In the old days, I made a brown sugar, fudge creation that was very similar to this Sugar Free Hot Fudge Pie and we loved it!
It had 4 eggs, cinnamon and lots of butter and was a decadent thing that was always fudgy and never cakey and we could eat it raw straight out of the bowl and be just as happy as if it was baked. ‘
I’ve gotta be honest that dish was just our dietary kryptonite! This pie fills the void that was left by that little sweetie when I kissed sugar goodbye!
Thanks to a Facebook THMer for posting a sugary version of this recipe on THM main that needed to be tweaked a couple of years ago and for all the other chocoholics that just kept bumping that recipe up till I found it.
I tweaked on this recipe for a full month trying to get a really special pie for Christmas 2014 and made it probably 5 times before I was finally able to declare it perfect!
It always comes out of the pan perfectly and I have had it fail me only very rarely.
On those occasions, it was usually because I over mixed it, tried to use a 9″ plate instead of an 8″ pie plate or was trying to sub ingredients that I hadn’t used in the original recipe.
Update! I’ve recently tweaked and updated this recipe and added nuts too for a Fudge Pecan Pie THM S, Low Carb.
The fudginess you see in the picture is usually good for a few hours and then this recipe transforms itself into a dense fudge type creation.
These are the conditions under which you too can achieve a fudgy, non-bitter, gooey wonderful pie that is THM friendly and low carb, though possibly a little rich for everyday consumption for some Trim Healthy Mamas like myself.
This Sugar Free Hot Fudge Pie fits into the category that I call Special Occasion Goodies, but it is worth the wait!
- Get the brown sugar edge by adding the teaspoon of blackstrap molasses that is allowed in this amount for THM. If you use the on plan sweeteners alone it will be sweet, but lacking the extra dimension of rich flavor that the brown sugar gives to this chocolate.
- Like fudge brownies this pie needs to be undercooked! Set the timer for 17 minutes at 350 degrees and then reset the timer for another 3 minutes if is not set. It will still be wet looking once it reaches the fudgy perfection. Mine jiggles in the middle 1/3 of the pie when I remove it from the oven, but sets up fine and comes out of the pan after cooling slightly with no problems. If you want it even fudgier go ahead and cook it a little less, I have never had this pie fall apart even when a little underdone it will just need to set up a little longer if it’s undercooked too much.
- You can get this perfect the FIRST time if you watch the timing closely. My electric oven is taking about 22 minutes.
- The middle should look wet and it will still have a little jiggle when it is JUST done. The good news is it tastes GREAT even if it turns out firm it will remind you of a chocolate custard pie. I even took one of my less than fully fudged trials to a Thanksgiving get together and a couple of people asked me to bring it next time, and everybody liked it. But I was going for fudgy perfection, so I trudged on….for my family, for THM, for YOU….and of course, for me!
- You really need an 8-inch glass pie pan for this dish if at all possible. I increased the volume of the original recipe so it would be thicker and would set up fudgier due to the added thickness. The standard 9-inch plate will take away from that somewhat….since we are after perfection here.
- Please remember that these instructions are based on my experience with an electric oven!
I love to add a flavored whipped cream to this! The whipped cream in the picture had been whipped and setting in my fridge for 2 days and the texture was still fantastic! The secret is beating in 1 tablespoon of cream cheese as you whip the cream and it stabilizes it for a few days (a tip I got off Pinterest years ago). If you like you can add a tiny amount of good quality peppermint extract to each serving of cream. I mean tiny because I wanted to just compliment and not overpower.
The peppermint REALLY goes well with this pie, so if you have it put a little in, but if you don’t it is still “All Good”!
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8-inch glass pie plates can be a bit of a challenge to find. I have an old Fire King plate that I use exclusively and really treasure. If I were looking for one now though I would definitely check this one out!
Sugar Free Hot Fudge Pie
Ingredients
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- 1 stick butter, softened (1/2 cup) NOT melted (it'll affect the texture)
- *3/4 cup xylitol or combination xylitol and erythritol See notes for alternatives
- 1/3 teaspoon stevia
- 1 teaspoon blackstrap molasses
- 4 eggs
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 2 pinches cinnamon
- 5 Tbsp cocoa powder (see cocoa recommendation at bottom of this post)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 6 Tbsp. almond flour*
- 1 tablespoon coconut flour*
- 1 1/2 tablespoon THM plain or other on plan protein powder*
Instructions
- Soften the butter and add the sweetener and molasses.
