We all love chocolate in this household. My oldest, who doesn’t have a sweet tooth at all in general, is becoming as addicted to it as his dad. So for his birthday I know to bake him his favorite brownie pie.
This brownie pie is über-chocolaty, gooey on the inside, sandy-textured on the outside and nothing short of wonderful. And the best thing is, I have come up with a healthier version that is just as chocolaty and wonderful. Let’s bake!
How I make this chocolate brownie pie?
I first make the dough for the pie crust and blind bake it. After that, I prepare the brownie batter and bake it inside the pre-baked chocolate pie crust.
Baking the pie crust
I use a food processor for this to minimize the hand-to-dough contact, to try to keep the dough as cold as possible so the butter doesn’t melt.
make the pie dough
I start by adding flour and cocoa powder to the bowl and pulse it twice to combine it. Then I add the chilled and cubed butter and I blitz it for about 20 seconds. The butter will now be turned into marble size lumps.
With the food processor on low, I drizzle cold water in until it begins to clump.
I wash my hands with cold water and shape the dough into a disk. I wrap it in plastic and refrigerate it for 30 minutes (or 15 minutes in the freezer).
roll out the pie crust dough
I dust my countertop with a bit of cocoa powder and I roll out the dough to a 3 mm/ ⅛ inch thickness. This is pretty thin, so in order to transfer the dough to the pie dish this is what I do: I lift up the dough with a wide spatula and slide the greased bottom of the pie dish under it. Now I fold the ‘overhang’ over towards the center so all the dough is supported by the pie bottom and it can’t break off. I transport it to the pie dish and once it is in, I fold back the extra dough (so now it is draped over the sides of the pie dish).
I try not to press down the dough (too much) and only use a fork to make a few holes in the bottom to prevent air bubbles to pop up while baking.
I use my rolling pin to cut off the extra dough that is hanging over the edge by rolling it over the top like this:
bake the pie crust
To blind bake the pie crust, I add baking beans (or other type of baking weights) to the pie dish, but not before I have line the dough with parchment paper so the beans don’t stick to the pie crust. Now it is ready to be baked; 15 minutes with the baking beans and after removing the baking beans and parchment paper another 10 minutes.
I let the pie crust cool off and I continue with the brownie batter.
baking the brownie batter in the pre-baked pie crust
Make the batter
I start by melting the chocolate and coconut oil for the brownie batter in a double boiler (au bain marie). Once it is fully melted and incorporated I take it off the heat and set it aside to slightly cool off.
In the meantime I use a hand mixer to whisk the eggs and sugar together until fully incorporated and tripled in size (this usually takes me around 5-6 minutes).
Once the egg mixture is fluffy, I slowly pour in the melted chocolate mixture while whisking on low speed until the chocolate is fully incorporated.
I sift the flour, cocoa powder and salt into the egg-chocolate mixture and gently fold in the dry ingredients, using a spatula, until no clumps remain.
Lastly, I quickly stir in the dark chocolate chunks, making sure not to over mix it.
Bake the chocolate brownie pie
Now the batter is ready to be poured into the pre-baked pie crust. After I have done that, I place the pie in the preheated oven in the center of the middle rack.
I bake the pie for 28-33 minutes. Keep in mind, this pie is best when still gooey in the middle (in my humble opinion). So don’t wait until a tooth pick comes out dry with just a few crumbs attached to it. I take the chocolate brownie pie out when the top is solid and a tooth pick comes out with a thick cluster of gooey batter attached to it.
(If you are not into gooey brownies then at least don’t wait longer than when the tooth pick comes out with very moist crumbs attached to it).
serve you chocolate brownie pie!
I take the pie out of the oven and let it cool off just a little bit. Warm chocolate brownie pie is the best! Serve it with or without a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
This is truly an amazing chocolaty treat. I totally understand why my boy wants this as his birthday cake! But a slice with a cup of coffee on a regular Sunday morning is totally not over-indulging at all!
Hope you will love this pie as much as all of us do! It is
so chocolaty – the perfect ratio crumbly crust vs gooey center – made with mostly wholesome ingredients – SO delicious!
