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I didn’t eat Birthday Cake?

No. Instead, I had pie.

And, shock of all shocks, it wasn’t chocolate. I wanted to change it up a bit from last year’s chocolate mousse pie.

keylimebday

So, this year I chose velvety, homemade Raw Key Lime Pie. (For the recipe, click on the link and read the optional ingredients).

Yeah, it was as good as it looks. If not better. I didn’t even miss the chocolate. No, seriously! I’ve always had a thing for cheesecake; as far as cake is concerned, my hierarchy is: chocolate mousse pie, then cheesecake. Then maybe coconut cream pie. After that, who cares?!

A few posts ago, I mentioned that I attended a Labor Day Barbecue on my birthday, and I brought a raw key lime pie.

The barbecue started around lunchtime, and while I obviously didn’t partake in any of the barbecued-meat-eating, I did help myself to copious amounts of the grilled veggies on offer (the sweet griller—a.k.a. my neighbor—made sure the vegetables were grilled in a separate section from the meat). Then, at around 3PM, after we all started feeling hungry again, thanks to some strenuous badminton, swimming, and debating (Uh-oh, political debates!), it was time for dessert. Bring on the raw Key Lime Pie! (Just don’t tell anyone it’s raw. They think vegan is weird enough.)

Tentatively, I pulled the pie outta the freezer (where I’d been letting it set) and served it to the guests—myself included. Then they all sang “Happy Birthday” to me before digging in.  Luckily, it was a big hit. Those of you who have tried raw desserts probably aren’t surprised by this.

znyc 258

To compliment the key lime variation, I opted for a raw gingerbread crust.

It was good. The crust almost stole the show from the cake, itself! And that’s coming from a girl who normally loathes crust. (P.S. to the extremely perceptive readers out there: Yes, the photo above is actually from the “cashew cookie” page, not gingerbread. I forgot to take a photo of the crust while making it. But it didn’t look much different from the above.)

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Question of the Day:

What was your birthday dessert this year?

Or what will it be?

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Published on September 9, 2010

Meet Katie

Chocolate Covered Katie is one of the top 25 food websites in America, and Katie has been 
featured on The 
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Fox, The 
Huffington Post, and 
ABC's 5 O’Clock News. Her favorite food is chocolate, and she believes in eating dessert every single day.

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54 Comments

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  1. Anonymous says

    Did you eat that entire piece?

    I’m not asking to be nosy, just I find with raw desserts I am satisfied after a small piece and couldn’t eat a huge piece because they are so dense and rich.

    • Chocolate-Covered Katie says

      It’s actually not a huge piece at all!

      LOL “objects may appear larger than they are.” For reference, that’s a baby fork :). I think the close-up shot makes it look huge, but in reality, the one cake was enough for everyone at the party to have a slice. I definitely agree with you that raw desserts are denser.

      • GabyE says

        BABY FORKS! lol, I love those things. Eating with small utensils is so much more exciting. This cake looks delicious. I too find raw desserts dense and filling. Which is good, because they are frequently made of superfoods, and superfoods lose their superness if you eat too much.

  2. abby says

    my birthday is next month, and i am really going to challenge myself to have a slice of cake. it’s been a long time since i allowed myself a treat. it’s so sad that i’m afraid of something that’s supposed to bring such joy. your cheesecake/key lime pie looks so dreamy!

  3. Leslie says

    Do fudge babies count? Because I may or may not have eaten four at my last birthday ;).
    Oh, and I also had a milkshake. What good are birthdays if not to indulge?!!!

  4. Anonymous says

    Man I wish I could indulge in raw desserts and other treats like you and still be as teeny tiny as you!
    All I know is I even look at a nut and I’m going to gain weight. So raw desserts are a big no-no for me. But if I had your metabolism, I’d go with that key lime pie for sure! her. The chocolate mousse pie doesn’t sound too bad either. Gah, why do I read your blog? It always makes me hungry! Eat an extra slice of pie for me, will you? And enjoy the heck outta that thing!

