Feb 15

Recipe Monday: I Am Bliss

Posted by Bevin Donahue – February 15, 2016

Categories: Food & Nutrition

If you want to keep the chocolate coming post-Valentine’s, check out our recipe below, developed by Café Gratitude and featured in their cookbook, I Am Grateful. It’s vegan, GF, DF, and raw. I also recommend making some extra hazelnut milk for the rest of the week— it’s a great way to take your morning coffee or smoothie up a notch.

I Am Bliss: Hazelnut Chocolate Cream Pie

Makes one 9-inch pie

For the crust

1 cup hazelnuts

1 cup macadamia nuts

¼ teaspoon vanilla

⅛ teaspoon salt

2 ½ ounces finely chopped dates

For the filling

½ ounce Irish moss

1 ½ cups hazelnut milk*

¼ cup agave nectar

¼ cup well packed, finely chopped dates

⅓ cup cacao powder

2 teaspoons vanilla

⅛ teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon lecithin

¼ cup + 2 tablespoons unscented coconut butter

For the hazelnut milk

¾ cups hazelnuts

1 ½ cups water

To make the hazelnut milk:
In your blender, liquefy ¾ cup hazelnuts with 1½ cups water. Blend 1–2 minutes. Let steep 5–10 minutes then strain using a nut milk bag. Yields 1 ½ cups milk.

To make the crust:
In the bowl of your food processor fitted with the “S” blade, process hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, vanilla, and salt until crumbly. Continue processing while adding small amounts of the date until crust sticks together. Press the crust into a greased (with unscented coconut oil) 9-inch pie pan.

To make the filling:
Blend Irish moss with ½ cup of the hazelnut milk until smooth and thick. Add remaining hazelnut milk, agave, date, vanilla, salt, and cacao powder. Blend until smooth. Add lecithin and coconut butter, blending until well incorporated. Pour into prepared crust. Place in fridge/freezer until set (about an hour). When set, top pie with a thin layer of meringue. Decorate with cacao nibs and hazelnuts.