Chocolate brownie pie
Equipment
- food processor or high speed blender
- Rolling pin
- 8-inch pie dish with removable bottom
Ingredients
Pie crust
- 165 gr white whole wheat flour (=approx 1¼ cup)(or sub all purpose flour)
- 25 gr unsweetened cocoa powder (=approx. ¼ cup)
- 2 tbsp powdered sugar/xylitol/splenda (if you want to use a sugar substitute, just grind it in a food processor or high speeds blender. Within seconds you will have a powdered substance)
- 2 tbsp ice cold water
Brownie batter
- 125 gr 80% dark chocolate (=4½ oz.)(chopped)
- 50 gr coconut oil (or sub 75gr (vegan) butter)
- 3 medium eggs (or use aquafaba. I have not tested it though so results may vary)
- 150 gr coconut sugar (=approx. 1 cup)(or sub light brown sugar)
- 90 gr almond flour (=approx. 1 cup)
- 30 gr unsweetened cocoa powder (=approx. ¼ cup)
- pinch of sea salt
- ½-1 cup dark chocolate (chunks)(optional, but highly recommended)
Instructions
Pie crust
- Add flour and cocoa powder to the bowl and pulse it twice to combine it.
- Add the chilled and cubed butter and blitz it for about 20 seconds. The butter will now be turned into marble size lumps.
- With the food processor on low, drizzle cold water in until it begins to clump.
- Shape the dough into a disk with cold hands and wrap it in plastic. Refrigerate it for 30 minutes (or 15 minutes in the freezer).
- In the meantime preheat the oven to 355F/180C and grease the sides and bottom of a 8-inch round pie dish (with removable bottom).
- Dust the countertop with a bit of cocoa powder and roll out the dough to a 3 mm/ ⅛ inch thickness.
- To transfer the dough to the pie dish lift up the dough with a wide spatula and slide the greased bottom of the pie dish under it. Now fold the 'overhang' towards the center of the pie bottom so all the dough is supported by the bottom and it can't break off. Transport it to the pie dish and once it is in, fold back the extra dough (so now it is draped over the sides of the pie dish).
- Try not to press down the dough (too much) and only use a fork to make a few holes in the bottom to prevent air bubbles to pop up while baking.
- Use a rolling pin to cut off the extra dough that is hanging over the edge by rolling it over the top. See picture in the text above to see how.
- To blind bake the pie crust, add baking beans (or other type of baking weights) to the pie dish, but not before you have lined the dough with parchment paper so the beans don't stick to the pie crust.
- Bake for 15 minutes with the baking beans and after removing the baking beans and parchment paper bake for another 10 minutes. Once reading, take the pie crust out of the oven, but leave the oven on.
- Let the pie crust cool off. In the meantime continue with the brownie batter.
Baking the brownie batter in the pre-baked pie crust
- Start by melting the chocolate and coconut oil for the brownie batter in a double boiler (au bain marie). Once it is fully melted and incorporated, take it off the heat and set it aside to slightly cool off.
- In the meantime use a hand mixer to whisk the eggs and sugar together until fully and tripled in size (this usually takes me around 5-6 minutes).
- Once the egg mixture is fluffy, slowly pour in the melted chocolate mixture while whisking on low speed until the chocolate is fully incorporated.
- Sift the flour, cocoa powder and salt into the egg-chocolate mixture and gently fold in the dry ingredients, using a spatula, until no clumps remain.
- Lastly, quickly stir in the dark chocolate chunks. Make sure not to over mix it.
- Pour the batter into the pre-baked pie crust. Place the pie in the preheated oven in the center of the middle rack.
- Bake the pie for 28-33 minutes. This pie is best when still gooey in the middle. So don't wait until a tooth pick comes out dry with just a few crumbs attached to it. Rather take it out when the top is solid and a tooth pick comes out with a thick cluster of gooey batter attached to it. (If you are not into gooey brownies then at least don't wait longer than when the tooth pick comes out with very moist crumbs attached to it).
- Take the pie out of the oven and let it cool off just a little bit. Slice the pie and serve warm.
Notes
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?
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