    Love,
    A reader who loves your blog

    • Leslie says

      Anonymous,
      You can still eat raw desserts if you just watch your diet in other areas. Plus nuts have actually been shown to help with weight loss in small quantities. I’m just saying this because I’ve had personal success with adding a bit of fat to my diet after hitting a plateau and it actually helped!

    • Chocolate-Covered Katie says

      I’ still scared of raw desserts too! Dehydrators and hard-to-find ingredients’ll do that to ya! Seriously, usually just reading the ingredient list makes me decide to scrap the whole idea of a certain raw dessert I thought looked good.

  5. Marina says

    I had the best dessert, bf made me awesome chocolate cupcakes, filled with chopped dark chocolate pieces. Heavenly 🙂
    I love raw desserts, but that piece would be toooo small for me 🙂

  6. Kelsey @ Clean Teen Kelsey says

    Ohh, that key lime pie looks so amazing, Katie! I had chocolate mousse pie for my birthday treat! It was delicious. 🙂 Next year I think I’ll tackle a raw chocolate cake with some sort of cashew filling and a coconut cream frosting. Mmm.

  7. mckella says

    Looks yummy, but I don’t like key lime :/ let the tar and feathers begin.
    My dessert this year was…wait for it…homemade chocolate peanut butter cookie dough cheesecake! Four of my favorite foods in one! It was to die for.

  8. Katie says

    Last year I was in Mexico for my bday, and so there was no dessert and no place for me to cook dessert. The shame. This year I’ll make up for it…my bday is 3 days from Christmas, so I’ll probably have pie, too – there’s always so much around during that time of year!

  9. thedelicateplace says

    i don’t like cake so i usually never have a bday “treat” lol i do however love truffles and to be honest larabars are dessert to me!

  10. Justine says

    I had a wonderful breadpudding laden with bourbon creme anglaise. 🙂

    However- I am now making up for said indulgence by making everything that I can out of the Raw for Dessert book! Katie- this book is incredible! I did an entire post about it- it won’t be the last one either. Thank you again! 🙂

    (P.S.- my mom and boyfriend are enjoying my desserts and surprised that they are healthy as well!)

  11. ~Jessica Zara~ says

    Err, I ate a Peanut Butter Cookie Larabar! November last year, I finally located one and just didn’t want anything else. But I was rather disappointed by it…Coconut Cream Pie is a far superior flavour.

    I’d much rather have your raw key lime pie though! And it’s fantastic that you’re educating so many meat-eaters about the wonders of vegan desserts 🙂

    <3

    ~Jess~
    xxxxxxxx

  12. Amber Shea @Almost Vegan says

    For my b-day this year, a good friend of mine made cupcakes out of my best-ever chocolate cake recipe and topped them with swirled chocolate-coconut-cashew butter frosting!

    Your raw key lime pie looks awesome. I’m not the least bit surprised everybody loved it. :]

  13. EmbraceYourSkin says

    My birthday dessert is always banana creme pie. I am also a brat about it and it must be from Marie Callenders 🙂

  14. Stefanie says

    That looks good. I’m on a chocolate kick now. My birthday dessert is going to be either peanut butter cookies or a chocolate cake/brownies. Maybe I will have it all. 🙂

  15. Bianca- Vegan Crunk says

    Oh my! That raw pie looks amazing! Raw desserts are so tasty and healthy at the same time! I’ve requested a vegan ice cream cake from my mom for my 30th birthday next month, and I believe Ms. Poopie Bitch is going to surprise me with a cake too…so I may have two cakes, which I’m pretty sure I deserve seeing as how I made it to 30!

  16. Kiki says

    Oh my gosh, I love key lime pie! And I also love getting people to eat healthy things without them noticing, muhaha.

