Emeril’s Chocolate Cream Pie

The fact that the grocery list I gave Todd included “1 pint of cream plus 1 cup of cream” should clue you in that this is a rich recipe, and to be sure, Emeril’s Chocolate Cream Pie lives up to the expectations one might have for an Emeril recipe.  It’s decadent.

The original recipe is printed on Food TV but there were some issues with the crust.   It was way too thick, so I reduced the amount and re-typed it below. Even the revised pie crust made a lot.

The reviews on the Food TV site were what prompted me to make this pie. They were all raves, except for one by a lady who thought the pie was rich. I agree with her that it was rich. Part of me want to tell you it’s too rich, but the other part is saying “Hey, it’s pie. It’s supposed to be rich.” So my advice is make it, and know what you’re in for. It’s not overly sweet, but it has a lot of cream, chocolate, and egg yolks and not many other ingredients to counter balance all the fat.

Sheesh! I’m such a downer now. No, really. It’s a good pie.

Emeril’s Chocolate Cream Pie

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup heavy cream plus 1 3/4 cups
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
Pinch salt
4 egg yolks, lightly beaten in a medium bowl
4 ounces good-quality semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 tablespoon butter
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

Cookie Crust – Prepared as directed below.

Whisk sugar, 3/4 cup heavy cream, buttermilk, cornstarch and pinch of salt together in a saucepan off the heat. Place over medium-high heat, and bring to a boil, whisking from time to time for the sugar and cornstarch to dissolve and the mixture thickens, about 5 minutes. Continue cooking at a low boil for an additional 5 minutes, whisking constantly.

Pour 1/2 cup of the hot mixture into the egg yolks and whisk thoroughly. Pour the egg yolk mixture back into the saucepan and whisk over medium heat until thoroughly combined and very thick, 1 to 2 minutes. Pour the mixture into a mixing bowl, and whisk in the chocolate, butter and vanilla. Continue whisking until thoroughly combined (mixture will be very thick). Cover the mixture with plastic wrap placed directly on the surface and refrigerate until cooled to room temperature.

Place 1 3/4 cups heavy cream in a chilled mixing bowl and add the confectioners’ sugar. Beat until stiff peaks form. Gently fold about 1/4 of the whipped cream into the cool chocolate pudding mixture, then spoon the chocolate mixture into the prepared pie crust and refrigerate until firm and cool, at least 4 hours.

Refrigerate the remaining whipped cream until you are ready to serve the pie. I added some more powdered sugar to the remaining whipped cream before piping it on top.
When ready to serve, top the pie with the remaining sweetened whipped cream and serve immediately.

Crumb Crust

1 cup chocolate cookie crumbs (recommended: Oreo) — remove whites before grinding
1 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In the bowl of a food processor or blender, process the graham crackers and chocolate cookies to make crumbs. Mix together crumbs, sugar and butter and press into pan. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.