Chocolate Cream Pie

Method

1. 1

   1 hour ahead. Ensure your butter is right out of the fridge and cut the butter into ½ inch cubes. In a large mixing bowl, use your fingers like a claw to stir together the all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon sugar until combined. Add the cold butter cubes. Press and rub between your fingertips until no large clumps of butter remain and it begins to hold together when pressed.

2. 2

   Use a rubber spatula to slowly incorporate just enough ice water (no ice!) to bring the dough together (I normally use all but around 1 tablespoon of ice water). You’ll know it’s done when there’s only a tiny bit of flour crumbles at the bottom of the mixing bowl and you can form it into a ball. Form the dough into a disk and wrap with plastic. Place in the fridge to rest for 1 hour.

3. 3

   Blind Bake the Crust. Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray the pie dish with pan spray.

4. 4

   Roll the pie crust into a round that extends 2”-3” beyond the border of your pie plate in every direction. Fold the crust into quarters and transfer it to the pie plate. Crimp the edges of the crust.

5. 5

   Using a fork, dock the crust, piercing holes all over. Line the pie crust with a piece of parchment paper or aluminum foil and fill it with pie weights.

6. 6

   Bake at 350F for 15 minutes or until the crust begins to set. Remove the pie weights and continue cooking for another 5-10 minutes.

7. 7

   The chocolate custard. In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, cream, and salt. Bring to a simmer. In a medium bowl whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, and egg yolks.

8. 8

   Slowly stream the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture. Transfer the mixture back to the saucepan and bring the mixture to a simmer stirring constantly with a rubber spatula to scrape the sides of the pan. Once the mixture has simmered for a couple minutes, turn off the heat and add the dark chocolate and butter.

9. 9

   Whisk to combine. Strain the mixture into a pie crust, smooth out, and cover with a piece of plastic wrap. Make sure the plastic is directly touching the custard. Chill for a few hours or until set.

10. 10

    Finish the Pie!!!!! In a large bowl, whip the cream with the sugar and vanilla extract until you reach medium peaks. Dollop the cream all over the top of the pie until all of the chocolate custard is covered.

11. 11

    Using a microplane, shave a little chocolate all over the top of the cream. Serve and enjoy every last bite!!! The star of this dish is the chocolate custard!!! It is great in this pie but can be used for a million purposes. I like serving it in a cup with some chopped up oreos, as a cake filling, on top of my brownies, or by the spoonful directly from the warm pot to mouth. Play with it and use it on everything. You can also make this into a tart by using a pâte sucreé crust in a tart pan.