A few weeks ago I was stopped in my web-surfing tracks by a beautiful image of the original version of this pie, created by The Dutch Baker’s Daughter. First, chocolate pie. Enough said. Second, she makes the pie with a meringue crust! Brilliant, and perfect for people avoiding gluten and grains. I immediately became obsessed with creating a version that relied minimally on sugar.
I knew that I would need at least a little sugar for the crust, so I opted for a mix of stevia and maple syrup–a scant two tablespoons of the latter. It worked beautifully. This is also a recipe that can be made dairy free, if you like. To do so, make sure you use a dairy free chocolate for the filling, and use whipped coconut cream for the topping.
I used my favorite, U.P. pie tin for this–that’s a blue bear peeking out from under the pie.
You need to chill this pie well to get it to set up, and I cut into this a little prematurely (we couldn’t wait). It firms up nicely if you are more patient. The filling calls for raw eggs, which I eat rather frequently, but if you are concerned about this just use pasteurized eggs. This pie takes several steps to complete, but I think it is worth it. The only source of refined sugar is from the chocolate, so the higher the percentage of cacao you use, the lower the sugar. I recommend using at least 72% dark, and adjusting the stevia to taste. If you are used to super-sweet desserts you might want to add a little maple syrup to the chocolate filling, but I loved the densely-chocolate, lightly sweet flavor.
- 4 egg whites, at room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 3 pkts dry stevia extract (or about 15 drops of liquid stevia)
- 7 ounces good-quality dark chocolate (use at least 72% to keep this low in sugar)
- 1 14-ounce can of full-fat coconut milk (do not shake the can)
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 4 pkts dry stevia extract (or about 20 drops of liquid stevia)
- 2 egg whites, at room temperature
- Optional: Whipped cream or coconut cream topping, lightly sweetened with stevia
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Lightly coat a 9-inch pie pan with coconut oil or butter, so the crust won’t stick.
- Beat the four egg whites with the cream of tartar, maple syrup, and three packets of stevia until they are stiff and glossy, and the peaks hold when you lift up the mixer.
- Mound the beaten egg whites into the pie pan and use a spatula to smooth the bottom and the edges to form a crust. Bake this for one hour, and then turn off the heat and leave the crust in the oven for at least another hour, or overnight (I left it in for two hours after the baking time).
- For the filling, break up the chocolate in a microwave-safe mixing bowl. Open the can of coconut milk and use a spoon to scoop out about a quarter of a cup of the coconut cream (the solid part of the coconut milk). Put that in with the chocolate, and microwave for about two minutes, stirring after each thirty second interval, until the chocolate is completely melted.
- In another medium mixing bowl, whisk the remaining coconut milk (solids and liquids) with the egg yolks, vanilla, and stevia. Stir the melted chocolate mixture in until it is fully incorporated. Chill this mixture for about an hour.
- Beat the remaining two egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold this into the chilled chocolate mixture, and then smooth the filling into the pie crust. Chill for several hours, or overnight.
- If desired, top the chocolate filling with whipped cream or coconut cream before serving. To whip coconut cream, chill a can of full-fat coconut milk overnight (do not shake the can). Scoop out all of the solid, coconut cream, leaving behind the liquid. Whip this the same way you would whipping cream, until it is about doubled in volume, adding sweetener to taste.
It’s a pretty fabulous pie. The Dutch Baker’s Daughter has some of the steps outlined here, so go check that out for more info.
Thanks for reading,
-Angela
Yes–this looks fabulous! I’m amazed that you made a healthier version….very nice!
Well I’m sure it isn’t as good as the original, but we ate it in record time!
This sounds wonderful. I love the idea of a meringue crust. It kind of sounds like a chocolate pavlova. Hmmm, doesn’t get any better than that in my opinion.
I know, right? Cathy is a genius. I was pretty excited about this one.
I am sharing this on facebook and adding this to the christmas dinner menu. Thank you for developing a recipe that feels indulgent and yet is still on-diet!
Thanks, Andi, I hope you love it! I am making another one this weekend to take to a party.
It looks so wonderfully creamy and delicious…so nice for those with diet issues to have a treat such as this!
This looks fantastic! So light, yet so decadent. Do you have any thoughts on how I would go about using an unrefined sweetener (honey, coconut sugar, etc.) in place of the stevia?
Hi Alexis: I would use one tablespoon of honey (or two of maple syrup) for every two packets of stevia–I think I would switch to honey for the filling, just to keep it from getting too liquid-y if you add too much maple syrup. For the egg white crust the extra liquid would not matter, but it could potentially make the filling a little soupy. Hope you like it–it is one of my favorites.