Hot Chocolate Pie

This is a recipe from James McNair's Pie Cookbook that I received as a wedding gift and have been making for the last 15 years. I've even made up the filling and served it as a pudding or parfait, it's that good. And I kind of like my picture of it too . . .

frozen pastry crust
4 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a saucepan, combine the egg yolks, sugar, salt, flour and cocoa powder and beat until smooth. Slowly whisk or stir in the milk and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens, about 8-10 minutes. Reduce the heat to very low and cook until quite thick, 3 or 4 minutes longer. Remove from the heat and add the butter and stir until the butter melts. Stir in the vanilla. Transfer to a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap placed directly on the surface of the custard until slightly cool, about 10 minutes, then transfer to the baked pastry shell.

Whip the whipping cream until thickened and stiff (but do not overbeat as it will turn into butter), adding sugar and vanilla toward the end of the process. Top the pie with the whipped cream and sprinkle with cocoa powder.

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Technorati tags: pies, chocolate, hot chocolate, desserts