Don’t you love sneaking veggies into “fun” foods and having no one be the wiser? Well, get ready for the ultimate stealth veggie adventure, because this rich and creamy chocolate silk pie is made almost entirely out of cauliflower.
Yep, cauliflower.
I got the idea from the cauliflower “ricotta” in the sweet potato and spinach lasagne in the Forks Over Knives cookbook. The lasagne was tasty, but the ricotta was so convincing—and delicious!—that as a dessert addict, I just had to try translating it into a cauliflower cheesecake. After many rounds of experimentation, I ended up with not a cheesecake, but a chocolate silk pie. It tasted uncannily like its dairy counterpart—but with nary a drop of moo juice. (And a whole lot healthier, to boot.)
For the skeptics among you, rest assured that this pie doesn’t taste at all like cauliflower. I don’t know what sort of alchemy happens when you mix cauliflower with chocolate and vanilla, but the result is just plain delicious.
In fact, I served these pies at a client appreciation event my mom co-hosted with her real estate partner, and it was a blast! Everyone was excited to try the “secret ingredient” silk pie, and people had a ball trying to unravel the mystery. Yet not a single person was able to guess the secret ingredient offhand, and people were surprised and delighted when they heard it was cauliflower. When they went back for seconds and asked for the recipe, I have to admit, I felt all kinds of warm and fuzzy. 🙂
And not only is this pie fun to serve (and eat!), but it’s great for potlucks and holiday entertaining, because you can make it a day ahead. Moreover, since it’s gluten free, vegan, and low fat, nearly everyone can enjoy it! Of course, it’s not exactly health food—there’s some natural sugar and agave for sure. However, since it’s made with whole grain oats, sorghum flour, macadamia nuts, and cauliflower, it’s an indulgence you can feel good about. (Like my sweet potato chocolate frosting. I know, I have a minor chocolate addiction.)
I mean, check out these sweet nutrition stats. One slice scores you (daily values):
- 66% vitamin C
- 21% fiber
- 17% vitamin K
- 12% iron
Plus 5 grams of plant-powered protein. Not too shabby for dessert, right?
- ½ c quick oats (gluten-free if needed)
- ½ c sorghum flour (can use whole-wheat pastry flour or all-purpose flour if not gluten-free)
- ¼ c Dutch-process cocoa powder
- ⅛ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ c brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp natural sugar (such as organic table sugar or Sucanut)
- ¼ c applesauce
- ¼ tsp vanilla
- Preheat oven to 375 F. Coat a 9-inch pie dish (non-deep-dish) with cooking spray.
- Blend oats in a blender or food processor until finely ground.
- Add sorghum flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, brown sugar, and natural sugar. Blend until thoroughly mixed. (You may need to turn off the blender and stir a couple of times to ensure even mixing.)
- Mix applesauce and vanilla and add to a large bowl.
- Add dry ingredients to applesauce mixture and stir until combined. You'll likely need to use your hands at the end to evenly mix/knead all ingredients into a stiff dough.
- Place dough in the center of the oiled pie plate. Lightly wet your hands. Starting from the center, use your palms and fingers to press the dough to the edge of the plate.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until top edge of crust is lightly crisp. (The rest of the crust will crisp as it cools). Cool before filling.
- 1 Tbsp + 2 tsp agar flakes (I use Eden brand)
- ⅓ c water
- 1 large head cauliflower (a little over 2 pounds)
- ½ c unsweetened almond milk
- 6 macadamia nuts*
- 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ⅔ c light agave nectar
- ½ tsp nutritional yeast
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ c cocoa powder (I like Ghirardelli)
- Mix agar flakes with ⅓ c cold water in a 1-cup Pyrex glass measuring cup. Set aside.
- Wash cauliflower, discard central core, and cut into florets. (Yields about 1½ lbs florets)
- Steam florets over boiling water in a basket steamer (in a large stockpot) for 10-12 min, or until largest florets are just tender.
- While florets are steaming, place all remaining ingredients in a blender and blend until completely smooth.
- Once florets are tender, remove from heat. Carefully add half the florets to the blender and blend until smooth, venting as needed. Repeat with the rest of the florets.
- Microwave the agar-and-water mixture for 2 minutes, stirring every 30-45 seconds (or as needed to prevent boil-over and lumps.) Immediately add hot agar mixture to blender, scraping with a spatula to ensure all agar is included.
- Blend thoroughly, using a tamper as needed to ensure agar is fully incorporated.
- Pour pie filling into cooled pie crust. (You'll have some extra filling. If you have self control, you can let it set into a custard in the fridge. If you're like me, feel free to eat it immediately--chef's privilege!)
- Cover with a domed lid (an inverted large disposable pie pan or the cover of a cake stand works well). Refrigerate overnight, or for a minimum of 4 hours.
- To serve, slice carefully with a sharp knife. Garnish with whipped topping and raspberries if desired.
Shared on Inspire Me Mondays, Meatless Mondays, Tasty Tuesdays, Allergy Free Wednesdays, #strangebutgood, Plant Based Potluck Party, Gluten Free Fridays and Healthy Vegan Fridays.
Want more healthy veggie desserts?
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I'm Lee, an RD thriving on a healthy plant based diet.
Genius! And beautiful too. Can’t wait to try it sometime over the holidays. Thanks Lee!
