Chocolate Cream Comfort

Friday afternoon I returned home to a mildly chaotic sea of flowers. It was wedding eve for my horticulturist of a roommate, and the clock was ticking for team wedding to finish arrangements, bouquets and boutineers before the rehearsal. Add to that news of a possibility of rain for an outdoor ceremony and that the photographer could be stuck in New York for the ceremony, and yeah, the state of the flowers was indicative of the mood in the space.

Enter pie.

Before I stepped into help with direct wedding matters, I went to the fridge to pull out the previous night's treasure,  Saveur's wonder of a chocolate cream pie recipe, encased in an Oreo crust and topped with real-deal whipping cream.

It was what the bride, remembering its previous iteration as squares, had requested for celebrations in her humble honor.

Slices of decadence were distributed, chocolate was consumed, florals were completed and a beauty of a wedding ensued.

I'd like to say that when the seas of my life turn to chaos that I want to turn to a greater, perfect savior, but the truth is I am drawn to seek comfort in the family of chocolate. Cookies, pies, cakes — they are what I crave to satiate my desire for still waters.

Clearly my priorities get mixed up, but thinking of the richness of creamy chocolate reminds me of words a flower party member I had only met the night before told me, "I like that you are the kind of people who pulled out pie in a time like that."

There's a place for words of greater truth, but there's also a place for wordless love in chocolate form.

Caramel-Chocolate Mousse Pie

I allow hostesses say-so in dessert requests, especially if they say something like "chocolate and caramel, preferably" when I offer.

Behold, cool chocolate mousse nestled atop sticky (but not too sticky) sweet caramel with a simple graham cracker crust to balance out all that decadence.

It was declared a winner by those who fully appreciate chocolate among my sphere of influence. In fact, it received the rarely granted "I might need that for my birthday" award from a certain musical member of that sphere for the first time since my Caramel Brownies. That's serious.

 

Two weeks later, the flowers from ever-thoughtful ladies in my house are still thriving. The pie met its death by consumption within 24 hours.

More Chocolate+Caramel Combos:
Caramel Brownies
Mini Chocolate-Caramel Cupcakes

Chocolate Cream Pie Squares with Oreo Crust

Let me tell you about the day my life forever changed.

It started with a seething cauldron of sin. Chocolate and cream and such churned into the most decadent creamy cocoa-y yum that has ever gone between Oreos and real whipped whipping cream.

And there was enough of it to feed all the dudes who ate bread and fish that day in that Bible story. Almost. 

But for real, 20 people ate it at the lake on a Saturday, I shipped off slices to my parents' house and my brother's house, and then I divvied up like eight servings when there ended up being a viewing of super-interesting documentary Searching for Sugarman (check it out, fellow documentary-nerdy friends/anyone who likes music) at my house the next night. 

And then I ate a final solitary piece all by my lonesome one night.

My not-so-pretty photos just don't do it justice.

And now dessert-obsessed me is struggling to brainstorm any other confection to make for people because all I can think of is this, the most perfect way to eat chocolate in summertime. Ever.

Every time I try to think of something new, all that comes to mind is the way the rich fudgy chocolate cream is cut by creamy whipped cream and held together by a buttery-chocolate crisp crust. Ohmygoodness.

Peanut Butter Pie: Take Two

Creamy peanut butter goodness in a peanutty Vanilla Wafer crust re-entered my life this week. And many mini chocolate chips were involved.

It photographed way better than a couple of years ago, ergo a new post.

The pie traveled to a Downton Abbey season kickoff gathering. It's not English-themed, but it is worthy of a the most special occasion: 1920 modernism meets a Mary/Matthew wedding and a Maggie Smith/Shirley McClain witty one-liner showdown.

Chocolate-Buttercream Cake Decadence Pie

Generally, when I bake I follow a recipe. But sometimes recipes don't turn out quite right, which is unacceptable when you are baking to thank an intern who has slaved away to help you all summer and even let you bum an impromptu ride for 8 hours.

Sometimes you think you are smart wrapping up a roll cake in a dish towel for a while before filling it with buttercream and topping it with ganache (think homemade swiss cake roll). And sometimes when you unroll the cake, it cracks in 27 place and it will not come close to rolling back up again.

Then, my friend, you must innovate because you cannot waste decadent-tasting cake. So I made cake roll I had planned for into a cake pie: luscious, thick chocolate cake crust with buttercream icing filling topped with ganache. Instead of icing being a light finish on cake, icing rules this cake. It might be the best dessert mistake I've made.