- Add eggs and vanilla and mix well-using a fork or hand mixer to make sure it is creamed-ish but don't overdo.
- Then stir in cocoa powder, salt and almond and coconut flour plus the protein powder and mix until well combined (mine shows tiny lumps of butter when thoroughly mixed and that is fine.
- Grease an 8 inch pie plate with butter or cooking spray and pour mixture into the plate.
- Bake 18 minutes until center is set. Will still be a little damp but set. I check mine at 17 minutes and usually leave it in for a couple more minutes and the timing is super important on this pie. It must still be jiggly in the middle if you want it to be gooey.
Notes
- I increased the volume of the original sugary recipe so it would be thicker and would set up "fudgier" due to the added thickness.
- *You really need an 8 inch glass pie pan for this dish if at all possible. The standard 9" doesn't work near as well you need a thicker volume for fudgey-ness.
- 8 tablespoons of baking blend can be subbed for all the almond flour + coconut flour + protein powder
- Sweetener alternatives--(I wanted Gentle Sweet to work but the powdered sweetener changed the texture- I tried 3 times and gave up; you need granulated for this.)
- Be sure and only soften the butter don't melt it for best texture once baked. Mix it well in a mixer and the tiny bits of unmelted butter in the batter will melt into the pie nicely when it's baked.
- You can sub 6-8 tablespoons Pyure or Truvia but this is a higher stevia combo so not ideal but will work.
- *Flavored whipped cream--I just whipped up some cream for topping. If you like you can add a tiny amount of good quality peppermint extract to each serving of cream. I mean tiny because I wanted to just compliment and not over power. The peppermint REALLY goes well with this pie, so if you have it put a little in, but if you don't it is still "All Good"!
How much molasses does it take? I see it in the directions but not in ingredients list.
Thanks.
Hi Carol, I added the molasses to the recipe card and thanks for taking the time to let me know. 🙂
This recipe looks very yummy and chocolatey (yeah, another made up word to go with fudgier). I’m not a pie expert and need clarification. Is this a crustless pie? And FYI, the 1 tsp of molasses is in the notes, but not the ingredient list. What kind of almond flour do you use? Fine texture or is a ground up meal okay?
Hi Kris, and thanks for letting me know on the molasses, I fixed it! Yes this is traditionally a crustless pie, but a crust would be fantastic if you decide to use one. Bob’s Red Mill is producing a finely ground almond flour and I believe Honeyville sells a nice almond flour too, which would be a big help if you have it to use. I will try to add some recommendations on that score too.
Is it okay to post a link to another THM blogger site that has a pie crust recipe? It has almond flour and butter, so it would fit the same fuel. I used it for a strawberry pie and it was delicious.
Hi Kris and thanks for mentioning the crust. A couple of people have asked me about that and I have personal experience with the crust from my Pecan Tassies so I went ahead and put a link in the recipe for that one. Thanks again and I’ll have to try this pie with a crust, sounds yummy!
You mention using a mixture of erythritol and xylitol. Would you do equal amts of each to make up the 3/4 cup total?
Hi Jan! Yes equal amounts will work or 1/2 cup xylitol and 1/4 cup erythritol, your choice.
Hi,
Can you tell what is xylitol and erythritol please?.
They are sugar alcohols and a sweet but undigestible carb source that measure close to sugar unless you mix them with stevia.
This pie is wonderful!!!!! I have made it twice this week! Tonight per request of my 11 year old. BC my husband and 4 year at the last bit of the first one!! I’m still working on the timing bit. Tonight I cooked it a tad bit longer. But goodness it is still so delicious!! Just a bit more like a cake rather than a pie! But no complaints here!! This recipe is so perfected, no matter what, it is destined for yumminess!
I’m just found your site and am really interested in trying this recipe. I only have the THM super sweet blend-it’s erythritol and stevia. Do you think I could sub it for the xylitol? Do you think the 3/4 cup and no added stevia would be sweet enough-or too sweet.
Hi, Laura! I try not to use a lot of stevia in my chocolate recipes and super sweet is very high in stevia. Plus, the concentrated sweetness of super sweet will not allow you to use near as much so the volume will be a lot less. You can always try it and sweeten to taste but if you decide to sub Pyure (Walmart) or truvia you can just use 1/4 the amount of xylitol called for and it will still have a “sweetener” flavor but will be closer to this recipe. I do LOVE super sweet just not in this recipe. Hope this helps 🙂
I cannot find the cocoa powder recommendation. Help?