Thanks Maria! It’s been a hit with the omnivore crowd, so that’s always promising. A side note, though: On its own, it tastes really rich; however, if served alongside full-fat pumpkin pie, fudge, etc, it ends up tasting light. So I usually serve it on its own or with fruit or other low-fat desserts so it can shine. I’d love to hear how it goes if you get the chance to make it!
Can’t wait to try this!!!
I will be at your house to help you sample it, of course. Totally in the interest of science… 😉
Cauliflower?! Huh. I would have never thought of trying that. Very interesting. I was just whining the other day about how much I love soaked cashews as pie filling but how it’s super fattening (especially if you love pie as much as I do haha). Love this idea!
Yeah, I wouldn’t have thought of it either if it weren’t for the cauliflower-cheese lasagne. (Which sounds completely revolting, but tasted amazing.) Then when I went online, I found that other people had used cauliflower in desserts with good results, so I figured, what the hey? Thankfully, after much testing, it turned out!
Thanks for linking up at our Gluten Free Fridays Party! I have tweeted and pinned your entry to our Gluten Free Fridays board on Pinterest! 🙂 I can’t wait to see what you share next time!
-Cindy
Thanks Cindy, I love Gluten Free Fridays!
Can I use maple syrup in place of agave ?
Sorry for the delayed reply! If you don’t mind a little maple flavor, it should work just fine. Did you end up trying it?
I totally assumed that “silk” was going to be tofu – I should have remembered you also try to avoid soy. I am super intrigued by this! I would have never thought of throwing this in a dessert – love the lower fat version of a delicious-sounding dessert.
Thank you so much for contributing to Healthy Vegan Fridays! I have pinned your recipe to our board. This is going to be featured this week =)
I was going to guess avocado as the secret ingredient. However I’m thrilled its cauliflower! What a genius way to get kids to eat more veggies.
Hi Noel, I actually do have a chocolate-peanut butter pudding recipe that features avocado, but I wanted to try something even more outside the box this time. I highly recommend the pie, just be sure to use a high-powered blender so it comes out creamy!
This is the exact recipe I was looking for! I always try to add veggies to my desserts (beet brownies are always a hit). I need to make a pie this weekend, and after I my uncle discovered he has many allergies (gluten, corn and dairy among them) I am always looking for fun things that he can eat.
Hi Kate, I’m delighted that this recipe is a winner for you! I know I mentioned it in the post, but be sure to use a high-powered blender to get the filling silky smooth.
I’ve never tried beet brownies, but I love the idea–do you know where I can find a good recipe?
Never would have guessed cauliflower could be used in pie! How creative you are and how amazing vegan food can be!
Thanks Jenny, cauliflower is my new go-to veggie for desserts and smoothies. The taste vanishes, and with a high-powered blender its texture is creamy and delicious (but you can’t taste it–crazy!). Low-cal, vegan, and delish–not to mention loaded up with nutrients. Win!
How delectable! I love, love, love the creamy texure and rich chocolate flavor of silk pie so I am delighted that you shared your healthy and delicious Hidden-Veggie Chocolate Silk Pie with us on the Plant-Based Potluck Party Link Up. I can’t wait to try your recipe. I’m pinning and sharing. I appreciate the opportunity to explore your recipes and make a new blogging friend!
Thanks Deborah, and thanks for hosting the Plant-Based Potluck Party! I’m so glad I found it; it’s rapidly become one of my favorite link-ups for sharing and inspiration. And I’m glad to have you as a new blogging friend, too! 🙂 As for the pie, thanks to some sort of alchemy (ok, chocolate), you really can’t taste the cauliflower. Magic!
This recipe is absolutely amazing I’m 35 years old and recently had a major heart attack and with diabetes running rampid in my family (thankfully I don’t have it) I had to cut a lot out of my diet so when I do have a treat recipes like this are truly a life saver it is absolutely delicious thank you for taking the time to do such a great write up for all of us trying to be healthier but still like a naughty treat from time to time because of recipes like this and cutting meat and processed foods I’ve dropped 25kg in 12 weeks. Also a great way to get kids to eat cauliflower lol my kids hate cauliflower but in this they love it lol
This makes me so happy. Thanks so much for sharing!!! <3
Hi Lee, I am curious to know your thoughts regarding the replacement of unwhole sweeteners with dates and/or date sugar. It seems as though, in order to incorporate sweet dishes into a WFPB diet, one needs to somewhat lower one’s dietary standards, and I would like to think there is a satisfying solution for this. Thanks.
Great question. I think using dates or date sugar is preferable when you can get away with it. (See the refined-sugar-free variation of my chocolate sweet potato frosting recipe here: https://www.veggie-quest.com/2015/05/low-fat-chocolate-frosting-vegan-soy-free/
However, dates/date sugar can behave differently than refined sweeteners in some baked goods, which can make substituting with them tricky. Also, while date sugar retains its fiber and nutrients, its impact on blood sugar isn’t all that different from agave nectar, for example.
When I’m making sweet treats, I use the healthiest ingredients I can without sacrificing flavor, texture, and accessibility. (Finding date sugar isn’t always easy!) So I use dates when I can, and I don’t sweat a little added sugar so long as the bulk of what I eat in a day is healthy.