Smlove Pie: the Remix

Over the weekend I made a dessert based on Isa Chandra’s Smlove Pie for my brother-in-law’s birthday. The original recipe can be found at the above link, or on page 257 of Veganomicon.

That being said, I made a good amount of substitutions/ changes.

For the crust - when Isa said “12 graham crackers” I originally assumed she meant 12 of the long graham crackers (you know, the ones that can be broken in half). Usually I just use 1 sleeve of graham crackers (or 9 long ones) for a crust and find it makes more than enough. So I crushed 1 sleeve of honey graham crackers and added a tiny bit of canola at a time until the crust would form to the pie pan.

The chocolate filling I barely kept the same. Since I was making a vegan dessert for my in-laws for a birthday that wasn’t my own, I was really hesitant to use tofu. I had a feeling that would elicit a “forks-down-now” reaction. What I ended up using:

• 1 can coconut milk (regular, not light, and do NOT get the super sweet coconut cream!)
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 12 ounces melted bittersweet chocolate
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• approx. 1/2 cup light vanilla soymilk
• approx. 1/2 cup sugar (to taste)

This is obviously different than Isa’s recipe. She has zero added sugar, just the bittersweet chocolate. Having tasted it (pre-soymilk and sugar) I knew right away no one would touch it. I realize some people love the bitter taste of unsweetened chocolate, but not the crowd I was baking for.

I think overall the filling still came out well. My mother-in-law loved how it wasn’t too sweet. My father-in-law on the other hand…based on comments about “ooh it’s definitely bittersweet chocolate” and lots of coughing and comments on how it was so thick he broke his plastic fork (it wasn’t rock hard, it was like a thick, creamy cheesecake texture), I’m pretty sure he wasn’t a fan of the filling. So know your audience (and know you’ll never please everyone…)! To keep it easy, if you’re baking for a more sweet-palated crowd just use semi-sweet chocolate instead.

For the peanut butter caramel: I kept with Isa’s recipe mostly, except I used agave instead of brown rice syrup (it’s what I had). I also ended up needing to add more maple syrup until I got the desired consistency (I would say probably double the amount she listed). Just be prepared to make adjustments on the caramel based on consistency.

For the Maple Candied Peanuts: Well, obviously the biggest change is that I used peanuts instead of pecans. I am so allergic to pecans and other tree nuts that not only can I not eat them, I can’t cook with them (esp. when toasting them releases oils and such). Everything else for this component I used according to her directions.

For the chocolate ganache: First of all, this will make more ganache that you need! I loaded on the ganache and had at least half left over. Aside from quantity, there’s the same issue with bittersweet chocolate. My husband was home with me at this point, and when I told him to see how it tasted, he hated it. Bittersweet chocolate + soymilk = extremely bitter ganache. I had to add sugar and more sugar until it got palatable for a crowd loving their sweets. To eliminate the need for this, just use semi-sweet chocolate and you’ll be golden.

I know this was really detailed, but I really hope you appreciate it if you’re thinking of making this pie. All in all it turned out well. We had a crown of 13 for my brother-in-law’s birthday, and everyone seemed to like it. It was very rich, which was ok, because everyone was satisfied with smaller portions. I also personally thought the less-sweet filling balanced perfectly with all the sugary goodness on top (caramel, peanuts, ganache). I was nervous about the vegan aspect, but no one thought it was too big of a deal. Like my brother-in-law said, “All you had to do was tell me it had sugar, and I’ll eat it!”. (Good thing I added lots of sugar to the bittersweet chocolate!)