Healthy Low Carb Chocolate Pie

Gotta keep this post short and sweet. Finals are underway! I cannot always respond to comments on old posts due to time constraints as of late, so please email me with your recipe questions on older posts. I love hearing from you, and am happy to address any of your recipe "issues"!

Now let's talk about this pie. I know what you're thinking--MORE chocolate? More chocolate pie?! Now hold on a minute. This is magical, no bake crustless chocolate pie! Instant gratification. Listening now?

It's low carb, sugar-free, and gluten-free as usual. It was inspired by a happy turn of events--I found some ricotta cheese on sale for $1.50 at Kroger, and grabbed the three containers left. No, it's not organic (and it's LOW FAT, ick!) but a girl on a college budget has to work with what's available. The ingredients read "whey, sea salt" so I feel pretty good about that. Ricotta cheese is low carb and packed with protein. It does not have the tang and gummy mouthfeel of cream cheese, which I really appreciate. Whole Foods sells a delicious RBGH-free brand of ricotta called Calabro, so pick that up if you can find it. I remember it being more wet than most types of ricotta, so cut back on the heavy cream by two tablespoons if you use Calabro.

And the photos... honestly, I'm almost embarrassed to post these. With the limited resources in my dorm room in terms of serving dishes and decor, these will have to do! I still haven't bought a new grater since my baking supplies were stolen, so you'll just have to imagine this pie topped with chocolate shavings. The rich, cool chocolate with a smooth and fudgy texture will win you over if these photos don't! I mean, just look at that fluffy organic cream topping (a.k.a. nourishing saturated fat!).

Blend, chill, eat. Be healthy. This takes all of 10 minutes to throw together and consume. It's downright dangerous. Dessert doesn't get more simple that!

That there's real whipped cream, folks.


Quick n' Dirty Chocolate Pie

Serves 8-10

Ingredients:
2-4 tablespoons organic heavy cream
1/3-1/2 cup erythritol, powdered, OR 3 tablespoons honey
2 cups ricotta cheese
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon good tasting pure stevia extract
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt

Preparation:
Powder erythritol (if using) in coffee grinder or Magic Bullet. Add heavy cream, honey (or erythritol), salt, ricotta, stevia, and vanilla to food processor. Blend for a couple minutes, until perfectly smooth. No lumps! Melt unsweetened chocolate on HIGH in microwave for 40 seconds. Stir, and melt chocolate in 15 second intervals until liquefied. Scrape chocolate into food processor and blend until thoroughly incorporated, with no streaks of chocolate visible. Taste filling, and add more stevia if necessary. Spread filling into a pie plate lined with plastic wrap. Chill until firm. Remove from pie plate using plastic wrap, and invert onto a flat surface. Invert again on to serving platter. Top with stevia-sweetened fresh whipped cream (3/4 cup), piped from a zip top bag with the corner cut. Grate 85% cacao chocolate over whipped cream if desired.

~4g net carbs per 1/8th of a recipe (with erythritol)
~10g net carbs per 1/8th of a recipe (with honey)

Taking a bite of chocolate fudgy goodness!