Haupia Pie Anyone??

Coconut...  Just hearing the word makes me think of SO many things I love to eat.  Coconut rice with "peas" which is a Jamaican classic that I serve when we eat Jerk Chicken, macaroons enrobed in Green & Black's dark chocolate, and of course a classic that is one of my favorites....German Chocolate Cake.  I am ALWAYS on the lookout for fabulous recipes that bring coconut to my table.  Imagine my glee when my cousin, Meagan, over at Just Another Recipe Blog told me about this AH-MAZING coconut milk based pie recipe from Allrecipies.com she had just made for her family.  I couldn't resist trying it out because I KNEW it wouldn't be too hard to transform it into an organic, dairy free, gluten free masterpiece!  Two of the worst allergies on the planet...  This pie is FREE from them.  How liberating!!

I of course modified the original recipe quite a bit to match the allergy profiles I was trying to address.  The original recipe can be found on Allrecipes.com in its entirety.  

Dairy Free Gluten Free Haupia Pie
1 9 inch baked pie shell (baked with gluten free flour), cooled
1 c. unsweetened soy milk, almond milk, or rice milk
1 14 ounce can of coconut milk (NOT light)
1 c. organic cane sugar
1/2 c. cornstarch
1 1/4 c. Enjoy Life! (dairy & gluten free) chocolate chips
1 box of "Healthy Top" non dairy, vegan whipped topping
unsweetened coconut toasted in the oven for garnish
(I used Bob's Red Mill coconut flakes for the gourmet look)

In a medium saucepan, whisk together milk and coconut milk.  In a medium sized bowl whisk together the sugar and cornstarch. When sugar and cornstarch are mixed well, whisk them into the pan with the milk.  Bring coconut mixture to a boil. Continue stirring mixture over low heat until thickened, about 3 minutes.

Divide the coconut pudding evenly into two bowls. Mix the chocolate into one portion, stirring until it is a smooth, chocolatey bowl of goodness. Spread the chocolate portion on the bottom of the pie crust first.

Pour the remaining portion of coconut pudding on top of the chocolate and spread smooth. Refrigerate for about an hour. 

*For people who are REALLY in love with coconut...go ahead and add a 1/2 c. to the coconut pudding before you put it on top of the chocolate.  It keeps the coconut pudding from getting gloopy by sucking up a bit of the moisture.

Follow the directions on the box of Healthy Top as to how to whip the contents.  When they are sufficiently whipped, spoon onto the top of the completely cooled guts of the pie.  


In the oven under the broiler set to lowest setting, brown/toast some unsweetened shredded coconut and sprinkle on top for a nice crisp garnish.

     

I suppose I don't need to tell you that this is one of the most awesome slices of pie I've ever had....do I?  Coconut, chocolate...more coconut...  *swoon*  The Mister and I polished this sucker off in 4 days.  Just the two of us...and he "doesn't like" coconut.  *giggles*  Men are so funny sometimes...

Give this pie a try for your next celebration, I promise you...people will ask you to make it for EVERYthing they invite you to!  I had one of these on the dessert menu for Canadian Thanksgiving last month with a Gluten Free Dairy Free Blueberry Crumble Pie.  Everyone loved them both!!  Happy baking!

***If you don't have any dairy allergies or gluten allergies in the house, you can make your pie shell with regular all purpose flour, use regular dairy milk for the milk in this recipe, standard semi-sweet chocolate chips, and you can make whipped cream out of heavy cream or use store bought "Cool Whip" for the top.***

To make whipped cream at home you will need 1 1/2 c. heavy cream and 1/4 c. sugar.  Whip the cream for 1 minute on medium and sprinkle in sugar 2 tablespoons at a time until you see stiff peaks form.