What's that?You think my pie looks different from the other Tuesdays with Dorie peeps? Well, that's probably because I cheated. Not like-going out and buying a frozen Marie Callender Chocolate Cream Pie and trying to pass it off as homemade-cheated, but cheated nonetheless.
Here's the story.
Originally, I was going to make this pie for Easter Dinner. It was a chocolate dessert so I knew everyone would eat it. Plus, the timing was perfect because, I had some whole milk and heavy cream leftover from something else. And that whole milk was driving me insane. I mean, it was going to go bad if I didn't use it up (which I hate) and it's thick, rich, velvety goodness called out to me everytime I poured a bowl of honey nut cheerios. It was only a matter of time, folks... that damn whole milk was going to own me.
So, I made the dough for the regular tart crust (insert first subsitution here) and tucked it in the fridge till I was ready for it. The recipe calls for a chocolate tart crust. But... ummm.. here's the thing. I'm not a big fan of chocolate crusts. They just always taste burnt to me.
Then I whipped up the pudding/cream filling (which, I gotta say, is so easy now that I've learned my lesson from previous pudding/cream makings. Basically... you gotta have your shit ready to go before you start. That means everything measured and laid out. You'll thank me. Trust me). Popped it in the fridge and off I went about the rest of my weekend... Working (this was the height of tax season),drinking, watching the masters, brunching, running, etc...
And then before I know it, Easter Sunday rolls around and the tart dough and the chocolate cream are still hanging out in my fridge. Chilling. It was a long weekend and the pie just didn't get made.
It was at this point, however, that I snuck a few spoonfuls of the cream. The first taste, I was like... ehhh.. okay. By the third bite I was like... oh my god, how can I get this chocolate cream pie filling into my mouth faster? I mean, it was delicious. So creamy, thick and chocolatey. Knowing that I had no one to share this pie with, I knew that I had to do something quick to get this puppy made and photographed and out of my possession. So, I threw the tart dough in the freezer and got out some graham crackers.
I made a graham cracker crust, put it into a mini springform pan and a little while later, I was filling that crust up with some of the chocolate cream. I really wanted to make the whipped cream topping that went with it, but I honestly just didn't have the patience or the time. Remember? Chocolate cream into my mouth. NOW.
I couldn't even photograph it without eating it. I will definitely make this again and in it's rightful way. With the tart dough, with the whipped cream and I'll definitely make some friends with wherever I take it. Check out Kim's Blog Scrumptious Photography for the recipe.
