Puddin' Pie

I know a secret. I know EmW’s weakness. Personally, my list of weaknesses in the dessert department seems endless.

Peanut butter chocolate cake? I’ll be reasonable, how about I have just one slice now and then save another for after dinner? Every night till it’s gone? That seems like a good idea.
Dark chocolate meringues? Well now, those have tons of egg whites for protein and flecks of dark chocolate for fiber! They’re so nutritious I think I would be denying myself to walk past the cookie jar without grabbing one…right?

Double chocolate peanut butter ice cream? Whoa. Don’t even get me started. I have chills just thinking about it. Are they chills because it was the richest, creamiest ice cream/mousse hybrid I’ve ever tasted or are they chills because I licked the freezer bowl clean? I’ll never know.

Ultimately, give me a frozen dessert, a dessert that mixes sweet and salty, or something that melts in my mouth and can be justified in my illogical head as healthy and I’m done for. I’ve met my match. It’s that simple.
But EmW’s dessert weakness? Now that’s a tricky one. Believe it or not, it’s not an oreo. It’s not even a whoopie pie or a peanut butter bacon cookie. No, EmW’s weakness is much more straight forward. It’s a dessert that means business. No sweet-talking, no silly pretenses, no frosting or custard or piecrust to get in the way. Just…pudding.

Emily might have crazy self-restraint when it comes to seductive cookies left out on the table or licking spatulas and bowls daily…a kind of self-restraint that I cannot claim to possess even in the smallest quantities…but give this girl a pudding cup, be it instant Jello, a charming little Snack Pack, or a freshly whipped up batch of dark chocolate pudding and this girl will lose her marbles. Inhibitions out the window. Just like that. Who knew all it took was a pudding cup.

I discovered this wonderful little secret by accident. We were having a black and white themed party (think oreos, black and whites, and chocolate flecked meringues…) and I wanted to make a black and white cream pie. I set off to the library and returned with “Pie, Pie, Pie!” and a simple recipe for Chocolate Cream Pie. YUM. Apparently, chocolate cream pie is really just PUDDIN’ Pie with an extra large emphasis on the pudding because, honestly, if you just make the pudding part of this recipe and eat it out of a Dixie cup with crushed oreos and gummy worms and call it dirt…I’ll totally understand.
-EmB

Chocolate Puddin’ Pie
(Adapted from “Pie Pie Pie” by John Phillip Carroll and “Baking from my Home to Yours” with Dorie Greenspan)

For the Piecrust (Dorie Greenspan’s Sweet Tart Dough)
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup powdered sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 stick plus 1 tablespoon very cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk

For the Pudding:
3 cups milk (I used skim and it was still very creamy)
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped
¾ cup sugar
¼ cup cornstarch
¼ teaspoon salt
4 egg yolks
¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the Whipped Cream:
1 cup heavy cream
4 teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla

To make the piecrust:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch tart pan or a glass pie pan (I used a 9-inch Pyrex pie pan and served directly from that).

Whisk flour, powdered sugar and salt in a large bowl till combined and fluffy. Scatter the butter pieces over the dry ingredients and incorporate the bits with your fingers—you should have some pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and some the size of peas. Stir the yolk to break it up and mix it in with a spoon just until the dough forms clumps. Don’t work the dough any more than necessary or it will become unpleasantly dense, though I haven’t run into this problem yet. Turn the dough onto a floured work surface and, very lightly and sparingly, knead the dough just to incorporate any dry ingredients that might have escaped mixing in the bowl. Press the dough evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the buttered pan, using all but one little piece of the dough, which you should save in the refrigerator to patch any cracks after the crust is baked. Don’t press too heavily to the pan or else the crust could become dense once again. Freeze the crust for at least 30 minutes before baking and then you won’t need to use pie weights!

Butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil and fit the foil, buttered side down, tightly against the crust. Bake the crust for 25 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and patch any cracks with that left over bit of refrigerated dough. Bake for another 8 minutes or so, until the crust is firm and brown.

To make the pudding:
Combine the milk and chocolate in a medium saucepan. Place over moderate heat and whisk frequently for about 4 minutes, or until the chocolate is melted. Don’t worry if the mixture looks speckled and grainy; it will become smooth later.

In the meantime, combine the sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan (this is NOT over heat) and whisk them together until evenly mixed. Continue whisking as you add the chocolate milk in a steady, continuous stream. Add the egg yolks and whisk vigorously until blended. Cook over moderate heat, whisking almost constantly, for 6-8 minutes, until the mixture thickens and comes to a boil. Reduce the heat and boil gently for about 2 minutes, whisking constantly. Remove from the heat, add the butter, and stir until smooth. Press a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding (to keep a skin from forming) and cool for 30 minutes. Remove the plastic wrap and stir in the vanilla. Pour the pudding into the prepared piecrust and place another sheet of plastic wrap over it. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours, until chilled and firm.

To make the whipped cream:
Combine the cream and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and whisk until the cream stands in smooth, fluffy peaks that barely hold their shape. Fold in the vanilla and refrigerate until you are ready to serve.

To serve:
Spread whipped cream over top of pudding, leaving a the edges of the pudding uncovered. If you would like to dress it up, make chocolate shavings using a vegetable peeler and sprinkle them on top of the whipped cream. Serve chilled.