Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Pie with Pretzel Crust

Jesse had a birthday a few weeks ago (Happy Birthday Babe). What kind of cake did he request for his birthday celebrations?

A pie.

And not just any pie – this Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Pie with Pretzel Crust and topped with Coconut Whipped Cream.

Last year we spent his birthday biking around the Aran Islands. The year before that we were camping on a private beach in Glacier National Park. This year…we ate this pie and spent the weekend at the cabin. Less extreme than the previous years for sure, but it was just perfect in my humble opinion. We’ve talked a lot about what we want this year and for the next year –  what we both agree on is we want a quiet year. No moving, no new jobs (oops), no huge trips and hopefully no trips to the hospital. Just enjoy quieter days, being closer to family, going to the cabin, and soaking in all our new home has to offer with feeling the constant need to go go go. Sometimes the best way to enjoy life is simply to slow down and enjoy it. I recommend the same method for this pie – just slow down and enjoy it.

This peanut butter chocolate pie is so good and so rich, it’s hard to believe its vegan. But it is! And the pretzel crust makes for the perfect salty sweet dessert. A perfect pie for the peanut butter lover in your life – or for just you. I won’t tell.

-loody!

Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Pie with Pretzel Crust

what you’ll need

filling:
125g dark chocolate
200ml coconut cream
1/3 cup peanut butter

crust:
2 1/2 cups pretzel crumbs
8 tbsp coconut oil
2 tbsp brown sugar

coconut whipped cream:
175ml coconut cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoons vanilla extract

baker’s notes

You’re going to need roughly 2 chilled cans of full fat coconut milk to get the amount of coconut cream needed in this recipe – one plus a little from the other can for the filling and the rest for the coconut whipped cream. It’s best to chill the cans over night. If neither of your cans of coconut milk yield that much cream after chilling, don’t worry. Certainly don’t quit or run out to the store and buy $6 more in coconut milk. Just make a little bit less filling and coconut whipped cream – I promise it’ll still be tasty.

This recipe is quite rich, but not very sweet. I used a 70% chocolate bar, so if you prefer a sweeter pie, I’d recommend a bar with a lower cocoa contents or adding a little bit of sugar to the pie filling.

how to whip it up

Preheat oven to 350°. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with s blade, blitz pretzels until you a very fine crumb, almost flour. Then blend in coconut oil and brown sugar. Push pretzel crumb mixture into a parchment lined 8 in pie/tart tin. Bake 8 minutes, then place pie crust in fridge to cool.

To make the pie filling, chop chocolate and melt over a double boiler (or in the microwave if you’re a ninja and don’t burn chocolate). Place melted chocolate into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Scoop the cream out of one of the cans of coconut (if it doesn’t quite equal 200ml, you can scoop a little out of the second can) and add to melted chocolate (save the leftover liquids for smoothies!). Whisk coconut cream and chocolate together on high until fluffy. At this point you can either whisk in the peanut butter for a more even throughout peanut butter chocolate filling or wait and swirl it into the pie filling. Choose your own adventure. Scoop chocolate mixture into the pretzel crust and spread evenly (at this point swirl in the peanut butter with a knife if you didn’t already whisk it in). Chill pie until firm.

To make coconut whipped cream, scoop the cream out of the second can of coconut milk. Place in the bowl of a stand mixer, add in powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Use the whisk attachment on high until the coconut milk is fluffy. Store in fridge until ready to serve.

To serve, top peanut butter chocolate pie with coconut whipped cream, sprinkle on some pretzel crumbs and chocolate bits. Pull up a chair, grab a fork and eat the whole dang pie.

Store pie in fridge up to 5 days.