Raw Strawberry Chocolate Coconut Pie

My favorite desserts almost always come from combining my favorite parts of other desserts. To start, I was filling inspired by the coconuts I had sitting in my fridge. From there I started dreaming up what could be paired with it. And then this was born. I combined a light macadamia crust from one recipe, a chocolate ganache from another recipe, and a coconut cream from yet another. Because it was strawberry season I included some of those as well. And the topping. Ohhh the topping. I had seen this idea around the blogger-sphere for quite awhile and I'd been wanting to try it out. It was so easy and delicious.

RAW STRAWBERRY CHOCOLATE COCONUT PIE [VEGAN]

INGREDIENTS

Macadamia crust

•          1 cup macadamia nuts
•          2 cups shredded dry coconut
•          2 T coconut oil
•          3-4 T maple syrup

Chocolate layer

•          1/2 cup maple syrup
•          3/4 cup cacao powder
•         1/3 cup coconut oil
•         1/4 cup water, added slowly

Strawberries

•          5-10 strawberries, de-stemmed and sliced

Coconut cream topping

•          2 whole young coconuts, meat only
•          ½ cup coconut oil
•         1/4 cup maple syrup
•         coconut water (if needed)
•         2 grinds of sea salt
•          ½ tsp Vanilla Extract (or seeds from 1/2 vanilla bean)

Optional toppings

•          1 can coconut milk (in the fridge overnight)
•          1 cup coconut flakes

PREPARATION

1. Process your crust ingredients in a food processor until sticky but still chunky. Dump onto your pan (I used a tart pan) and press down until firm. It should be crumbly but also sticky enough to hold. Set aside on the counter.
2. For the chocolate layer, blend all ingredients in a food processor until smooth, adding water slowly as needed (don’t over water). Spread on top of the crust and put in the fridge for an hour (or so) until set.
3. Slice all your strawberries and layer them over the chocolate layer. Any leftovers can be folded into the coconut cream topping.
4. Blend the ingredients in a blender until smooth. ( … add coconut water if needed, 1 T at a time) Pour filling into a bowl and fold in the remaining strawberry slices. Pour over the chocolate and smooth out.
5. Leave the can in the fridge overnight. The next day open the can and scoop out the hardened cream. Leave the liquid for another use. I mixed the cream in a KitchenAid mixer with a couple tablespoons of maple syrup and an 1/8th of a teaspoon of seeds from a vanilla bean. Spread over the top of the pie and sprinkle the flakes over the top.
6. Let the whole pie chill until you’re ready to serve.

http://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-food/raw-strawberry-chocolate-coconut-pie/