Strawberry Protein Mousse Pie

This Strawberry Protein Mousse Pie is for the fans of fruity desserts among us:
A creamy-dreamy mousse with fresh strawberry flavour, laced with vanilla on a crispy and aromatic almond crust, covered by a thin dark chocolate coating. I mean who doesn’t like strawberries with chocolate?
Just as the banoffee version of this, it’s perfect to impress your guests, happily enjoying pie even while trying to lose weight. On top of all that, it is incredibly healthy, has no cream in it whatsoever, but instead 11g protein per portion with only about 220 calories. No, really.

 

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• Why You Will Love This
• The Ingredients
• The Process
• Meal Prep

Why You Will Love This 

2 Delicious Versions of a Healthy Pie

So while I whipped up a quick Protein Banoffee Pie Yoghurt for breakfast one day, I wondered “Could I make this into a pie?”. I don’t know about you, but one of my all-time favourite desserts, which I only found after I moved to Ireland, is Banoffee pie. Now with all the cookies, butter, caramel and cream on top, the classic version of this has over 500 calories per piece. Not ideal when trying to lose weight! Also, the nutrition of it leaves lot to be desired.

I wanted generally lower sugar, more fibre and more protein than any of those recipes would provide.

But it was June, so strawberries were at their best and I really felt like making Stawberry Pie. Right, which one to choose? Well, if you know me and read some of my recipes like the Protein Creme Brulee Two Ways and Protein Rice Pudding 4 Ways, you might have noticed I have a really hard time deciding between different versions. So, I usually end up making all of them. So you got 2 stunning protein pie recipes (and a slightly odd half pie picture, as I plain can’t 2 pies in a week!): This Strawberry Protein Mousse Pie and Banoffee Protein Mousse Pie.

Crunchy Almond Base

What connects both pies is the crunchy Almond base, to replace the cookies and butter with a more wholesome option.
I got inspiration from one of my favourite cookbooks “At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen: Celebrating the Art of Eating Well” by Amy Chaplin and her fabulous Toasted Almond base recipe.
I only modified it slightly, to cut down even further on the calories (though if you don’t feel about 35cal per piece are worth it, feel free to use the original, which is addictive).

You could even make this base gluten free, which I did in my Cranberry Chocolate Meringue Pie with Pecan Crust, by swapping the spelt for buckwheat flour.

For the Strawberry Protein Mousse Pie I wanted a layer to keep the crust crunchy, so a thin dark chocolate covering was the obvious choice. In the Banoffee Version that role is taken by a super easy Date Caramel.

Added Protein in a Decadent Dessert

When thinking of ways to include more protein in my diet, I found that pre-shaking a protein powder I enjoy with a low amount of liquid, gives me a custard like consistency and flavour, ideal to add to all kinds of recipes (Tiramisu Protein Oats Two Ways being a great example), without ruining them with chalky protein clumps.
This makes it ideal to add to desserts as part replacement for cream, which I can’t eat due to lactose intolerance.

For this particular pie, I knew I wanted to include the protein, for nutrition and flavour, but wondered how I could get it to a mousse like consistency. I checked online for vegan options, but none was giving me exactly what I wanted, so I turned to gelatine for setting the fluffy topping, adding some 0% fat Greek yoghurt for even more protein, structure, and creaminess. It worked marvellously!

Which Protein Powder to Use?

My favourite is “MyProtein” Whey, lots of different flavours, no weird texture. Just plain creamy and lovely. (Neither sponsored, nor am I an affiliate or get any other benefit from mentioning this.)
I have no negative reaction to the whey, despite being lactose intolerant. Your mileage may vary, so while I highly recommend giving this a try, you can use whatever protein powder you love.

Why Do I Add Protein?

You mean apart from the well known physical benefits of protein for the body like helping you to build muscle, keeping your bones strong and increasing satiation, meaning you stay fuller for longer and with that can maintain your weight easier?

Lesser known is, that it also effects the brain by helping it to effectively transport information through neuropathways using the amino acods found in Protein.
This even has been shown to help protect from age related dementia.

Just 230 Calories per Piece

All those small changes brought me to the ridiculous nutrition below per piece. Can we appreciate a strawberry mousse pie with just about 230 calories and more than 11g protein per serving for a minute?

The Ingredients

Crispy almond crust with chocolate

• Oats – For structure and hearty flavor
• Whole grain spelt flour – The base of the cust. Replace with buckwheat flour to make this gluten free.
• Almonds – Giving you a super crunchy and delicious smelling crust you’ll want to munch like cookies
• Extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil – For an extra crisp, but higher calorie version, double the olive oil, remove the apple sauce
• Unsweetened apple sauce – Replaces part of the oil in my version of this crust
• Maple syrup or honey – For needed sweetness and holding the crust together
• 0 calorie maple syrup – If you are not trying to reduce the calories, use 3 tbsp maple syrup and skip the 0 calorie version.
• Salt – I use kosher. If you use sea salt, halve the amount given.
• Almond extract – This is optional but highly recommended and it really ups the incredible almond aroma that will fill your kitchen when baking the crust
• Dark chocolate – For a thin chocolate layer on top of the Almond crust, keeping it crunchy under the strawberry mousse.