Before you start to think I think outside the box more than I actually do, let' me say my cake pie innovation has two recipe sources: Nanaimo Bars, a similar tasting dessert that layers a chocolate-graham mixture, buttercream and straight chocolate, and a Tiramisu Toffee Trifle Pie, which turns cake into a pie crust and fills it with cream.

Hopefully the passion with which all of our cake-partaking going away partygoers and contributors to the cause of not wasting leftovers spoke of the cake creation reflects a tiny bit of how awesome its honoree, my intern extraordinaire, Mia, is!

Monday Sweets: Tollhouse Chocolate Chip Pie

This pie has all the taste I love of chocolate chip cookies warm and gooey out of the oven, with the added bonus of a more gooey texture (when hot), pie crust, and an excuse to pair it with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. It's pretty much Tollhouse cookie dough with proportionally more butter — you can't beat that in the realm of sinfully delicious desserts.

Perfect for dinner parties (or just everyday dinner with a chocolate finale treat), you can put the pie in as you start eating dinner, and it's done and ready to eat an hour later. The pie also beats out cookies in the ease department; you don't have to dollop dough onto a cookie sheet, just pour in a pie shell, or clean up cookie sheets and cooling racks.

Monday Sweets: Strawberry Smoothie Ice-Cream Pie

Why We Made the Pie:

My mother told me to, or rather asked me to after staring at its picture for a few months. I agreed when I was searching for a dessert to serve friends at the end of a potentially million-degree day on the lake.

Why We Liked the Pie:

Prettiness of colorful layers. I oohed and ahhed when we popped it out of the spring form pan.

Refreshing fresh fruit (banana, strawberries, and blueberries) mixed with vanilla ice cream. I used Mayfield's.

Waffle Cone Crust. This way you get the flavor and crunch of the cone with less mess.

Deceptively simple preparation—mix fruit with ice cream and layer. It just required many steps of mixing and freezing, which didn't seem as time consuming when I was hanging around the kitchen at the lake whilst chatting with friends, enlisting friends' help, and snacking.

Why I Might or Might Not Make Again:

The other 9 taste testers at the lake for the weekend liked it, and we had fun discussing which layer we thought best (banana might have won). Given my biased against super fruity desserts, I'd personally rather have either a smoothie or a slice of mint chocolate chip ice cream pie. I do, however, like that ice cream pies keep much longer than your average dessert, just like any ice cream.

Monday Sweets: Banana Pudding Pie

This recipe convinced me I had to make it based on its title alone. How can you go wrong with banana pudding, especially when you put it atop a vanilla wafer crust and top it with meringue? 

The unbelievable taste made its slightly runny presentation irrelevant.

You start with some crumbled vanilla wafers mixed with butter and then top the crust with bananers. 

But what really makes banana pudding divine is the homemade pudding. The powdered mix, while not bad tasting, has nothing on pure eggs, milk, sugar, and vanilla. And once the pudding melds with wafers and bananas, it's even more irresistible.

 The only step that might seem scary about this recipe is the meringue topping, as forming stiff peaks with egg white and sugar is legitimately intimidating. Not to fear; just keep whipping and whipping, and they will come eventually, I promise. I think humidity slows down the peak formation, so be prepared for it to take a while in the South in the summer.

The fluffy white topping is the perfect seal for the pie. Don't expect leftovers if you have more than a few people around.

Monday Sweets: Fresh Blackberry Pie

Blackberries are at their prime right now. This year's local crop at a fruit stand might have yielded the fattest, juiciest, sweetest ones I've ever had. Usually I like the tart berry sweetened, but it wasn't even necessary with these. Really, unlike the tiny, sour wild berries I picked as a kid, these are dessert in and of themselves.

But for the Fourth of July I felt the urge to boost their decadence up a notch. I'd already deemed a cool blackberry pie worthy of the holiday on SouthernLiving.com, so I wanted to see how it presented itself in real life.

Success! The pie is basically sweetened blackberries steeped in a raspberry Jello mixture, all in a crisp pie crust. No, it's not all-natural (shame on me), but my extended family devoured it and inquired about how I created the such a refreshing, fruit-filled dessert.

Recipe: Tiramisu Toffee Trifle Pie

This festive layered dessert looks and tastes super fancy but was pretty simple to make. It was so photogenic for the pros that it made the  2000 Southern Living holiday dessert spread. 

