Chocolate Pudding Pie
Gray turned 3!!! on September 22nd and we celebrated with a box of Grape-Nut and Chocolate Chip Kitchen Sink Oatmeal Cookies on the playground and this over-the-top decadent Chocolate Pudding Pie after dinner. As birthdays always make me nostalgic, I thought it would be fun to take a little walk down birthday cake memory lane. Here we go…
Gray comes home with .
Gray turns 1 with Spiced Applesauce Cake.
Gray turns 2 with undocumented ice cream sundaes because life was .
Dylan turns 1 with a classic birthday cake in Providence then we move here.
Dylan turns 2 with .
Dylan turns 3 with Full Moon Chocolate Cake.
Dylan turns 4 with .
Dylan turns 5 with an undocumented mint chocolate chip / brownie ice cream cake decorated with dragons the same week as Frozen Summer Treats.
Dylan turns 6 with another undocumented mint chocolate chip / brownie ice cream cake shaped into a lightning bolt the same week as .
Chocolate Pudding Pie adapted from an old Gourmet Magazine
makes 1 pie
Crust:
1 1/2 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs (from about 10 crackers)
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 pinches sea salt
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Pudding Filling:
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups whole milk
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate (not more than 60% cacao), finely chopped
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup chilled heavy cream
Bittersweet chocolate shavings for garnish (optional)
Make crust: Heat oven to 350°F. Combine graham crumbs, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl and stir until mixed. Add butter and stir until crumbs are evenly coated. Press crumbs into the bottom and up the sides of a standard 9-inch pie dish. Bake the crust until lightly browned, about 9 to 10 minutes. Set on cooling rack to cool completely. Once cool, you can even transfer it to the freezer to get it started on the chilling process.
Make pudding filling: Whisk together cornstarch, 1/3 cup sugar, cocoa powder, and salt in a 2-quart heavy saucepan, then gradually whisk in milk. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly, then boil, whisking, two minutes (mixture will thicken). Remove from heat and whisk in chocolate and vanilla until smooth.
Pour filling into cooled shell and chill, its surface covered with wax paper (if you want to prevent a skin from forming), until cold, at least two hours.
Just before serving, beat cream with remaining two tablespoons sugar until it just holds soft peaks. Spoon onto pie and garnish with bittersweet chocolate shavings, if you’re feeling fancy.