Mississippi Mud Pie

Luckily for my husband not every pie has to include fruit. I think I have mentioned this before but he is not a fruit fan. Crazy I know.   It can make life difficult sometimes as I love desserts with fruit.  I love fruit, period.  I probably eat too much of it, if that's possible.  For most events I tend to make two desserts,  one fruit and one non fruit, which is generally some form of chocolate dessert. This pie was the second pie that made it up to the cottage the long weekend.

Time to indulge.....


INGREDIENTS:

Crust

• 6 oz Oreo chocolate crumbs
• 1/2 cup pecan, halves
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

Filling

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup cocoa
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 1/2 cups skim milk
• 1/4 cup Irish cream
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into 4 small cubes

Topping

• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp, praline pecans, chopped

INSTRUCTIONS:

1) Make the crust : Preheat oven to 375F.  Add pecans to a mini processor and grind down.  In a large bowl combine crumbs, pecans and butter.   Stir together with a spatula until crumbs are completely moistened.  Press the mixture into the bottom of a 9 inch pie pan.  Refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes. Bake 8-10 minutes, let cool completely on a wire rack.

2) Make the filling : In a medium sauce pan, whisk together sugar, cocoa, cornstarch and salt.  Slowly whisk in milk and Irish cream, until dissolved.  Continue to whisk while bringing mixture to a boil, continue for about 2 minutes once boiling.   Mixture will begin to thicken. Remove from heat.

3) Combine egg yolks and vanilla in another bowl.  Slowly stir in 1 cup of the milk liquid into the egg yolks, whisking while pouring to temper the eggs and prevent scrambling.   Add the egg/milk mixture back to into the  remaining milk, return to heat and cook over med-high heat bringing mixture back to a boil.

4) Run mixture through a sieve over a medium bowl, stir in butter, a piece at a time until smooth.
5) Pour the filling into the cooled pie crust and cover the pie with saran wrap to prevent a film from developing.  Let cool at least 4 hours or up to 1 day.
6) When ready to serve, beat whipped cream, sugar and vanilla until soft peaks develop.   Spoon and spread over the chocolate filling and top with crushed pecans.

This pie was good but not my favorite pie of all time.  I think I am just more of a fruit pie fan will always have a preference for those.  My husband did end up eating half remaining pie over the course of a few days,  so clearly he had no problems with it.  Although this pie is screaming chocolate it is not overly rich and dense allowing you to actually enjoy the pie. The addition of the Irish cream also added a nice touch, (although I think I could have added more) giving just a bit more flavour to the chocolate filling.

MEG's RATING : D-EEE-LICIOUS!