Chocolate Chevre Pie with Maca and Goat Cheesecakes

You might say, I am a cacao-aholic*. I love very dark chocolate, too. So for my birthday, I made a variation of the Chocolate Chip Çhevre Cheesecake I developed for Equal Exchange. Cacao gives you energy; rich in antioxidants, and dietary fiber, one of the highest dietary sources of magnesium, and high in iron and other minerals. It is raw and commonly used to make cacao butter, chocolate, cocoa products.

For the filling, I melted 2, Equal Exchange 3.5 oz 70% dark chocolate bars, drizzled that over 12 ounces of local, organic, plain chevre; blended them together in the food processor with about 1/4 cup of organic cacao powder and 1 teaspoon of organic maca, and organic raw honey to taste. Delicious!

Maca (ma-kuh) root comes from the Andes of Bolivia and Peru. Dried as a powder/flour, you can add a tablespoon to everything from pastries, smoothies, to stews to combat stress and fatigue, boost stamina and libido. Maca has a pleasing earthy, nutty flavor. Loaded with vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and healthy fats, a little bit goes a long way.

And now for the crust. Since it’s July and a beautiful hot day, I made my quick and easy, raw Hemp Walnut Pie Crust. Always thinking of the yum and nutrition, since this was part birthday pie and dinner for me and friends. The walnuts and hemp seeds offer a tasty source of Omega 3s. This is also I recipe I developed for Nutiva with their organic hemp seeds.

When it is blueberry season, you might also be inspired to make my Organic Blueberry Chevre Pie.  Feel free to make your favorite cheesecake or fruit filling for a no bake pie everyone will love.

Blueberry Chevre Pie with Acai, a very tasty variation. Acai (Ah-Sigh-EE) is a small, dark purple berry which is the fruit of a native South American palm tree, an antioxidant powerhouse loaded with healthy mono-saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. I used the organic freeze-dried acai powder that lends a delightfully rich and creamy texture to cheesecake/pie fillings, smoothies and shakes.

Recipes above are all organic vegetarian and gluten-free.

Photos of Hemp and Walnut Crust; and Chocolate Chip Chevre Cheesecake by Tracey Eller

For private and group cooking classes and wellness coaching, please call Leslie at 413-259-1695 or email her at leslie@lesliecerier.com to talk about how she can help you cook from your heart.