Bittersweet Chocolate Pudding Pie

I've gotten several semi-confused comments recently about my continuing to bake things that I cannot currently eat... I know it sounds weird, but it is still super fun for me to try things out and test them on people, even when I can't eat them myself. And it continues to be a way that I tell people, "I love you and it makes me happy to feed you".

That said, my man told me recently that I am going to make him fat if I keep testing my desserts on him, so I saved up this new recipe for a get-together with my old roomies:



Aren't we cute?? I love these girls! So I made them some Bittersweet Chocolate Pudding Pie...

If you have people in your life that you are feeling some love for, you could make them some Bittersweet Chocolate Pudding Pie too! I took lots of pictures this time, so get ready!

Bittersweet Chocolate Pudding Pie
(From Bon Appetite Magazine)

CRUST:
1 cup. chocolate wafer cookies (about 1/2 of a 9oz box)
2 T sugar
5 T butter, melted
2 oz bittersweet chocolate (60% cacao), finely chopped

- Pre-heat oven to 350 F.
- Pulse cookies and sugar in food processor until finely ground. Mix with melted butter and press into a 9-in pie dish.
- Bake for 12 minutes and remove from oven.



- Sprinkle chocolate over crust and let sit for about 2 minutes.



- When melted, spread in an even layer over the bottom.



- Cool completely and refrigerate until set. (My old roomie, Sami, said she thought this kept the pudding from making the bottom of the crust soggy. She is super smart!)

FILLING:
1/3 c. sugar
1/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 T cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt
1 3/4 c whole milk, divided
1/4 c heavy whipping cream
4 oz bittersweet chocolate (60% cacao), finely chopped
1 T dark rum
1 tsp vanilla extract

- Mix sugar, cocoa, cornstarch and salt in a heavy saucepan. Turn on medium heat and whisk in 1/3 c milk. Continue whisking until mixture thickens to almost a paste. Add remaining milk and cream. Stir constantly for about 5 minutes until mixture just begins to bubble and thicken into a lovely chocolate pudding. Add chocolate and stir until smooth.
- Remove from heat and add vanilla and rum.
- Pour into pie crust and refrigerate overnight. (Or... Get up in the morning and make your pie and just be sure it gets a solid 6-8 hours in the fridge)



Top pie with Cool Whip or homemade whipped cream and chocolate shavings or chips. The original recipe called for a Creme Fraiche topping, but I ran out of $$ at the grocery store and happen to think that plain ole' Cool Whip is pretty awesome.

Remove the pie from the fridge a good 30 minutes before eating so that the chocolate layer on the bottom can soften slightly. This will make it easier to slice.



And there you have it! Feedback on the pie was that it was nice and light and super yummy, but really not sweet at all. So if you are a dark-chocolate kind of person, this is the pie for you! But if you have to be one of "those" milk-chocolate kinds of people (yes, there was a tiny bit of snobbery in that comment...), you might want to increase the sugar in the pudding. (I dipped the corner of a fork prong into the pudding part and tasted the tiniest bit and thought it was just right).

Hope you enjoy!