Silken Chocolate Pie

After I made brownies, strawberry shortcake cake, and a French silk pie, I worried that I wouldn’t have enough dessert for Mike’s birthday bash. My main concern? Those that wanted the French silk pie but couldn’t eat it because it contained raw eggs. I hate the thought of any one leaving disappointed, so I caved in and made this egg-free pie. Please give it a chance. It’s deliciously rich and chocolatey and the texture is to die for. When I served it, I refused to tell people what was in it. It was only after they tried it and liked it that I told them the secret ingredient: tofu. Tofu itself is pretty tasteless and bland. Silken tofu has a remarkable texture that blends itself beautifully with just about anything. Smoothies? You got it! Soups? Sure, why not! Chocolate? You know it!! Silken Chocolate Pie
serves 10

9 full chocolate graham crackers
6 tablespoons butter, melted
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup coffee, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pound silken tofu, drained well (my package was 1 pound, 3 ounces – it worked)
1 tablespoon honey, or to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Pulse graham crackers in food processor until fine crumbs. Slowly add in butter and blend until combined. Press into bottom of a 9” cake pan. Bake until crust no longer looks wet, 18 – 20 minutes.
2. Place chocolate chips, coffee and vanilla in double boiler and melt, stirring frequently. Or, place ingredients in microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 20 second increments until melted, stirring after each increment.  Let cool slightly.
3. Place tofu, chocolate mixture, and honey in food processor and blend until smooth.
4. Pour filling into crust and refrigerate until filling is firm, about 2 hours.
5. Serve with a dollop of freshly made whipped cream.

Please don’t ever ever ever buy whipped cream from the store. It’s oh-so-easy to make yourself and it tastes so much better. I forgot to take pictures of the whipped cream, but you can kind of see it on the bottom of the pic. Oops.

Whipped Cream

2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Place metal mixing bowl and whisk attachment to mixer in freezer for 15 minutes.
2. Whip cream in chilled bowl until soft peaks form (this is when they can’t quite hold itself into a peak).
3. Add in vanilla and sugar and beat until stiff peaks form (this is when they can stay in peak shape).

See, easy! The whole whipping process only took 2 minutes in my stand mixer. It may take a bit longer with a hand mixer. The most important part is making sure that your bowl and whisk are cold!!