Gluten Free Almond Flour Pie Crust (& Chocolate Cream Pie)

Gluten Free Almond Flour Pie Crust

Chocolate Cream Pie with Almond Flour Pie Crust

I don't know what the deal is with wheat and gluten these days, but now I, personally, have to jump on the gluten free bandwagon because I've discovered that when I eat the yummy breads and rolls that I love to bake, I get this odd and uncomfortable pain in my right forearm, elbow, and shoulder. I'm assuming it's some sort of inflammation, and I've tested my hypothesis enough to know that it feels better when I don't eat wheat. Boooooo.
Fortunately, I do have some good gluten free recipes and resources up my sleeve, so it's not like I'm really suffering (#firstworldproblem). I found this recipe via Pinterest, and it's from All Day I Dream About Food--a gluten free low carb recipe blog.
I was pleasantly surprised by the texture of this crust--it's a little crumbly, but that's okay, because I was almost expecting a chewy texture. My husband thought it was a bit salty, and I did notice the salt a little bit, but I thought it was a nice complement to the chocolate filling I put in it. I don't think it tasted like almonds at all, just a nice crisp, crumbly crust for the delicious chocolate cream pie. Gluten free or not--it's great.



Gluten Free Almond Flour Pie Crust
     --adapted from All Day I Dream About Food

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups almond flour/meal
• 1/4 cup granulated white sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup butter, melted, but not hot

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
• In a medium size bowl, mix the almond flour, sugar, and salt. Add the melted butter and mix thoroughly.
• Pour mixture into a 9" glass pie pan and gently distribute evenly over the bottom of the pan. Go around the pan and press enough of the mixture up the sides of the pan to get within about 1/8 to 1/4 inch of the top. Crust thickness should be about 1/8 inch, maybe slightly thicker, but definitely less than 1/4 inch. Spread remaining mixture over the bottom of the pan and press, taking care not to press too hard or break what you've already pressed.
• Prick crust all over with a fork and bake at 325 degrees for about 20-21 minutes, or until evenly golden brown.
• Remove from oven and cool completely before filling.

Ingredients mixed

Pressed into pan

Baked and cooling

Filled with chocolate cream pie filling and topped with whipped cream

Chocolate Cream Pie

     --Adapted from Once Upon a Chef

Ingredients:

For Crust

• see recipe above

For Filling

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 large egg yolks
• 3 cups whole milk
• 28 Dove Dark Chocolate Promises, unwrapped & chopped (or 8 oz. other kind of chopped dark chocolate)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For Topping

• 2 cups stabilized whipped cream
• 1 Dove Dark Chocolate Promise, refrigerated

Instructions

1. In a heavy medium saucepan, whisk together sugar, cornstarch, and salt.  In a separate bowl or large measuring cup, whisk milk and egg yolks until combined.  Pour milk mixture into pan while whisking.  Whisk until smooth.  Place pan on burner set to medium heat and cook, whisking constantly (yes, constantly), making sure to scrape bottom and edges of the pan, until mixture starts to thicken, about 7-9 minutes.  Remove from heat and immediately whisk in chocolate, butter, and vanilla.  Transfer hot filling to a bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap so that the wrap rests in contact with the filling so a skin does not form.  Refrigerate filling until cool,1-2 hours.

2. Once filling and crust are cooled, spoon filling into crust and spread evenly. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing directly against surface of filling, and chill for at least 6 hours or up to one day.

3. Before serving, pipe or spread stabilized whipped cream over the top.  Using the small holes on a grater or a microplane grader, grate final Dove Dark Chocolate Promise all over the top of the pie. Refrigerate until ready to serve and then refrigerate any leftovers.

Makes 1 whole pie