Strawberry protein mousse

• 0% fat Greek yoghurt – The creaminess of the protein powder and soy milk mean you can use 0% fat without even noticing. It adds a good bit of protein to this already healthy pie.
• Honey – A tiny amount, just to amp up the sweetness
• Fresh lemon juice – This makes the strawberry flavor of the mousse really sing. Try it without, then add the juice. It’s like nght and day.
• Soy milk – You could use a different plant milk (or full fat milk if not lactose intolerant), but choose a creamy one like fully fat soy, oat or cashew, to add to the smooth mouthfeel.
• Protein powder – I used “MyProtein – Buttered Popcorn” for added flavour, but vanilla works too.
• Strawberries  – You can frankly vary how much you use for covering the base, as long as you keep the 1.5 cups for the mousse, which gives you the correct amount of liquid in relation to the gelatine.
• Powdered gelatine – I used standard gelatine, as that’s what I found. But if you can get your hands on the vegan version where you live, it might be worth trying. Though you might have to adjust the amount a little to get the same holding powder.

The Process

Note:
If you, like me, have a hard time deciding which version of the pie to make and just want both, simply use half the amounts of the toppings of each, fold a piece of kitchen foil and make a little wall in the middle of the pie, to keep them separate.

Prepare the almond crust base:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a springform* with baking parchment.
• Toast the almonds in the oven for about 5-7min, until fragrant
• Place 1/2 cup of the toasted almonds and the oats in a food processor* and pulse until coarsely ground. Chop the rest by hand, so you still have texture, but no big pieces.
• In a mixing bowl* combine the dry ingredients.
• Add the oil, apple sauce, almond extract, and maple sirup to the dry ingredients. Mix well until a sticky dough forms.
• Press the dough into the bottom of your prepared springform pan.
• Bake the crust in the preheated oven for about 14-18 minutes, or until it turns golden brown, cover with aluminium foil, and bake for another 15-20 minutes, until crunchy and dry.
• Tap in the middle and press a bit at around 25 min. into the overall baking time. When it’s ready, it should feel crisp and dry and not bouncy anymore. Turn the springform twice during the process, as most ovens bake unevenly.

Note:
If using all olive oil instead of apple sauce the crust will be done after about 18min. No need to cover.

• Once the crust is done baking, remove it from the oven and let it cool completely. Do not take out of the springform, as you will need it to hold the mousse until it’s firmed up.
• Cover with clingfilm after it is cooled if you make it the day before. Check on the day of pie assembly if it’s still crisp. If not, put it in the oven for 7 min. This will depend on your climate. Being in Ireland, with very high humidity, I found it helps to re-crisp it.

Cover with Chocolate

• Melt the dark chocolate in the microwave by using 30 second bursts and stirring in between each. Or use a bowl over a pot of hot water to slowly melt it. Make sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water.
• Brush the dark chocolate evenly over the crust. Put in the fridge to harden, while you prepare the mousse.

Prepare the Strawberry Mousse filling:

• In a large mixing bowl using a handheld mixer* or in a blender*, combine the soy milk, protein powder, Greek yogurt, honey, lemon juice and vanilla extract. Whisk well until smooth and no lumps remain.
• If you are using a large blender like Vitamix*, simply add 1.5 cups of cleaned strawberries to it and blend until smooth.
• If you have no blender, you can smash the strawberries with a fork. Your mousse might not be as smooth, but then you’d have some lovely bits of strawberry in it, which has its own charm. Add them to the protein mix.
• Dissolve the gelatine powder in 2 tbsp hot water, stirring thoroughly, until no powder or clumps remain. Add a little bit of the protein mix to the liquid gelatine to temper it.
• Now while blending or mixing with your whisk, start drizzling the gelatine into the mix. Continue until you have a foamy mix, about doubled in size.

Assemble the pie:

• Check if the chocolate on the crust is hard, my tapping it. Cool a little longer if still soft.
• Add the remaining strawberries either whole or halved, depending on size.
• Pour the mousse on the crust (still in the springform).
• Place the pie in the refrigerator to set for at least 2-3 hours or until the mousse is firm.

Serve

• Once the mousse has set, remove the pie from the refrigerator and gently run a knife around the inside of the springform, to losen the pie. Remove the sides of the pan, then carefully slide the whole pie onto a serving platter.
• Optionally, you can garnish the pie with additional strawberry slices, crumbs of leftover almond crust or some melted dark chocolate.
• Look at the nutrition label. Then try a piece of pie. Be baffled. Look at the label again. Have another piece.

Now, if you are like me and just can’t decide which one to have, no problem: Have 2 pieces! With about 220 calories and 11g protein per portion, you deserve it.

Meal Prep

You can prepare the Almond Crust up to 2 days ahead of time and the whole pie should be left to set in the fridge ideally overnight after topping it with the Strawberry Protein Mousse. Meaning this is great for having guests over, as you get to do it all the day before and can just take it out of the fridge when they arrive, ready to enjoy.

Strawberry Protein Mousse Pie keeps well in the fridge for about 3 days. I would not advise to freeze it.

Looking for other Tempting Protein Desserts?

Mango White Chocolate Cheesecake with Protein

Protein Chocolate Mousse Pie

Cherry Peach Clafoutis with Protein

Now I’d love to hear from you in the comments!

Have you tried this? Did you enjoy it?
What other recipes would you like to see?

If you enjoyed this recipe, please share. It helps me a lot.