I didn’t even realise what I had made until after it was finished, then I marvelled at it (and proceeded to fill my face with it).
It’s so good that it even got the seal of approval from health food phobic family members!
This chocolate pie has lots of nutritious ingredients in it which contribute to beautiful skin.
The base is made from sweet potato and hazelnuts, this is a perfect combo as the sweet potato is filled with skin loving vitamin A (lots of beta-carotene) which is a fat soluble vitamin, therefore, you need to eat fat alongside it in order to absorb it. This is where the hazelnuts come in, they provide the lovely healthy fats but they also provide lots of vitamin E, yet another vitamin which is essential for beautiful skin.
The sweet potato benefits don’t stop there though, it also contains vitamin C which you’ve probably heard is also highly beneficial for skin as it fights free radicals which damage and age skin but vitamin C also helps the skin to stay supple and maintain its collagen.
Both the sweet potato & hazelnuts contain lots of fibre which means slow releasing energy, plus provides the advantage of regular waste removal (you know what I mean!) which is something your skin also requires to be at its optimum.
For more information on the benefits of sweet potatoes there’s a great page here
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| Glowing healthy skin chocolate pie tart |
The topping of the pie is homemade cacao & coconut oil dark chocolate AND you can control how sweet you make it. The coconut oil is an amazing fat which is fantastic for the skin either directly as a moisturiser or as a fat that you eat. Good fats such as these two play a big role in keeping skin looking good as they help to hydrate & plump out the skin to reduce wrinkles, woohoo!
Cacao is also jam packed with wholefood antioxidants (particularly flavanols) which as mentioned before keep skin looking good by fighting off the bad guys (free radicals). This 2006 study on women further illustrates the benefits of regular cacao/dark cocoa consumption.
-200g hazelnuts (can also use almonds but I like the hazelnut & chocolate combo)
-1 generous Tbspn coconut oil
*20g oats/flax (only use this in the base if you use maple in the filling as it will absorb any excess maple syrup)
-50g coconut oil
-4 level Tbspn cacao powder
-4 – 6 Tbspn coconut sugar/maple syrup/honey (taste after 4, add more if you like it sweeter)
-1/8 tspn pure vanilla powder or 1 tspn vanilla extract
optional: goji berries/seeds/coconut to top
Peel off any bruised parts of the potato skins but leave the rest on for maximum nutrition then chop up into chunks
Steam/boil (I prefer these options to reduce acrylamide formation) the sweet potato until its tender then allow to cool
Lightly toast the hazelnuts in a dry pan then blitz them into a flour like texture (along with oats if using) in a blender/food processor, then remove and set aside.
Melt 1 Tbspn coconut oil then pour it along with the sweet potato into a food processor and blend until smooth
Add in the hazelnut crumb (and oats if using) and process again until it all combines
Press the mix into a circular base
Chocolate
Pour the chocolate over the pie base, you can place the pie back into the fridge to set slightly for about 5min before adding the toppings and replacing in the fridge for another 20min until completely set or add the toppings straight away, however as the chocolate is quite runny, your toppings may sink slightly.
Once set, slice and serve. TIP: If you want clean lines when you cut it i.e for the chocolate not to break into several pieces then reduce the amount of time it sets for in the fridge or if you’re serving it the next day, leave it to sit for about 10mins at room temp so the chocolate softens a little and will be easier to slice through.
Store any leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
