Chocolate orange pie

Laura has a delicious recipe for a vegan chocolate mousse pie (where "mousse" means silken tofu). This is not it. Instead, this is my second non-vegan variation on that theme. This time, the filling is just as vegan as hers, but with some orange zest to liven up the rich chocolate.

The crust, on the other hand, is not vegan in the least—it's the pate sucree from Flour. It bakes up a bit like a crunchy shortbread or a HobNob, which I think complements the creamy filling much better than like a flaky pie crust and at least as well as a cookie crumb crust. And if you're already going non-vegan, definitely top with some whipped cream!



crust:
1 stick butter, softened
1/4 c sugar
1/2 t salt
1 c flour
1 egg yolk

Cream together the butter and sugar until light. Beat in the salt and flour until it's grainy, like wet sand. Add the egg yolk and mix just until the dough comes together (more or less). Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least half an hour.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Roll the dough out into a 10-11" circle on a floured surface and transfer into a 9" pie pan. (I couldn't do this without tearing the dough, but pressing the tears back together worked just fine.) Make it nice and even around the edge, then bake for 30-35 min until golden brown. Cool completely before adding the filling.

filling:
1 block silken tofu
1 pack chocolate chips, melted
zest of 1 orange
1 t vanilla

Blend everything together in the food processor until smooth. Pour into the baked, cooled crust, and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving (ideally with a dollop of sweetened whipped cream).