Sunday, July 5, 2009

Veganomicon: Isa's "Smlove Pie"

I just noticed this pie the other day in the Veganomicon, and decided to try it. It's less trouble than it sounds like and it was WONDERFUL. I took it to a 4th of July Barbeque.

For the graham cracker crust:
12 graham crackers (or 1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs)
1/4 cup canola oil

OR: I found a vegan chocolate cookie crust at Whole Foods and used that. I was short on time.

For the chocolate pie filling:
1 lb silken tofu (NOT the vacuum packed kind), drained
1/4 cup hazelnut liqueur (I used Kahlua and it was fine, or just use rice milk or soy milk)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons arrowroot
12 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted

For the caramel peanut butter:
1/3 cup natural peanut butter, smooth or chunky, at room temperature
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons brown rice syrup

For the maple candied pecans:
1 cup pecans
2 teaspoons canola oil
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons maple syrup

For the chocolate drizzle:
4 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped (or 1/4 cup chocolate chips)
1/4 cup soy or rice milk

Preheat oven to 350F.

Prepare the crust by processing the grahams into fine crumbs. Place them in a bowl and drizzle the oil into them. Use your fingertips or a fork to mix the oil in until all crumbs are moistened.

Spray a 10 inch pie plate with cooking spray. Pour the crumbs into the pie plate and firmly press them to the bottom and sides of plate. Set aside.

Prepare the filling:
First melt your chocolate. Crumble the tofu into a blender or food processor. Add the liqueur, vanilla and arrow root and blend until completely smooth. Scrape down the sides to make sure you get everything. Add the chocolate and blend again until completely combined.

Pour the filling into the pie crust and bake for 40 minutes. The center may still be jiggly, but that's fine. Let cool on a counter top for 10 minutes then chill in the fridge for at least 3 hours, the top of the pie should be firm to the touch.

Meanwhile, prepare your candied pecans.

Have ready a large plate, preferably covered in parchment paper. Preheat a heavy bottomed frying pan over medium heat. Add the pecans and stir them very frequently for 3 minutes, until the start to brown. Stir constantly for 2 more minutes, until they are a few shades darker and relatively uniformly toasted. (If a few don't look toasted don't worry about it. That's better than having them burn.) Add the oil ans salt and stir for another minute. Add the maple syrup and stir constantly for about a minute. The maple syrup should get bubbly and dry.

Use a spatula to transfer the pecans to the plate and spread them out as much as you can, it's best if they aren't touching. Place in the fridge until ready to use.

Once the pie has been chilling for at least 3 hours, prepare the peanut butter caramel and chocolate drizzle. Have your pie out and ready to be assembled.

To prepare the caramel:
Here's the "by the book" method:

Stir all the ingredients together in a small sauce pan. Gently heat everything over low heat, stirring constantly with a fork, just until smooth and heated through. It should fall from your fork in ribbons. If it seems stiff, turn the heat off immediately and add a little extra brown rice syrup, until it's fluid again. This happens because different peanut butters have different amounts of moisture.

Here's what I did:
Just mixed it all together without cooking. It was fine.

Either way:
Pour the peanut butter over the center of the pie, leaving an inch or two at the edges because it spreads. Get your pecans and place them on top of the caramel, pressing them in firmly. You may have to break the pecans apart from each other if they were touching.

Prepare chocolate drizzle:
In a small sauce pan, heat the soy milk to boil. Once boiling, add the chocolate and lower heat. Use a fork to stir it until compeletely combined. Turn the heat off and let cool for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Isa says: "You can either drizzle the chocolate over the pie with a spoon, but I like to put it in a pastry bag fitted with a wide writing tip and drizzle it that way, in stripes."

I just did the spoon drizzle, and it was totally fine. See?



Chill for at least 10 minutes before serving.

So delightful! I thought it would be great with some soy whip or vegan ice cream. It's also totally fine, all by its lonesome.

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