Decadent low carb chocolate mint ganache in a gluten-free chocolate cookie crust. An ooey, gooey holiday dessert that’s easy to make and even easier to eat!
I just want to point out that this recipe deserves a special place in history, but it’s not what you might think. Yes, okay so it’s a ridiculously gooey, delicious low carb holiday treat that will blow the minds of any of your friends. Especially those who are not sold on a low carb diet. A single bite will make them gasp and say “this can’t possibly be low carb and gluten-free!”. And they will ask for the recipe and it will become a family favorite and you will have won over even the strongest low carb opponent. They will realize just how amazing the low carb lifestyle can be and they will swear off sugar for the rest of their lives. They will dedicate their lives to eradicating sugar from the world and start lobbying the government to label sugar as a dangerous substance. And YOU will be the agent of that amazing change, simply by serving them this rich chocolate peppermint ganache pie.
Okay, so that’s pretty cool and all, but that’s not why this pie deserves a place in history. Really, this pie is pretty special because it’s the first recipe I created as a West Coast food blogger. And it’s the first recipe I photographed that was NOT in my nice airy, light house in Massachusetts. I know that might not mean much to you, but it sure does to me. Let me point out that I also made this recipe in a kitchen devoid of utensils, with no bakeware and zero food styling props. See that pretty red fabric in the background? That’s my daughter’s shirt. Notice the tinfoil pie plate? Courtesy of the pumpkin pie we got from Whole Foods at Thanksgiving. And if you have a discerning eye, you might also note the deep shadows in some of the photos; that’s me trying to figure out how best to use the light in this dark little house in the rainy Pacific Northwest. So this recipe will go down in the annals of history, if only because I had to work so hard to make it, bake it and take photos of it!
So I am pretty pleased with the darn thing and the fact that it tasted like chocolate peppermint heaven and could win over even the most diehard carboholic is pretty much just icing on the cake. I decided I had to make it, functional kitchen or not, after I saw this lovely Peppermint Ganache Pie on Crazy for Crust. Dorothy is a lovely food blogger who I have had the great fortune to meet in person. She creates some of the most decadent-looking desserts and I eyeball them with great frequency. And then I scheme as to how I can make them palatable for my low carb tastes buds. This one was a piece of cake. Er, a piece of pie. I just needed a chocolate crust, which I’ve done before many times. Then I made my best low carb chocolate ganache and added some peppermint extract. I garnished mine with just a little bit of crushed candy canes for dramatic effect. I actually used Hammond’s All Natural (just about 1/4 of a cane) because it’s all I could find in my short time frame, but there are some decent sugar-free peppermint candies out there if you’d prefer to use those.
Ready to make a mind-blowing low carb holiday dessert?
Chocolate Peppermint Ganache Pie
Ingredients
Crust:
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1/4 cup dark cocoa powder
- 1/3 cup Swerve Sweetener
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 large egg white
- 2 tbsp butter, melted
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Peppermint Ganache Filling:
- 1 & 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 1 tsp peppermint extract
- 1/4 to 1/2 tsp liquid stevia extract, depending on how sweet you like it
- 6 ounces unsweetened chocolate , finely chopped
- 3 crushed peppermint candies for garnish, (optional - you can use sugar-free peppermints. I used just a little of Hammond's All Natural Candy Canes**)
Instructions
Crust:
- Preheat oven to 325F.
- In a large bowl, stir together the almond flour, cocoa powder, sweetener, and salt. Stir in egg white, melted butter and vanilla extract until dough comes together.
- Press dough into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Crimp edges in a decorative fashion. Bake about 12 minutes, until firm. Remove and let cool.
Filling:
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, whisk together the cream and powdered sweetener until combined. Bring to just a boil, then remove from heat. Stir in the peppermint extract and stevia extract.
- Add chopped chocolate and let sit 5 minutes until chocolate is completely melted. Whisk until smooth. Pour into cooled crust and refrigerate until set, at least 2 hours.
- Sprinkle with crushed peppermint candies if using.
