Craving Chocolate Cream Pie

Fruit pies hold my heart, there's no question about it. I'll choose apple, pumpkin, or rhubarb over cream pies any day of the week, and when the summer fruit runs out, I pair cranberries and citrus in one of my favorite pies ever.

So it was odd that the desire for a chocolate cream pie struck the other day. Chalk it up to pregnancy cravings or something of the sort.

There was a recipe for milk chocolate pudding that I had bookmarked to try from In My Mother's Kitchen by Canadian cookbook author Trish Magwood. (I had the opportunity to meet Trish last August and have since been enjoying her beautiful, family-centered cookbook.)

I thought surely her pudding would be the perfect base for my pie - and it was. It thickened up perfectly and wasn't too cloying or sweet. I used dark chocolate instead of her suggested milk, and whisked in a few teaspoons of butter at the end, just to help the pudding thicken better when chilled.

It was perfect, nearly good enough to sway me from a lifelong love of fruit pies. And definitely good enough for you to try, so here's the recipe. Enjoy!

Chocolate Cream Pie

ingredients:

1 cookie crumb crust - graham or chocolate - in a 9-inch pie pan

for the filling:

2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
4 oz (125 g) good-quality chocolate, chopped (milk or dark)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

for the topping:

1 cup 35% whipping cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
chocolate shavings (optional)

Method:

In a 2-quart sauce pot over medium heat, whisk together sugar, cornstarch, cocoa, salt and milk.
Bring to a boil, whisking constantly, then boil for 2 minutes. Mixture will be thick.
Remove from heat and whisk in chocolate until chocolate melts and pudding is smooth. Whisk in butter.
Pour pudding into the 9-inch cookie crumb crust and smooth top with a spatula. Place a square of cling wrap directly on the surface of the pudding and place in the refrigerator. Chill for about 4 hours or overnight.

Whip cream to stiff peaks and add powdered sugar. Spoon evenly over chocolate pie and garnish with shaved chocolate. Serve chilled.

Yields: 1 -9 inch pie, about 8 servings.