Looking for a recipe to enjoy during the holidays that is gluten free and vegan, using clean ingredients, this one is amazing.  This is not a sweet pie.

A number of years ago, when there was a Book Warehouse, in North Vancouver, I discovered this amazing cookbook, Clean Food – A Seasonal Guide to Eating Close to the Source, written by Terry Walters.

This quote is from Clean Food featuring one of my photos of the Fraser River in Vancouver, BC.

When finding new recipes and cookbooks I like to sit with these and consider ways to make a few changes that will enhance and bring out new flavours. As I spent time with this gorgeous cookbook I started to experiment with Terry’s recipe for Chocolate Pecan Pie, and transformed this recipe to the Cacao Pecan Pie, featured here today.

I am so grateful to have found this amazing cookbook.

It is through choosing different ingredients we can make recipes more nutrient dens.

Bake at 350.

You can make this in a 9 inch pie plate or Spring Form Pan.

Serves 10 to 12 people

Cacao Pecan Pie

Ingredients

Crust

3/4 cup Almonds

3/4 cup Walnuts

1 cup Rolled Oats (recommend gluten free)

1/4 Cacao Powder (raw form of cocoa)

1/4 cup Olive Oil  

1/2 cup Dates

Filling

2 tbsp ground Flaxseed

3/4 cup Organic Apple Juice

1/4 cup Juice from 2 oranges

1/2 cup Raisins

1/2 cup Honey (Blackberry honey is so delicious)

1/2 cup Cacao Powder

1/4 cup Almond Butter

3 tbsp Orange Zest (from approx. 2 oranges)

1 tsp Real Vanilla Extract

1/2 cup Dates

2 cups lightly toasted Pecans

Crust

Preparing the crust

Cut your dates into small pieces.  Boil water and then pour this over the dates..  Let the dates sit in water for 15 minutes.

Place the almonds and walnuts in your blender.  Blend to form a crumb like texture.

Combine the nuts, cacao, Olive Oil and oats in a bowl and mix.  Drain the water off the dates.  Then add to then nuts, cacao, etc mixture.

Prepare a 9 inch pie plate or tart pan.  Press the crust mixture into the pan, and bake at 350 for 12 minutes.  Remove from oven and cool on cooling rack.  Leave oven on.

Preparing the filling

Soak ground flax with 6 tbsp of water for 20 minutes.

Place dates in a bowl.  Boil water and pour this over the dates.  Let this sit for about 20 minutes.

In a small pot combine, juice from orange, orange zest, honey and cacao powder.  Place over medium heat for 10 minutes.  Add almond butter, ground hydrated flaxseed and whisk into apple juice and cacao mixture.

Remove the water from the dates and add to your blender.  Add one cup of the cacao mixture to the dates in your blend, and blend.

Add this mixture to the remaining cacao mixture in the cooling pot.

Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.  Please do not add the raisins to this.

Assembling

Soak raisins in 1/2 cup of water for 10 minutes.

Prepare a pan with parchment.

Add 2 cups of pecans and lightly roast these in the oven for 10 minutes.

Drain the raisins.

Arrange raisins over the base.

Remove pecans from the oven.

Add the slightly roasted Pecans on top of the raisins.

Pour filling over the pecans.

Cover pie plate with Parchment Paper.

Put in oven and bake for 50 minutes.

Once cooked,   Remove from oven and cool on cooling rack.

Serve with your favourite plant based ice cream or whipped topping

A very tasty topping is the Chocolate Sauce from the Cacao Orange Nut and Seed Bark:

Chocolate layer

1/2 cup coconut oil – melted

1/3 cup Cacao

2 tbsps Orange Zest

8 tbsps Juice from one orange

1 orange – zest and juice

2 tbsp maple syrup

Serves 10 to 12 people.

We hope you enjoy this pie.

Be kind. Be patient.  Take good care.

Be nourished in all you do.

Sharon

At The Nourished Executive we help leaders invest in their wellbeing, with a holistic lens, to prevent burnout.

Our founder, Sharon K. Summerfield, is a Connector, Holistic Nutritionist and Certified Growth Advisor, with demonstrated success in nurturing healthy employees and high performing organizations.

Our vision is to create cultures and communities of care, where no one experiences burnout.

We have a strong commitment to giving back, investing and supporting local community.

Photography by Sharon K. Summerfield