Decadent Chocolate Cream Pie

Category: Desserts & Sweets | Blog URL: http://www.thisjustinblog.com/?p=951

This recipe was entered in The Foodista Best of Food Blogs Cookbook contest, a compilation of the world’s best food blogs which was published in Fall 2010.

Photo: Stacey Fisher Thomas

Ingredients

1 pie shell of your choice, baked and cooled

2 1/2 cups half and half

1/4 teaspoon salt

cup plus 1 Tbsp. white sugar

6 large egg yolks, chalazas removed (chalazas are the icky white parts stuck to the egg).

1/4 cup cornstarch

6 tablespoons butter, cold, cut into 6 pieces

8 ounces chocolate (I used Hershey’s Special Dark™ chips–this made the custard very, very

1 teaspoon vanilla

Whipped Cream Topping

2 cups whipping cream

2 packets whipped cream stabilizer (I use Oetker, it’s fabulous)

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

cup Chocolate Curls or ¼ mini chocolate chips for garnish

Preparation

In a medium sauce pan, combine half and half, 1/3 Cup sugar,and salt. Over medium high heat, bring to a simmer, whisking to dissolve sugar.

In a heat proof bowl (read glass, or something that won’t melt), mix egg yolks with cornstarch and 1 Tbsp. sugar, whisking till thoroughly incorporated and glossy.

Once the cream mixture is simmering, slowly drizzle about 1/2 cup of the hot mixture into the egg mixture to temper the eggs, whisking constantly.

Add tempered egg mixture back to the cream in the pan, scraping your bowl to get it all. Whisking constantly, bring mixture to a boil. Remove from heat as soon as a boil is reached. Mixture should be thick.

Add butter and vanilla. Whisk until thoroughly incorporated. 6.Add chocolate and whisk until thoroughly incorporated. Pour the hot mixture into the cooled pie crust.

Immediately cover with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic wrap directly against the surface of the chocolate cream.

Chill in refrigerator until set and cold, at least 4 hours. I chill mine overnight.

Beat together whipping cream, whipped cream stabilizer, powdered sugar and vanilla until very stiff peaks form.

Remove plastic wrap from pie. Spread or pipe whipped cream onto top of pie and garnish with chocolate curls or mini chocolate chips.

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About

When I made the coconut cream pie, I had two pie shells, and so decided to make a chocolate cream pie as well. It too uses a basic pastry cream recipe with just a couple variations: more butter, an extra egg yolk, and of course chocolate. My mother is diabetic, so I made her a small cup of just the custard (if you want to make extra custard, just increase the amount of half and half used to 3 cups). She tasted it and said “I have died and gone to heaven.” My mom doesn’t say things like this every day, so it should tell you how good this stuff is. It’s thick, rich, and swoon-worthy.

Notice how the instructions are virtually the same for both the chocolate cream and the coconut cream. The basic pastry cream recipe is a wonderful thing…it can be altered just slightly to make so many different kinds of pie. I’m thinking I will add peanut butter next. I love a good peanut butter pie.