OH HEY! Happy pi day! I can, hand on heart, say that this is the ONLY day in the western calendar where I actually get excited about maths (yep – I’m English so I stick a little “s” on the end of that word – I don’t know why, stop asking). Pi, I’m told, is an important mathematical constant which was originally defined as the ratio of a circle’s circumfblah blah blah blah.
I can tell you one thing that’s more important than pi: PIE! Especially this one! This fella is PACKED with beautiful nutty tahini and topped with a smooth, slightly bitter dark chocolate layer. Oh, and did I mention the crust is made from speculoos??
It’s perhaps the easiest recipe I’ve ever put together – You’ll need none of the following:
– oven
– food processor (but it may be helpful)
– whisk
– gosh darn pie weights!
It also only took me about 45 minutes to whip up (and most of that is just chilling time – for you AND the pie!)
Celebrate pie day in style with this guy – Enjoy.
Ingredient note!
This recipe uses sweetened condensed coconut milk. You can find cans of it at health food stores including wholefoods but it’s also super easy to make if you can’t find it. You can follow this recipe to whip up a batch if needed. this recipe
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 200 g speculoos (lotus/biscoff/ cookies
- 2 tbsp vegan butter melted – I used earth balance sticks or “baking block”
For the Filling
- 250 g good tahini
- 210 g sweetened condensed coconut milk see ingredient note above
- 125 g unsweetened unflavoured vegan yogurt I used cashew yogurt but soy or almond yogurt will do too
- Pinch flaky sea salt
For the Dark Chocolate Topping
- 150 g vegan dark chocolate usually anything over 65% cacao is great but always check the ingredients
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tsp white sesame seeds
Instructions
To Make the Crust
- Lay two long strips of baking parchment across the centre of a 9” pie tin, making a cross in the centre (this is to help lift the pie out when it’s ready). Set aside.
- In a food processor, blitz the cookies until coarse ground. Alternatively you can put them in a ziplock bag and crush with a rolling pin. Transfer the crumbs to a bowl and add the melted vegan butter. Give everything a good stir to combine, making sure all the crumbs are evenly soaked in butter. Now press the crumbs into the prepared pie tin using your fingers, making sure the crust is even all the way around. Place in the freezer to chill for 10 minutes while you prepare the filling.
- In a large bowl, mix together the tahini, condensed coconut milk and the vegan yogurt. Once the base is good and firm in the freezer, take it out and pour in the tahini mixture. Shake the pie tin gently to level out the filling then return to the freezer to set for another 10-15 minutes. Make the chocolate topping while the filling sets.
- In a small saucepan or in a microwaveable bowl, combine the chocolate and the coconut oil. Melt gradually over a low heat or in a low powered microwave, stirring regularly. Once everything is just about melted, stir well to combine and then set aside to reduce to room temperature.
- Once the pie filling has set nicely (it should be soft but not sticky to the touch), remove it from the freezer and sprinkle over the pinch of sea salt.
- To add the chocolate topping you’ll need to work fast – it will want to set quickly but you’ll need to swirl the tin around to make sure it covers the entire top of the pie, so be sure to work in one quick movement and pour on the topping with confidence. While the chocolate is still setting, sprinkle the sesame seeds around the edges and then place in the fridge to cool.
- Allow the pie to cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving.
