Cafe Gratitude’s Coconut Cream Pie

PIE-A-DAY #27

This pie comes to us from Karin Winter, of Cafe Gratitude which has locations throughout California including one on Larchmont here in Los Angeles.

At Cafe Gratitude, we believe that you should be able to have your cake and feel good too. That’s why our decadent live desserts are utterly free of dairy, gluten, and refined sugar.

This recipe is brought to you by two raw dessert renegades, Matthew Rogers and Tiziana Alipo Tamborra, and has been a best-seller at our cafes for over 7 years. Our customers are always amazed at the ingredients of this spectacularly rich pie: Coconut, dates, coconut oil, vanilla, salt, and more coconut! For more recipes like this, check out Sweet Gratitude, A New World of Raw Desserts.

Read on and enjoy!

Coconut Crust:

2 1/4 cups coconut flakes

4 1/2 ounces date paste (weight)

1/4 teaspoon liquid vanilla

1/8 teaspoon salt

Coconut Filling:

2 1/4 cups coconut milk

3/4 cup coconut meat (wet measure)

1/2 cup date paste (wet measure)

2 teaspoons liquid vanilla

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons soy lecithin

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons extra-virgin coconut oil

Topping:

1/2 cup coconut flakes

Add all crust ingredients with half of the amount of date paste to the food processor. Process until the crust starts to rise on the sides of the processor bowl. Stop the machine and mix with a spatula or spoon. Repeat a few times until well-mixed. Add remaining date paste, and continue processing until mixture is consistent. The final result of the crust should be a mixture that can hold together with a gentle pressure and can be broken apart with a clean break.

Lightly grease entire inside of pie pan with some coconut oil. Distribute crust evenly on the bottom and sides of pie pan and lightly compact by hand. Decorate edge of crust to your liking. Crust should rise above the rim of the pan, not more than a half inch. Set aside until ready to be filled.

Add all Coconut Filling ingredients to blender except soy lecithin and coconut oil. Blend well until smooth and creamy (3-5 minutes). Stop blending and add the soy lecithin and melted coconut oil. Resume blending until oil and lecithin are well-incorporated. Pour filling into pie pan with prepared crust. Place in freezer to set, 1-2 hours or until middle of pie is firm to the touch. Top with coconut flakes, and refrigerate until serving . This pie will keep for three days, store covered in the fridge.