m particularly excited to share with you my Dairy-Free Chocolate Cream Pie with Chocolate Crust.
The crisp cookie pie shell contrasts well with the silky smooth chocolate pudding while the homemade whipped cream gives it all a bit of lightness.
This not-too-rich cream pie just happens to be gluten-free, dairy-free, and refined sugar-free too — ideal for holiday gatherings where just about everyone has a dietary preference.
I hope this decadent chocolate pie finds its way to your dessert buffet this holiday season. Enjoy!
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Key Ingredients for Holiday Chocolate Cream Pie
Making a homemade cream pie from scratch may seem daunting, but take one look at the ingredients and you’ll see it’s fairly straightforward to make. Here’s what you’ll need.
- Gluten-Free Chocolate Crackers: Your favorite store bought crackers do the trick here. I love the Simple Mills chocolate crackers.
- Dates: Medjool dates are the plumpest and juiciest. Just be sure to remove the pits before throwing them into the food processor.
- Coconut Oil: Instead of butter, coconut oil is used to help keep the pie crust together.
- Coconut Sugar: 99% of the time, I’m using coconut sugar in my baked treats. It’s worth buying a large bag so you can make all my refined sugar-free dessert recipes!
- Arrowroot Starch: This thickener is mixed with the coconut sugar to help stabilize the cream part of the cream pie. I have not tested it with cornstarch.
Pin this recipe for later!
Pin It- Egg Yolks: Save the egg whites and add to scrambled eggs. Baking with room-temperature eggs ensures that they mix well with the other ingredients.
- Coconut and Almond Milk: The full-fat coconut milk will provide the thickness and richness you desire, while almond milk keeps the cream from being overly thick.
- @hukitchen Simple Dark Chocolate: My all-time favorite chocolate for munching and baking, Hu Kitchen is a must for me.
- Dairy-Free Butter: You’ll only need 2 tablespoons, but it adds to the decadence factor.
- Vanilla Extract: A touch to bring out all the rich chocolatey taste.
- Serving Suggestions: Dairy-free whipped cream and chocolate shavings make for a simple but elegant presentation.
How to Make Dairy-Free Chocolate Cream Pie
Make the Crust
Let’s start by making the crust. Add the gluten-free chocolate cookies, pitted dates, and melted coconut oil into a food processor. Process until a sandy mixture forms.
Pour the crust into a 9×9-inch pie pan, packing the crumbs onto the bottom and up the sides. Place in the refrigerator to chill while you make the filling.
Make the Filling
In a small mixing bowl, add the egg yolks, coconut milk, and almond milk. Whisk until no lumps remain. Set aside.
In a large saucepan, add the coconut sugar, arrowroot starch, and salt. Whisk to combine. Slowly pour in the egg yolk and milk mixture, whisking until smooth.
Heat the saucepan over medium-high, whisking occasionally while the mixture heats through.
After 3 to 5 minutes, when the mixture begins to lightly steam and thicken, turn the heat down to medium-low and whisk constantly.
When you start to see large, slow bubbles form, whisk constantly for 45 seconds then remove from the heat.
Add the chocolate, butter, and vanilla off the heat and continue whisking constantly while the chocolate melts until smooth.
Assemble and Chill the Pie
Pour the chocolate filling into the prepared pie crust and allow to cool at room temperature for 2 hours.
Place a piece of wax or parchment paper over the filling. This keeps a skin from forming on top. Store in the refrigerator overnight, or at least 12 hours.
When you’re ready for the pie to get its glamor shot, remove the parchment paper carefully. Top the pie with dairy-free whipped cream and chocolate shavings.
Slice, serve, and ENJOY!
Store in the fridge for 3 to 4 days, that is if you have any leftovers…
Other Dairy-Free Holiday Favorites:
- Chocolate Cake (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Refined Sugar-Free)
- Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chunk Cookies
- Gluten-Free Pumpkin Bread
- Vanilla Salted Cashew Butter Cookies
DAIRY-FREE CHOCOLATE CREAM PIE WITH CHOCOLATE CRUST
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 6 ounces gluten-free chocolate crackers
- 5 juicy Medjool dates, pitted
- 4 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
For the Filling:
- ⅔ cup coconut sugar
- ¼ cup arrowroot starch
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 egg yolks, at room temperature
- (1) 13.5 ounce can full-fat coconut milk
- ½ cup unsweetened plain almond milk, at room temperature
- (3) 2.1 ounce Hu Kitchen Simple Dark Chocolate bars
- 2 tablespoons dairy-free butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For Serving:
- Dairy-free whipped cream (I used coco whip by So Delicious)
- Chocolate shavings
Instructions
- Place the crust ingredients in a food processor and process until a sandy mixture forms.
- Pour the crust into a 9×9-inch pie pan, packing the crumbs onto the bottom and up the sides. Place in the refrigerator while you make the filling.
- To a small mixing bowl, add the egg yolks, coconut milk, and almond milk, whisking until no lumps remain. Set aside.
- To a large saucepan, add the sugar, arrowroot starch, and salt. Whisk to combine. Add yolk and milk mixture, whisking until smooth.
- Heat the saucepan over medium-high, whisking occasionally while the mixture heats through. After 3 to 5 minutes, when the mixture begins to lightly steam and thicken, turn the heat down to medium-low and whisk constantly.
- When you start to see large, slow bubbles form, whisk constantly for 45 seconds then remove from the heat.
- Add the chocolate, butter, and vanilla off the heat and continue whisking constantly while the chocolate melts until smooth.
- Pour the chocolate filling into the prepared pie crust and allow to cool at room temperature for 2 hours. Place a piece of wax or parchment paper over the filling (to avoid a skin from forming). Store in the refrigerator overnight (at least 12 hours).
- When ready to serve, remove the paper,and top with dairy-free whipped cream and chocolate shavings.
- Slice, serve, and ENJOY! Store in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.
Fantastic Recipe! Made this for Thanksgiving and it was a hit— Eve with my non-paleo family members! Question: looking to make a banana cream pie. Was going to use this as a base recipe, with simple mills cinnamon crackers for the crust. Would the filling still set ok, without the chocolate? Was looking to make a vanilla filling. Anything you would add in place of the chocolate? Thanks!
Hi, Rachel! So happy to hear you loved this one, thank you so much! I don’t think the filling would set okay without the chocolate. I would just use this crust recipe and then find another dairy-free banana cream pie filling recipe online instead. If you do try it without the chocolate, let me know! You would likely need more arrowroot to help it set, and probably some more sweetness, and extra vanilla.
Question – if the pie is still liquidy after 12 hours, where did I go wrong?
Hi, Rachael! Hmmm you used arrowroot powder in the recipe? And did you use full-fat coconut milk? It sounds like it didn’t harden up and the arrowroot is the main thickening agent. And then not using full-fat coconut milk would remove some of the thicker fats from the recipe too.
It was still delicious lol I just not have kept it on the heat long enough after adding the eggs!
Made this last year, so good! Could you sub cashew milk instead of almond?
Hi, Carly! Absolutely! Use whatever kind of milk or nut milk you prefer.
Dear Chloe,
Thank YOU – – thank you – – thank you – – It is at least on a par with my moms eclairs
l & p
Grandpa K
This was amazing thank you thank you!!