Mayan Dark Chocolate Pie

For our annual beach family pie competition, I found this recipe for a dark chocolate pudding pie from http://www.godairyfree.org/recipes/mayan-dark-chocolate-pie, made it and it was a success!

I bought a graham cracker crust and used the pudding recipe below:

Pie Filling:

• 2 cups vanilla coconut milk beverage (such as So Delicious Dairy Free Vanilla) - couldn't find straight coconut milk beverage so I used the almond-coconut drink that I found
• 1 cup cocoa powder
• ½ cup agave nectar (can sub maple syrup, if preferred - I used maple syrup as it was easier to find in a small beach grocery store)
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (for some noticeable heat, use the full ¼ teaspoon)
• 5 tablespoons cornstarch
• ⅓ cup cold water

To Make the Pie Filling:

1. Combine the coconut milk beverage, cocoa, sweetener, and vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly until the cocoa is dissolved and the mixture comes to a slow boil. (This can take a while, I ended up turning up the heat after a while which helped, ugh electric stoves)
2. Add the cayenne and stir thoroughly. (I didn't have cayenne so I added a shot of rum for flavor)
3. In a small bowl, whisk the cornstarch in the cold water until dissolved. Briskly whisk the mixture into your saucepan.
4. Turn the heat down to low and continue to cook, while whisking for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the pudding becomes thick and heavy.
5. Pour the pudding into your prepared pie crust, smoothing it out as needed.
6. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the top of the pie becomes dark and crater like.
7. Allow the pie to cool off for an hour or two before serving with dairy-free ice cream or fresh fruit, if desired.

For the rest of the pie, I put a thin layer of marshmallow fluff on top, and then lots of sliced strawberries.  The marshmallow didn't add a ton of flavor, and I really just wanted it to help the strawberries stick on top.  The pudding consistency was great, but the flavor was a bit bitter (didn't fit the judges - the young cousins), so next time I would add more sweetener.  It would also be good with a layer of peanut butter and oreo crumble on top, or just some dairy-free ice cream on top.