It’s listed in with the other ingredients and says 5 Tablespoons cocoa powder. Not sure why it wasn’t showing up for you but I hope this helps.:)
Thank you for the quick response! Right beside the 5T of cocoa powder it says : (see cocoa recommendation at bottom of this post)” That is what I was referring to. I thought maybe you had a brand recommendation?
Hi Hannah. Oh, I see what you’re saying. This is an older recipe, from my original hobby blog and has gone through many changes so I guess the recommendation got lost in one of the translations. 🙂
I do recommend the highest quality cocoa powder that you can afford or find. I used Now brand originally and I still like it but have switched to ghiradelli since it’s become available at my Wal-Mart. Also many people have recommended Rodelle’s cocoa.
Any of these that you can find should work well for you. Sorry for the confusion Hannah and thanks for hanging in there with me. <3
I would like to bake this in smaller dishes. Have you tried this? I thought I would just fill my smaller soufflé dishes a little over half full and watch for the “done-ness” guidelines you suggested.f
Hello, this sounds scrumptious! Could I sub peanut butter powder for the protein powder? Only asking because that is what I have on hand! Thank you!
I’m not sure I haven’t tried it but that does sound interesting. <3
Could you use THM baking blend instead of the coconut and almond flours? If so, how much? Thank you.
Hi Vickie! I haven’t tried it with the baking blend and it’s somewhat of a precarious balancing act on these thickeners to keep it from turning into a custard. So, I can’t recommend a sub unless I’ve tried it. I need to though I’m sure it would be yummy either way.
Y’all!!!! This is so legit. My husband has celiac so even before going sugar free I’ve been trying wheat free recipes for a long time now. This is hands down the best baked chocolate goodie I’ve made that’s gluten and sugar free (and doesn’t require a bag of Lilly’s chocolate chips or similar to achieve yummy status).
I didn’t quite have everything on hand so I slightly tweaked things:
1) I used generic spoonable truvia and generic spoonable stevia and sweetened to taste
2) I used more cocoa powder in place of the protein powder
I’m sure a less stevia laden combo would be beyond divine but we are really used to stevia in our house at this point so it didn’t bother us. Everyone gobbled their serving and said it’s a keeper recipe to make again. I’m thrilled to not need any extra special or pricier ingredients (like a bag of Lilly’s) we always have everything on hand that I used!
I can’t use sugar alcohols because they upset my stomach- I love Pyure but always feel awful after eating anything with even a small amount in there. The only option I have found that doesn’t cause any issues is pure stevia powder. I use the THM brand. Any thoughts on using this?
So sorry Jessica but I think you’ll need more volume for this recipe than stevia alone will provide and the amount of stevia you would need to sweeten this dish would probably not compliment the amount of cocoa in this recipe.
So sorry and my advice is that lemon or cream cheese recipes are best combined with stevia. Cinnamon and chocolate both can lend a bitter flavor to it. Hope you find something you love. 🙂
This looks amazing! We have an almond allergy in the family. What would you recommend for a substitution?
Hi Kim. I’m not sure if you can sub for the almond flour. I did a lot of testing on this and it’s a pretty delicate balance to get the right texture. Sorry.
Sounds great… have you tried monkfruit as the sweetener for this recipe? We have dogs so I won’t have xylitol in our home. Also, is it possible to bake in aluminum foil disposable pans? Thank you for your advise and help.
Hi Francine. I also use the monk fruit sweeteners a lot. The problem here is that xylitol holds up better during cooking, without crystallizing, so I think that the lack of it in this pie will affect the texture quite a bit.
Also the use of metal pans is going to cook it more thoroughly and quickly in my opinion. So I think both of these changes could keep you from getting the gooey texture.
However you might end up with a nice dense brownie? Let me know if you try it. <3
This sounds delicious and I would love to try it! Unfortunately, I seem to have developed a dairy intolerance. How do you think substituting butter flavored coconut oil or ghee would affect this recipe?
Hi Shirley. I wish I could tell you for sure. This recipe is an absolute delight when made as is but it is temperamental with any changes. You might try a half batch? Let me know if it works for you if you get a chance.