Baked's Chocolate Pie

This pie is my second contribution to the Baked baking group I joined about a month ago. (My first being that amazingly decadent Peanut Butter Pie). So far, the book has gone 2 for 2 in producing the richest and most decadent desserts I've ever made. The pie has a light and creamy chocolate filling topped with scratch whipped cream. I would recommend this recipe to anyone baking for a dinner with friends because there is no way you'll want this whole thing in your house! It comes out looking very pretty and professional and your friends will be impressed. You can read my post on the baking group's blog here.

Dinner with friends is just what we did Monday night. Our friends, Mike and Katie, invited us over for dinner and to see their new house. I just can't get over how beautiful the house is, it's in such a cute neighborhood and everything is in pristine condition. I'm very proud of them for all their hard work. We attended their wedding about a year ago and Katie has been helping me so much with my own wedding planning these days. It's so nice to have someone who has been through all this recently and can answer those small obscure questions that come up all day long. Another fun fact about Mike and Katie? They read my blog! They've even used one of the recipes I posted for Lemon Bars to bake and hand out to their new neighbors when they moved in. That makes me feel special. I just have to feature them in this post. Here they are with the chocolate pie:

Classic Diner-Style Chocolate Pie

from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking

Chocolate Crust

30 Chocolate wafer cookies (about 6 ounces)

1 Tbs sugar

6 Tbs unsalted butter, melted

Chocolate Filling

1/2 cup sugar

3 Tbs chocolate malt Ovaltine

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup cornstarch

5 large egg yolks, room temperature

2 cups whole milk

1/2 cup heavy cream

5 oz dark chocolate (60-72% cacao), coarsely chopped

2 oz milk chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 tsp whiskey

1 tsp vanilla extract

Whipped Cream

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup sugar

In a food processor, grind the cookies to a very fine powder. There should be about 1 1/2 cups. Put the crumbs in a bowl and mix in the sugar. Pour the butter over the crumb mixture and mix until well combined. Press the mixture into a 9-inch pie plate or spring-form pan. Put the crust in the freezer while you make the filling.

In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, Ovaltine, salt, and cornstarch. Add the egg yolks and whisk until combined. The mixture will look like a thick paste. Slowly pour in the milk and cream, whisking constantly. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly to prevent the mixture from burning on the bottom of the pan. Boil for 30 seconds, then remove from the heat.

Add the chocolates, whiskey, and vanilla and whisk until combined. Continue to whisk for a few minutes to cool the mixture slightly. Let the mixture stand for 15 minutes at room temperature. A thin skin may form during this cooling period. Simply whisk the mixture again until the skin is gone. Pour the filling into the frozen pie shell. Place in the refrigerator while you make the shipped cream.

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whisk together the heavy cream, sugar and vanilla on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. Gently spoon whipped cream onto the top of the chocolate filling in the chilled pie crust and smooth with an icing spatula or knife. Return pie to the refrigerator and chill for at least 4 hours.