Notes
Saturated fatty acids: 15.76g
Total fat: 29.06g
Calories from fat: 261
Cholesterol: 55mg
Carbohydrate: 9.77g
Total dietary fiber: 4.74g
Protein: 6.13g
Sodium: 105mg
Nutrition
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very good pie! just wondering if you can freeze it. Will not be able to eat the whole thing before the crust gets soggy. thank you for all your recipes.
Yes, it should freeze nicely.
I made this for Thanksgiving and it was delicious but the filling was a little think and it separated from the crust. If I added more cream would that make a difference do you think?
I haven’t re-visited this recipe in a long time! But yes, I would probably make the filling a little less thick now. I would keep the cream as is, but reduce the chocolate by 1 ounce.
Quick question! Can I leave out the peppermint extract? Will it just be chocolatey goodness? My family is not a fan of peppermint. Thank you!
Sure, not a problem.
This was amazing, even without the peppermint extract! My family still loves things very sweet, so when I make it for them again, I’ll probably add more Swerve. I have been eating 1/16th of the pie everyday (only 2.5 carbs!), and it hits my sweet tooth perfectly. Thank you!!
This looks amazing! What kind of dark cocoa powder did you use? I didn’t see a link for that.
I used Vahlrona.
Thank you so much for answering my question! I will look for the Ghirardelli unsweetened. Your site and recipes have been a real blessing to me. You obviously have a refined palette and your recipes are trustworthy and delicious! All of your cookbooks are on my Christmas list 😉 Thank you very much.
Thanks so much, Shannon!
Edit to the previous comment: Lily’s is also sweetened with erythritol, not just stevia.
Hello Carolyn! This is an older recipe, but I’m hoping you can answer my question. This dessert might help me stick with my diet through Christmas! The recipe calls for sugar-free dark chocolate (unsweetened). It links to dark chocolate Lily’s bars, which are sweetened with stevia. Should I use unsweetened chocolate (Baker’s) or an alternatively sweetened chocolate like Lily’s? Thank you in advance!
Hi there, thanks for the heads up. It’s supposed to be unsweetened (i.e. NOT lily’s). Don’t use the Baker’s brand, it tends to seize more easily. I always recommend Ghirardelli.
I can’t tolerate stevia in any form or any amount. What would you suggest I use instead? I’m afraid if I just add more Swerve it will throw off the wet/dry ratio. Our tastebuds haven’t adjusted yet, we still like things pretty sweet.
You should be able to whisk in more Swerve.
I’ve been making this since 2015. Still one of my favorite desserts. I serve it sometimes with a raspberry sauce and whipped cream. Absolutely delicious.
I don’t have any liquid stevia, but I have thm pure stevia extract. How much would I use or do you think I’d be ok just leaving it out?
I think that’s stronger so only use half the amount of the powdered stevia.
This was a hit at our Christmas dinner! Best Keto friendly dessert yet!
So glad to hear it!
Do you think I could use coconut oil in place of butter?? I really want to make this for my family but I have some strict diet restrictions 🙁
In the crust, absolutely. Do you need to be dairy free? If so, people have said they replace the cream with full fat coconut milk and it works well too. You may need to thicken it a bit extra though.
Thank you so much for replying! Yes I do need to be dairy free. I was going to try coconut milk for the ganache but get some xantham gym just incase! I usually use coconut oil for butter in most recipes but wasn’t sure if it would effect anything with this recipe in particular?
That should work fine.
Made this yesterday, making it dairy free by using shortening in the crust and coconut milk/cream in the ganache, and it is truly delicious. And so easy and quick to make!! My only issue with it is the cookie/pastry base is sticking to my pie dish. Any tips to stop that happening? You don’t say to grease it, and I understand when one presses a pastry base in it must be weird/hard to grease the dish first, but the base is falling to crumble/sticking to the dish when I try and get it out. Tastes incredible though!
I think that must be the change from butter to shortening causing that. I find that crusts with butter don’t need a greased pan. So in your case, yes, I would probably grease the pan.
thanks! i have every intention of making it again, so i’ll grease next time!
I missed the fact that “non-sugar” Truvia Baking blend carbs don’t actually count towards carbs so that with Truvia BB, the net carbs is actually 12.2g per 1/10th (not 19g as I wrote above). Truvia baking blend is 50% sugar with 50% erythritol.