classic diner-style chocolate pies.

I'm getting tired of cake so let's talk pie- chocolate pie. Chocolate pie with a chocolate pudding laced with malt powder and a bit of booze, that is. And topped with the fantabulous fat called whipped cream that we all, well, most of us anyway, know and love.

So you might have noticed that I mentioned that the pudding contains malt powder and alcohol, specifically, whiskey. I'm sad to say that the malt was undistinguishable but the booze was. You can tell that it's not your normal chocolate pudding. But then again, I added more than the recipe called for by accident because trying to pour liquid from a bottle that is more than 3/4 full and altogether weighs more than a pound with one hand into a tiny shallow half teaspoon is just a bit difficult.

I tried to liven up the dull chocolate cookie crumb crust with some confetti (inspiration from here) but I couldn't show off the effect because I couldn't unmold the crust! I foolishly thought that I could at first, but then again, it is a no-bake crust. Or perhaps its not the right reason- I'm sure some no-bake crusts can be unmolded just fine. Or can't they? Oh I don't know what to think anymore. I'm just incredibly disappointed that the confetti went to waste. Plus, they kind of ruined the crust because I stored them with my dried lavender buds and they kinda smell lavendery now, i.e. my chocolate crust was perfumed with lavender. In a bad way.

This is going to be hilarious but my favourite part of the pie was the whipped cream, which wasn't made from the recipe provided in the book, a vanilla-bean one. I just threw in a bit of icing sugar into the cream, whipped it and ta-da. Didn't even add in vanilla extract. I guess why I liked it so much is because I used cream from a freshly-opened pack. I don't always get the chance to eat whipped fresh cream. Usually it gets folded into some kind of custard or used in a ganache (in its un-whipped state of course) etc. I'm definitely going to take advantage of newly-opened packs of cream to make pure whipped cream to stuff my face with from now on.

Classic Diner-Style Chocolate Pie
adapted from Baked
makes a 9 inch pie

For the crust:
30 chocolate wafer cookies (about 6 ounces), crushed finely
1 tbsp sugar
6 tbsp butter, melted

For the chocolate pudding:
1/2 cup sugar
3 tbsp chocolate malt Ovaltine
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup cornstarch
5 large egg yolks
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
5 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
2 ounces milk chocolate, chopped
2 tsp whiskey
1 tsp vanilla extract

whipped cream, to top the pie with

For the crust: Mix the crushed cookies and sugar together. Add the melted butter and mix until combined. Press mixture evenly into the bottom and up the sides of a 9 inch round pie plate. Freeze the crust while you make the filling.

For the chocolate pudding: Whisk the sugar, Ovaltine, salt and cornstarch in a saucepan. Whisk in the egg yolks until combined. Stream in the milk and heavy cream while whisking constantly until combined. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly. Let the mixture boil for 30 seconds and remove from heat.

Add the chocolates, whiskey and vanilla extract and whisk to incorporate. Let the mixture cool for at least 15 minutes before filling the crust. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Mound whipped cream on top of the pie and serve.