Now that my husband has been officially declared as a type 2 diabetic, one of my priorities as far as our family meals has been to start cooking healthier than my Mississippi ancestry and love for foods such as Paula Dean’s Sour Cream Pound Cake have always taught me.
I have started exploring options to ordinary cane sugar, such as agave nectar and coconut sugar. Lately I have starting experimenting with date sugar.
But how do you use date sugar to make an awesome dessert…especially on holidays such as Father’s Day and the 4th of July?
So I have started my quest for new desserts to put in my recipe box to replace my recipe repertoire…such as this chocolate mousse pie made with a homemade vegan pie crust and coconut whipped cream.
Vegan Pie Crust
- 1-3/4C flour
- 3/4tsp salt
- 3/4tsp sugar
- 6Tbsp cold vegan butter, cut into 1/2″ cubes
- 6 Tbsp shortening
- 5 Tbsp ice water
Instructions
- Fill a small bowl with water and a couple of ice cubes.
- Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a large bowl.
- Add the cold butter. Use a pastry blender to cut the butter into the dough.
- Add the shortening to the bowl. Use a pastry blender to cut the butter into the dough until the butter and shortening pieces are about the size of peas.
- Incorporate tablespoons of additional water as required for the crust to stick together when pressed between your fingers.
- Dump the pie dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Shape the dough into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap.
- Refrigerate at least thirty minutes.
- Place the wrapped disk on a large smooth surface. Unwrap. Sandwich the dough between two pieces of Saran wrap. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out into a 13″ diameter circle.
- Generously grease a 9″ pie dish. Remove the top piece of plastic wrap. Invert the crust into the pie dish. Carefully remove the other piece of plastic wrap. Fit the crust into the pie dish. Lightly press the dough around the edge of the pie pan. Use scissors to cut excess dough from the edge, following the edge of the pan. Fold the dough over to make a double-thick rim of the crust. Use a fork to crimp the edges.
Chocolate and Date Mousse…This chocolate mousse has a delicate sweetness, an incredibly smooth texture, and best of all—it’s healthy for you.
- 1/2C Hershey’s Cocoa…(Cocoa can actually be good for you because, depending on how the cocoa has been processed, it often contains a high concentration of antioxidants)
- 1/2C Sunsweet pitted dates…(In a previous post, I shared the health benefits of dates and date sugar…so not going to reiterate…look here at this post instead).
- 1-1/4C coconut cream
- Optional ingredients…(use one or more of the following if desired)…a pinch of sea salt, vanilla extract, some cinnamon, more cocoa, cayenne pepper, a few drops of peppermint extract or fresh mint, finely chopped pineapple, rum, orange zest or extract, chocolate chips, chopped nuts, coffee, Kahlúa, raspberries
Instructions
- Refrigerate the can of coconut cream overnight. This allows the cream to solidify and separate at the top of the can, leaving a clear liquid at the bottom. Once you are able to shake the can and no longer feel liquid moving, the coconut cream is ready.
- Carefully turn the can upside down. Open and discard the transparent liquid.
- Stir the dates with 1Tbsp water in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave one minute. Drain. This allows the dates to not be as dry and helps your mousse to have a smooth consistency.
- Blend ingredients together until smooth.
- Taste and add any optional ingredients until you get the “flavor of the day.”
- Spread the mousse into a pie crust.
- Refrigerate for a couple of hours or overnight.
Coconut Whipped Cream
- 14oz can coconut cream
- 1Tbsp sugar substitute
- 1tsp vanilla
Chill the can of coconut cream for at least one day to allow it to separate and harden. Refrigerate your mixing bowl and beaters for thirty minutes.
Take the can of coconut cream out of the refrigerator. Scoop out only the hard coconut cream that should has settled at the top of the can.
Whip ingredients together until fluffy. Add any additional extracts, spices, and/or cocoa powder as desired.
