Photo by Lori Rice |
A baked, all-butter crust provides the perfect, flaky base to this decadent American diner classic.
Yield: 1 9-inch pie
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 9-inch pie dough
- 1 egg
- 1 T. water
Filling
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1½ cups 2-percent milk
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 6 ounces chopped semi-sweet chocolate
Topping
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 T. powdered sugar
Preparation
Crust
Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Roll dough on floured surface to about 1/4-inch thick. Place pie dough over 9-inch pie pan. Gently press to fit in pan, trim edges of dough, and crimp top edges. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
Place 16-inch piece of aluminum foil over pie dough. Fill pie with dried beans or pie weights, arranging them so they fit into corners of pan. Bake for 15 minutes.
Remove from oven and use foil to gently lift weights from crust.
Whisk together egg and water in small dish. Use pastry brush to lightly brush bottom and sides of crust with about 1 tablespoon egg wash. Use fork to poke several holes in bottom of crust.
Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees F. Return crust to oven and bake for 15 more minutes, until firm and browned. Set aside to cool completely.
Filling
In medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks and cornstarch until smooth. Set aside.
In medium saucepan on medium heat, combine milk, cream and sugar, stirring often until sugar is dissolved and milk begins to scald. Milk will gently begin to bubble and foam on top, but do not allow it to come to full boil. Remove from heat.
Temper egg and cornstarch mixture by adding 1/2 cup hot milk to bowl. Pour slowly and whisk vigorously as you pour. Continue to whisk and add 1/2 cup warm milk.
Next, slowly pour tempered egg mixture into sauce pan with remaining milk, whisking constantly. Continue to stir and turn heat to low. Pudding will thicken quickly, usually in less than 1 minute. Continue to stir until smooth and remove from heat.
Reserve 1 tablespoon chocolate for garnish, and immed-iately stir remaining chocolate into hot pudding. Continue to stir until all chocolate is melted and no white streaks are left in pudding.
Pour pudding into cooled pie shell and spread evenly. Cover top of pudding with plastic wrap to prevent skin from forming and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Topping
Place heavy whipping cream in bowl of stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment. Add powdered sugar and mix on medium for 20 seconds. Increase speed to high and whip for about 90 more seconds, until cream has thickened and is spreadable with no visible liquid in bowl.
Spread whipped cream over pudding. Sprinkle with reserved chopped chocolate. Refrigerate for 15 minutes before serving.
Store pie in refrigerator, gently covered with loose piece of plastic wrap, for one day. You can extend shelf life by reserving whipped cream to use just before serving. The untopped pie will last up to three days when refrigerated.
