Chocolate Pudding Pie

 
This chocolate pudding pie is amazing! It's creamy, has a deep chocolate flavor, and still manages to be a light dessert. After it got all prettied up with some white chocolate lace it was ready to be the perfect pie for my mom's birthday dinner. 

Since chilled pies can't be decorated with icing like a cake nor baked with pie crust designs I decided to pipe a simple lace design with melted white chocolate.  This made the dessert more suitable for a birthday.. not every birthday has to have cake. Some lucky birthdays get delicious cool and creamy pie.

While the chocolate lace was chilling in the fridge I made the pie crust using Michel Roux's recipe from his book "Pastry Savory and Sweet". I like using this recipe because you don't need any special tools like pastry cutters or food processors. You simply made a well in the flour, add the egg, butter, and salt and then work the dough until it becomes crumbly. Then you knead it a couple times and let it chill in the fridge until you need it.

 

For some reason I am currently without a rolling pin..

..Thank god I have a clean empty wine bottle in a sock monkey cover.

Obviously I had to remove the sock monkey before actually using the wine bottle to roll out the chilled dough. The crust is baked in a nine inch pie pan and then set aside to cool while the pudding is being made.

The pudding is made from whole milk, cocoa powder, corn starch, and bittersweet chocolate. Since I had managed to forget to buy the cocoa powder three grocery store trips in a row I was wondering how the pudding would taste without it. I reasoned that I could always add more chocolate chips to make up for it, but in the end decided that a bland tasteless pie would make a pretty disappointing birthday dessert. So I walked back to the store for the millionth time and finally managed to remember what I was there for. I am so glad that I did, the result is both light and rich at the same time and very very chocolately. 

I poured the pudding into the cooled pie crust and let the whole deal chill in the fridge for a couple of hours before I added the chocolate lace.

Voila! Chocolate pudding pie with white chocolate lace.

It's best served with whipped cream on the side.. or piled on top, as long as the whipped cream gets on to the pie somehow it's going to taste amazing. After the pie it was time for...

..Presents!

I made my own gift bag using this tutorial and a page from a book about I Love Lucy that I got at the thrift store.  

Happy Birthday Mom! Lots of love and left over chocolate pie (ps.. I'll be visiting soon to eat some certain left overs..)

Pie Dough (you'll only need half of this dough for the chocolate pie)

(From Michel Roux's Pastry cook book)

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup butter, cut into small pieces and slightly softened

1 egg

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp fine salt

2 1/2 tsbp cold water

1. Heap the flour on a counter and make a well in it. Put the sugar, salt, egg, and butter into the well. With your fingertips mix and cream the ingredients in the well

2. Little by little draw the flour into the center and work the dough with your fingertips until becomes grainy. Add the cold water and mix it until the dough begins to hold together.

3. Using the palm of your hand, push the dough away from you 4 or 5 times until it is smooth. Roll the dough inot a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes

4. Roll out dough (you'll only need half of this recipe) on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into an 11-inch round, then fit into a 9-inch pie plate. Trim edge, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang, then fold overhang under and crimp edge decoratively. Prick bottom and side of shell all over with a fork, then chill shell 30 minutes. While shell chills, preheat oven to 375°F with a baking sheet on middle rack. Line shell with foil and fill with pie weights

Bake on baking sheet until pastry is set and edge is pale golden, about 25 minutes. Carefully remove weights and foil, then bake shell on baking sheet until pale golden all over, 15 to 20 minutes more. Cool shell.

Chocolate Pudding Pie

(from Smitten Kitchen)

1/4 cup cornstarch
1/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups whole milk
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, if you can't find chocolate chips then make sure that the chocolate is finely chopped
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Whipped cream for serving

1. Whisk together cornstarch, 1/3 cup sugar, cocoa powder, and salt in a 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.

2. 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.

Comments

[agentjane]

Gorgeous! And it looks sooooo yummy! :)

[blueditty]

I may have to cry myself to sleep now.
It's too late to go the store for chocolate pie ingredients.
As ever Seddy, a true work of art!

[Chelsey]

This looks great! I love how cocoa powder gives a rich, concentrated chocolate flavor without the extra sugar in chocolate chips or baker's chocolate. Smitten Kitchen's cocoa brownies are one of my favorites too.

[Audrey]

LOVE the icing!! There is no way I could do that - will have to stick with whipped cream :)

[DK]

Holy cow that looks amazing lol. I love the icing!

[Natasha]

i want to make this pie so bad now!! oh stephanie...you and your delicious deserts are such a tease!

[rp]

oh yum! pudding pie is a family favorite. but this one would blow their minds! it just looks so rich and perfect. the hardest part in our house is letting the poor pie properly chill. someone always looses their will power. hee :)

[Lexi]

I love this pie. We often make it for christmas dessert. I'm going to have to try to make the white chocolate design next time I make it, now. (I love Lucy! she's hillarious).

[Michelle]

Wow! This pie looks AMAZING! I think I would rather have pie instead of cake for my next birthday now:) Adorable gift bag as well!

[Margaret]

YUM! That pie looks incredible!

[Lori]

This is amazingly beautiful.

[lola]

yum! this looks so good and the white chocolate is so pretty.

[Katie Gates]

Stopping by from the etsy blog thread. What an inviting, entertaining, and informative post!

[aquariann]

My tummy is growling at the sight of your pie! Neat icing technique. And that sock monkey is super cute, too. :D

[Stacey]

Looks delicious. Your icing lace is absolutely beautiful!!!

[Emily (Pookie and Pierre)]

Oh my... how beautiful is that design on top. Gorgeous. Never would have thought of that!

[Marlene]

The pie is absolutely beautiful!!!!

[Galit]

Looks so beautiful and delicious!!! Oh girl, you make me feel so miserable with my very left hands for baking....
Truly amazing.

[Patty]

Beautiful !!!

[315thomas]

umm, wow, that looks AMAZING!

[Julia]

That looks SO yummy! The second pic from the bottom really made me want go home NOW and try making one as well.

[carol]

Just discovered your blog and it is now part of my daily blog roll. Great recipes and tutorials!

[sam henderson]

Very nice! I love the lacey white chocolate top. I will definitely use that idea somewhere. Love the blog!

[r's adventures]

wow... normally i'm a little hesitant to attempt something as fancy as a home-made pie but you're making me reconsider! looks delicious

[Sasasunakku.wordpress.com]

I want a kid like you, where do I get one?

[Kitchnbutterfly]

Love the chocolate lace.........

[Eleighb85]

Oh wow. I am as far from Betty Crocker as you can get and *I* want to start making some of these!! Your work literally has me drooling :)

[ButterYum]

What a FABULOUS idea!!

:)
ButterYum

[Justin Bieber Supra Shoes]

YES.you're one of my favourite people too! Definitely one of the sweetest. This is a beautiful list you have here, lady! I can't wait to try that ice-cream!

[ルイヴィトン時計]

ブログがよく書いてあると思います、引き続き注目しております。もっといい文章を書けるように願ています。Good post!