Chris’s Happy Birthday Chocolate Cream Pie

This is my husband’s favorite pie! I wanted to make it for him without using a box of pudding and a tub of hydrogenated vegetable oil (aka cool whip). This old-fashioned chocolate pudding pie is unbelievably rich, delicious, & creamy! You will not be disappointed. We used a homemade piecrust and our own recipe for chocolate sauce, but you can use any type of pre-baked piecrust, a crumb crust, and unsweetened melted chocolate.

Yield: 8 Servings   *   Prep Time: 35 minutes   *   Cool - Chill Time: About 2 ½ hours

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• ¼ cup plus 2 tsp corn starch
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 3 egg yolks, beaten
• 3 cups milk
• 3 oz. unsweetened melted chocolate
• 1 ½ Tbsp. butter
• 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1 baked 9-inch pastry shell
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1/3 cup sifted powdered sugar

Directions

1. Combine sugar, cornstarch and salt in a heavy saucepan; stir well. Combine egg yolks and milk; gradually stir into sugar mixture. Add chocolate. Cook oved medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in butter and vanilla.
2. Immediately pour filling into pastry shell. Cover filling with plastic wrap*. Cool 30 minutes; then refrigerate until firm.
3. Beat whipping cream at medium speed with an electric mixer until foamy. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating until soft peaks form. Spread whipped cream over filling. Sprinkle with chocolate shavings, sprinkles, coconut, chocolate chips, etc. if desired. Chill thoroughly for one to two hours.

Notes

*Apply plastic wrap directly to the surface of the filling to avoid a skin from forming. Remove wrap before adding whipped cream topping. Also, if you can’t find actual whipping cream in your grocer’s dairy case, you can use heavy cream as a substitute.

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