Layer 1: slices of pound cake drizzled with coffee (I made decaf in my coffee pot so I could be a good old lady and get to sleep at night.)

Layer 2: a mix of chocolate syrup, cream cheese and Cool Whip that tastes like a light chocolate cheesecake

Layer 3: chopped toffee bars (or chopped whatever-chocolate-you-have-in-your-pantry, which was dark chocolate, milk chocolate-almond bar and toffee bits for me)

Bonus: The way these three layers enhance each other's flavors is a sum even better than its parts.

Tiramisu Toffee Trifle Pie

1 1/2  tablespoons  instant coffee granules

3/4  cup  warm water

1  (10.75-ounce) frozen pound cake, thawed

1  (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1/2  cup  powdered sugar

1/2  cup  chocolate syrup

1  (12-ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed and divided

2  (1.4-ounce) English toffee candy bars, coarsely chopped

Stir together coffee and 3/4 cup warm water until coffee is dissolved. Cool.

Cut cake into 14 slices. Cut each slice in half diagonally. Place triangles in bottom and up sides of a 9-inch deep-dish pieplate. Drizzle coffee mixture over cake.

Beat mascarpone cheese, sugar, and chocolate syrup at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Add 2 1/2 cups whipped topping, and beat until light and fluffy.

Spread cheese mixture evenly over cake. Dollop remaining whipped topping around edges of pie. Sprinkle with candy. Chill 8 hours.

Recipe: Peanut Butter Pie

I got really excited when I had this pie at community group because it tasted just like a peanut butter pie I loved to get as a kid at Miss Myra's Barbecue in Birmingham (who got it from Rolling in the Dough bakery next door). Needless to say, I had to steal the recipe from the baker's Bride and Groom First and Forever Cookbook, which by the way had great recipes despite the cheesy title. 

The texture of the pie is extremely light, like whipped cream, probably because it's basically whipped cream with peanut butter mixed in. The vanilla wafer crust adds subtle flavor that complements the creamy filling well. The grandparents and parents gave it kudos, and my fantastic cook of a grandmother wanted to make it for her book club.

Peanut Butter Pie

Crust:

30 vanilla wafers

1/3 cup salted peanuts

2 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:

¾ cup smooth peanut butter at room temperature

1 ½ cups heavy cream

¾ cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Chocolate kisses or chocolate chips

Chocolate syrup (optional)

For crust, combine wafers and peanuts in a food processor and blend until crumbled. Add butter and pulse a few times. Press into a 9-inch baking dish. Bake 15 minutes at 325 degrees. Let cool for 15 minutes.

For filling, place peanut butter in a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine cream, powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat on medium high until peaks form, about a minute and a half. Stir half of cream mixture into peanut butter. Transfer this mixture back into cream mixture and beat on medium high just until incorporated. Pour into crust. Sprinkle with kisses or chocolate chips. Refrigerate until firm, at least 3 hours. Garnish with chocolate syrup if desired.

Recipe: Mint Chocolate Ice Cream Pie

The mission: birthday dessert for my community group. Preferably a summery crowd pleaser.

The inspiration: my mom's mint chocolate chip ice cream squares.

The remedy: PIE! Real Kitchen Mom's recipe made for fewer servings and greater concentration of oreos, ice cream and chocolate, not to mention a prettier presentation.

The verdict: Rave reviews for putting simple ice cream sundae ingredients into in a pretty pie form.

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Pie

1 Oreo pie crust (recipe below, or cheat and buy one-- but it won't be as good)

1.5  quarts mint chocolate chip ice cream, softened

8 Oreos, crushed (I put mine in a plastic baggie and hit it with a spoon to leave some larger chunks)

1 recipe chocolate sauce

Spread ice cream in bottom of crust. Sprinkle crumbs on top. Spread chocolate sauce on ice cream and crumbs. Freeze until set.

Oreo Crust

2 1/4 cups Oreo crumbs, fine (I made mine in the food processor)

3 tablespoons butter, melted

Stir together Oreo crumbs and butter; spread in bottom of pie plate. Freeze for at least 30 minutes.

Chocolate Sauce
1/2 sugar
3 oz evaporated milk or cream
3 Tbsp cocoa
1 Tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla

Mix all ingredients in a sauce pan. Cook over medium and bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute and remove from stove. Allow to cool. You can save some of the sauce for future ice cream toppers, unless you want the dessert even more ridiculously chocolaty.