Chocolate sunflower (vegan)

Sunshine, darkness. 

I read eating yellow things is supposed to make you happy. I don’t know how true that is, but here is some yellow for you, in bright and vibrant contrast with dark chocolate.

The Sun gold petals, dyed with annatto and turmeric, are thin crispy cookies planted in the smooth sunflower butter ganache. 

You could replace the cookie base and topping with crushed “chocolate sandwich cookies”, but it won’t have the same toasty, nutty flavor that comes from the dark roasted sunflower seeds.

To make the base and topping

100g flour 

100g sugar

33g cocoa powder

1 tsp espresso (optional)

10g water

5g vanilla

50g oil

30g sunflower seeds

Toast the seeds in a 350 oven until medium dark brown and deeply toasted, more than you might be used to. (Make extra to put on your salads! )

Let them cool down, and grind in a blender or food processor into a powder (don’t over blend or it will turn into a paste)

Mix with the other ingredients until evenly blended. The mixture should be able to clump up when pressed. If it’s too crumbly, add a few drops of water.

Press about half of this mixture on the bottom of a six inch pie plate or cake pan (preferably lined with parchment paper)

And spread the rest loosely on a sheet pan.

Bake the lot at 350F for about 20 to 25 minutes. You won’t be able to tell visually when it’s done, but the smell will guide you.

Meanwhile, make the cookie petals. 

100g flour

50g sugar

25g coconut oil

25g neutral oil (such as sunflower to stick with the theme)

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

20g water

Pinch of annatto and turmeric

Place the annatto seeds and turmeric in a small saucepan with the oil, and heat gently until it the color comes out. Strain.

Let it cool down, then add the remaining ingredients. Place the dough in the fridge to firm up, then roll out thinly. To create the petal shapes, cut wavy lines with a knife that are touching at each wave. (you can also cut diamonds if that’s easier)

Bake at 325 F for 10 to 15 minutes. They should not brown at all so as to preserve the bright color.

Make the ganache

 60g sunflower seed butter

75g water

45g chocolate

30g sugar

1.5g salt (3 pinches)

1/2 tsp vanilla

Place the chocolate, sun butter, water and salt in a bowl and microwave at 15 second intervals until completely melted, stirring well between each burst. You can also do this over the stove over a low flame.

Pour the ganache over the crust, then let it cool down completely at room temperature. 

Place the yellow petals around the ganache, sticking them into it at an angle. Sprinkle some of the crumbs in the middle in a circular shape.

Any leftover crumble is delicious on ice cream.

Let the pie fully set in the fridge. It’s best if you let it soften a bit outside the fridge before serving.