    When it comes birthday desserts, I am a traditional cake + ice cream kind of girl! When my mom asks what kind I want I just say, “Pretty!” And then she always decorates it beautifully 🙂

  17. *Andrea* says

    looks amazing!!!! so my bday dessert this year was absolutely HORRIBLE! my sister knows i love vegan foods (though i am not vegan) and went out of her way to order a vegan chocolate cake from whole foods. her boyfriend came over and 2 of my friends after we went out to dinner and everyone tried the cake with me and then once i said i didn’t like it (i rarely admit this when ppl give me gifts) everyone looked relieved. it just was so dry and had a weird apricot gel in the middle that did not go with the chocolate. should have made my own key lime pie or chocolate fudge babies 😉

  18. Mary @ Bites and Bliss says

    My mom’s all time favorite dessert is key lime pie. The first time I had some was in the Florida Keys..soo yeah, it was pretty dang delicious. 🙂 Glad yours was a big hit! Not surprisingly since you’re practically a master chef. 😉

    My birthday treat last year was homemade hostess cupcakes! They were a whole lotta fun. 🙂

  19. Caitlin says

    “my hierarchy is: chocolate mousse pie, then cheesecake. Then maybe coconut cream pie. After that, who cares?!”

    Amen.

    I do not remember my 22nd birthday dessert, but I’m guessing it was a variety of mini-bundt cakes from Nothing Bundt Cakes…because that’s what is always is. I don’t even like cake that much, but I LOVE FROSTING!

  20. Marianne says

    I made myself two different birthday desserts. For my birthday day, we had a chocolate quinoa cake with chocolate drizzle and fresh raspberries, and it was amazing. Then on the weekend I made a raw chocolate hazelnut pie, which I served to my friends who all eat meat, and I told them it was vegan and raw, and it doesn’t matter to them. I think it’s a west coast thing – as long as it tastes good, who cares?

  21. spoonfulofsugarfree says

    Katie!! Shame on you! You broke your chocolate vow! Just kidding, Happy BDay again, girl!! The key lime pie looks delectable 🙂

  22. Sagojyou says

    Aww…that looks really good…!! *drooling* (the title post scared me a little bit!) Does it have a strong lime-taste to it? Because if it does, I’d be too scared to try…

    I gave you an award, so please come pick it up! Thank you!!! 🙂

    xoxo

    • Chocolate-Covered Katie says

      It doesn’t really have too strong a lime flavor. In fact, I dunno if it’ really be reminiscent of real key lime pie. But I don’t care, ’cause it tastes good. Now, if you added lime AND the lemon juice, it’s prolly be too much.
      And I’ll be heading over to your bloggie as soon as I get a chance! (Expect a comment sometime today!!)

  23. Erika says

    That pie looks good! I hate telling people at parties that whatever I made/brought was healthy because it always seems like then they will find something they don’t like about it. Does that happen to you with your (also healthy) raw and vegan desserts? Just curious…

    • Chocolate-Covered Katie says

      Yes, always :(.
      I’m a bit sneaky though. I’ve learned (the hard way) not to tell them something’s vegan/healthy until AFTER they eat it and say they like it. That’s when I drop the “oh btw, it’s good for you” bombshell on them. Then they can’t retract their words. Nowadays, my friends actually WANT to eat my desserts even though they know they’re vegan/healthy, because they know by now that vegan food can taste good. They’ll even eat things with tofu! 🙂
      (At first, they wouldn’t. But that’s why I wouldn’t tell them until after they’d eaten it. By now, I can say right up front: “That dish is a tofu cheesecake” and they’ll happily dig in!)

  24. 40apples says

    Yummmm!! Looks and sounds AMAZING.

    I love making my own bday cake – that way I KNOW I’ll love it! 🙂
    I made a lemon-olive oil cake this year. It was out of this world!!

  25. Kelsey says

    i had raw cake on my birthday! it was my first blog post too 🙂 mmm mind was raw cacao raspberry cheezcake MmmMM <3

    ive had raw keylime cake/pie from a raw cafe here and it was SO YUMMY! i can taste it right now just thinking of it- definitely a fantastic birthday choice <3

  26. Stef says

    My b-day dessert was actually non-existent this year, just like the b-day dinner. I didn’t even get any presents at the day because my dad was in charge and I wanted a laptop computer so he decided to take me to the store to pick one out the weekend after my birthday and since he’s a guy he didn’t manage to get me a little something as a surprise like my mom told him to (she told him to at least get flowers which he did a day later apologizing that the day of my birthday the ones in the store didn’t look good).
    But I don’t mind..I actually don’t think Birthdays are that improtant. For example I’ve worked the last three years on my birthday even though as a nurse I could have gotten the day off.

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